Udo Merkel is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Sport and Service Management at the University of Brighton. He is part of the Events Management team and has a keen interest in the social-scientific study of the international events industry. In addition to researching and teaching sociological and political aspects of international sports events, he has published widely in the areas of comparative European studies and football cultures. He is currently preparing a book on the role of international events and festivals as a foreign policy and diplomatic tool.

• ContentsPART IIntroduction1 The critical, social-scientific study of international events: Power, politics and conflicts UDO MERKEL PART IIHistorical and developmental case studies2 Regional events and festivals in Europe: Revitalizing traditions and modernizing identities LOUISA DEVISMES3 The historical roots of the Gymnaestrada: National gymnastics festivals in nineteenth-century Europe ANGELA WICHMANN4 World Expos and global power relationsJAYNE LUSCOMBE5 A short, selective history of the Gay Games: Conflicts, clashes and controversiesNIGEL JARVIS PART IIIContemporary case studies and ethnographies6 Global events and local conflicts: Who owns the streets of London?ADAM JONES AND JANET WOOLLEY 7 "A Day at the Races": Critical reflections of an insiderSTEVEN GOSS-TURNER 8 Arts, acrobatics and athleticism in North Korea: Power, politics and propaganda UDO MERKEL 9 The World Baseball Classic: The production and politics of a new global sports spectacle THOMAS F. CARTER 10 Politics as spectacle: U2’s 360° tour (2009-2011)MICHAEL WILLIAMS