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The Handbook of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games is the first authoritative and comprehensive account of the world´s greatest sporting and cultural event. It tells the complete story of the 2012 Games from inception, through the successful bidding process and the planning and preparation phase, to delivery, the post-Games period and legacy. Written by a world-class team of international Olympic scholars, the book offers critical analysis of the social, cultural, political, historical, economic and sporting context of the Games. The book is divided into two volumes. Volume Two - Celebrating the Games, examines the period of competition and immediately afterwards. Richly illustrated with the personal accounts of key satakeholders, from sports administrators and politicians to athletes and spectators, and including essential data and evocative visual material, this book is essential reading for anybody with a personal or professional interest in the Olympic and Paralympic Games, global culture or the development of sport.

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