Why have the Olympic Games always been a geopolitical event in their own right? How did the Olympic Games in Mexico City in 1968, Moscow in 1980 and Barcelona in 1992 reflect international tensions, despite the Olympics' political neutrality? In2024, what are the stakes for France in the Paris Olympics, against the backdrop of the Israeli-Palestinian and Russian-Ukrainian conflicts? Why have new powers such as China, Qatar and Saudi Arabia made the organization of the Games an objective of their influence strategy?
In his fourth book, Kévin Veyssière invites sports fans, geography buffs and the curious to explore the history of our world through the Olympic Games. From Athens in 1896 to Paris in 2024, he unveils the most striking geopolitical backdrops to a theater of 206 nations, where sporting performances and power games come together.