Nationalism on the World Stage: Cultural Performance at the Olympic Games

Beyond the realm of sports and spectacle, states host the Olympic Games for political, social, and cultural reasons. In particular, organizers have used the Olympics as an opportunity to redefine and reassert their national identities through performance. The hosts present an artistic rendering of their national identity to domestic and international audiences through the pageantry of the opening and closing ceremonies. Nationalism on the World Stage examines the relationship between nationalism and the Olympics by weaving together current understandings of nationalism and applying these notions to displays of national identity at Olympic ceremonies from 1980 to 2006. Using tactics such as historical revision, indoctrination, and custodianship, hosts of the Games have re-told their official state identities and histories through performances. Through examples including the United States, Canada, Norway, Russia, Spain, and Japan, Philip A. D'Agati establishes a new scope of nationalism, cultural performance, and international festival and provides new insights into studies of nationalism.