1. An introduction to the sociology of sports mega-events: John Horne (University of Edinburgh, UK) and Wolfram Manzenreiter (University of Vienna, Austria).

Part 1: Sports mega-events, modernity and capitalist economies.

2. Mega-events and modernity revisited: Maurice Roche (University of Sheffield, UK).

3. The Economic Impact of Major Sport Events: Chris Gratton, Simon Shibli, and Richard Coleman (Sport Industry Research Centre, Sheffield Hallam University, UK).

4. Urban entrepreneurship, corporate interests and sports mega-events: C. Michael Hall (University of Otago, New Zealand).

Part 2: The Glocal Politics of Sports Mega-events.

5. Underestimated costs and overestimated benefits? Comparing the outcomes of sports mega-events in Canada and Japan: David Whitson (University of Alberta, at Edmonton, Canada) and John Horne (University of Edinburgh).

6. Modernizing China in the Olympic spotlight: China’s national identity and the 2008 Beijing Olympiad: Xin Xu (Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University, Japan).

7. The 2010 Football World Cup as a political construct: the challenge of making good on an African promise: Scarlett Cornelissen (University of Stellenbosch, South Africa) and Kamilla Swart (Cape Peninsula University of Technology, Cape Town, South Africa).

Part 3: Power, spectacle and the city.

8. UEFA Euro 2004 Portugal: The social construction of a sports mega- event and spectacle: Salomé Marivoet (University of Coimbra, Portugal).

9. Sports spectacles, uniformities and the search for identity in late modern Japan: Wolfram Manzenreiter (Vienna University).

10. Deep play: Sports mega-events and urban social conditions in the U.S.A: Kimberly Schimmel (Kent State University, U.S.A.).

11. Olympic Urbanism and Olympic Villages: Planning strategies in olympic host cities, London 1908 - London 2012: Francesc Muñoz (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Spain).

Notes on contributors.

Index.