The spectacle of major cultural and sporting events can preoccupy modern
societies. This book is concerned with contemporary mega-events, like
the Olympics and Expos. Using a sociological perspective Roche argues
that mega-events reflect the major social changes which now influence
our societies, particularly in the West, and that these amount to a new
'second phase' of the modernization process. Changes are particularly
visible in the media, urban and global locational aspects of
mega-events. Thus he suggests that contemporary mega-events, both in
their achievements and their vulnerabilities, reflect, in the media
sphere, the rise of the internet; in the urban sphere,
de-industrialisation and the growing ecological crisis; and in the
global sphere, the relative decline of the West and the rise of China
and other 'emerging' countries.