This thesis has sought to examine the conceptualisation(s) of the field of Olympic education identified in the English language literature, and to evaluate the planning of Olympic education in practice, specifically in relation to the preparation of Olympic education programmes and systems for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and Paralympics. When Pierre de Coubertin introduced the modern Olympic Games, one of the ideas for the revival of the Games was to educate young people through sport. Despite Coubertin s educational philosophy, the Olympic Games have long failed to represent ideals of fair play, equal opportunity, and international harmony but being replaced by bribery, corruption, commercialism, drug use and gender discrimination instead. The IOC has strengthened the roles and mission of the Olympic bodies in particular relation to the promotion of Olympic values and Olympism through the implementation of Olympic education. As a policy aim for the Olympic Movement, the development of Olympic education programmes has become a key goal for the IOC and thus host cities/nations. Providing a concept of Olympic and Paralympic education programmes in preparation for staging the Olympic Games is a compulsory requirement for host cities and nations. However, in spite of the IOC s recent explicit and intended commitment to the development of Olympic education policies in practice, explanation of Olympic education as a concept and a set of practices is imprecise and relatively underdeveloped in the Olympic related area. In addition, there is a lack of understanding of how universal values and concepts of Olympic education are perceived and communicated in culturally diverse contexts. The thesis is divided into two related parts, which seeks to provide two fundamental contributions to knowledge in this field. Part One is focused on a meta-narrative review of the English language literature on Olympic education. The methodology of a meta-narrative review is an extension of the systematic review process and facilitates the identification of the contribution of research traditions to the phenomena under review, in this case the conceptualisation and operationalisation of Olympic education. Through the process of meta-narrative review, six research traditions were identified: educational philosophy; critical sociology; curriculum development; education psychology; development of evaluation measures; and policy analysis and evaluation. II The results of the review identified how Olympic education has been conceptualised with various unfolding storylines in different research traditions, and this analysis subsequently provided the basis for the second key element of the study in the form of templates against which to evaluate the Olympic education programmes and systems associated with Tokyo 2020. Part Two employs a case study approach and is focused on the analysis of six cases using a realist evaluation methodology, employing analytic logic models and analysis of Context-Mechanism-Outcome (CMO) configurations. This facilitates the development of explicit and/or implicit causal claims about changes brought about by Japanese Olympic education programmes. The research has also contributed to developing a critical review of Olympic education programmes in a culturally specific, non-western context. Provision of Olympic education, within the context of national legislation requiring its introduction into the school curriculum developed by various stakeholders, represents a unique and culturally specific context for its study. Not only its education system, but also the cultural and historical values embedded within Japanese Olympic education programmes derive from the Japanese understanding of Olympism and universal Olympic values based on the Japanese values such as harmony, in particular applied in the effort in the recovery from national disasters, moral values learned from Judo and physical education, and Japanese ways of expressing hospitality. Thus, this case study of Tokyo 2020 acts as an exemplar in the diffusing of ways of developing and delivering the benefits of Olympic education programmes in culturally specific context.

Hosting the Tokyo 2020 Olympics during the COVID-19 pandemic presented a major crisis for the Olympic movement, both in Canada and around the world. The Pandemic led to an unprecedented postponement of the games and to widespread concern that the Tokyo Olympics could become a mega-spreader event. The purpose of the present study is to provide an empirical accounting of the Canadian experience prior to and during the Tokyo Games, specifically through a thematic analysis of content related to COVID-19 and the Olympic Games, as produced by major Canadian media sources and key Canadian sport organizations. Utilizing a communication centered view of crisis informed by Situational Crisis Communication Theory (SCCT) and narrative management, the present study examined the crisis response of major Canadian sport organizations, most specifically the Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) (Coombs, 2007; DiSanza et al., 2018; Gigliotti, 2020). A unique methodological approach was used in the present study, beginning with both database and grey literature search strategies to collect data from Canadian media sources and sport organizations. Sources included the CBC, the National Post, and the Globe and Mail as media sources, and the Canadian Olympic Committee, Own the Podium, and Sport Canada as major sport organizations. Researchers then followed a data analysis process utilizing a framework of thematic analysis from Braun and Clarke (2006), collaborative analysis following Richards and Hemphill (2018), and the use of software and visual narrative analysis based on the work of Hoeber et al. (2017). This methodology allowed the researchers to analyze a large sample of 930 documents published between March 11th, 2020 and August 22nd 2021. The results of the present study revealed a complex and changing narrative in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent postponement of the Tokyo Olympics. The decision by the COCC to withdraw from the Olympics in March 2020 was portrayed as a principled stand that influenced the IOC into postponing the Games to a year later. The COC continued to focus on promoting athletes in their public messaging and presented a strong, coherent narrative that appeared consistent with the values of key stakeholders and minimized the reputational threat posed to the organization. The IOC however received substantial negative media coverage, especially in the lead up to the Games in 2021. During the initial period of the Games themselves, media coverage focused on new COVID-19 cases and the effect of strict safety protocols. However, by August 2021 there appeared to have been a significant shift in the narrative, with the focus becoming stories and performances of Olympic athletes. The results of the present study emphasize the importance of effective narrative management in crisis communications, and the consistently of this approach with SCCT (Coombs, 2007; DiSanza et al., 2018). Furthermore, the effectiveness of the COC’s crisis response also reinforces a communication centered view of crisis, where the perceptions of stakeholders are viewed as a key element of defining organizational crisis management (Gigliotti, 2020). To minimize the reputational threat to their organizations, crisis managers should ensure that stakeholder perceptions remain central to their crisis communication decision making, and managers should also consider the importance of crafting a strong and coherent narrative.

Tittle: Freestyle BMX and Summer Olympic Games Objectives: The main aim of this thesis is the analysis process of Freestyle BMX acceptance to the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics with evalution. In addition, this thesis defines the historical movement of the Freestyle BMX candacy and evaluate the conditions (criteria) setted by the International Olympic Committee for the adoption of new sports into the Olympic Games program. Methods: This thesis is a theoretical work that has a descriptive and analytical character so the main method is an analysis and study of documents, literature and web sources. The information was analyzed and comprehensively processed. Results: Results indicate that Freestyle BMX didn't satisfy all the criteria for acceptance of a new sport into the Olympic Games program. Freestyle BMX should not be accepted according to the criteria set into the Olympic Games program. Freestyle BMX was accepted on the basis of other facts according to this information. Probably this has been achieved on the basis of an evaluation of the popularity sport. Keywords: Sport, Cyclist, Cyclist discipline, Freestyle BMX, Olympics, Summer Olympic Games, Tokyo 2020