Drawing upon historical, cultural, economic and socio-demographic perspectives, this book examines the role of London's hosting the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games as a means to promote urban regeneration and social renewal in East London and the Thames Gateway.

Professor Gavin Poynter and Dr Iain MacRury are both in the School of Social Sciences and Media and Cultural Studies at the University of East London, UK

Contents: Preface, Iain MacRury and Gavin Poynter; Part 1 The Modern Games and Social Change: Sport, spectacle and society: understanding the Olympics, Michael Rustin; The evolution of the Olympic and Paralympic Games 1948-2012, Gavin Poynter; Branding the Games: commercialism and the Olympic city, Iain MacRury; Olympic-driven urban development, Dean Baim. Part 2 Olympic Cities: The legacy of the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games, Hyunsun Yoon; The economy of the Barcelona Olympic Games, Ferran Brunet; Atlanta (1996): the Centennial Games, Gavin Poynter and Emma Roberts; Regenerating Sydney's West: framing and adapting an Olympic vision, Richard Cashman; The 28th Olympic Games in Athens 2004, Roy Panagiotopoulou; The economy of the Beijing Olympic Games: an analysis of prospects and first impacts, Ferran Brunet and Zuo Xinwen. Part 3 London 2012: London: preparing for 2012, Gavin Poynter; London 2012 and the regeneration game, Penny Bernstock; 'Race', sport and East London, Kevin Hilton and Nigel D. Morpeth; London 2012 - winning the Olympic 'green' medal, Paul Toyne; Technology, space and the paralympic athlete, Allan Edwards, Otto J. Schanz and Keith Gilbert; Where is England in contemporary Britain - and will the 2012 Olympics help us find it? Andrew Blake; London, Beijing and the role of culture in reconstructing society, Andrew Calcutt. Part 4 Olympic Legacies: Olympic cities and social change, Iain MacRury and Gavin Poynter; Index.