Stephen R Wenn Libri

Once a showcase for amateur athletics, the Olympic Games have become a global entertainment colossus powered by corporate sponsorship and professional participation. Stephen R. Wenn and Robert K. Barney offer the inside story of this transformation by examining the far-sighted leadership and decision-making acumen of four International Olympic Committee (IOC) presidents: Avery Brundage, Lord Killanin, Juan Antonio Samaranch, and Jacques Rogge. Blending biography with historical storytelling, the authors explore the evolution of Olympic commercialism from Brundage's uneasy acceptance of television rights fees through the revenue generation strategies that followed the Salt Lake City bid scandal to the present day. Throughout, Wenn and Barney draw on their decades of studying Olympic history to dissect the personalities, conflicts, and controversies behind the Games' embrace of the business of spectacle. Entertaining and expert, The Gold in the Rings maps the Olympics' course from paragon of purity to billion-dollar profits.

The book delves into the transformation of the Olympic Games from a platform for amateur athletes to a major commercial enterprise driven by corporate sponsorship. Focusing on the leadership of four IOC presidents, it intertwines biography and historical analysis to trace the evolution of Olympic commercialism. From the early acceptance of television rights to the aftermath of the Salt Lake City scandal, the authors reveal the personalities and controversies that shaped the modern Olympic spectacle, offering a compelling narrative of profit and spectacle.