Glitterati and Grit: The Perils and Possibilities of Sports Mega-Event Research.

This article examines the cultural politics of sports mega-events, specifically the Olympic Games and the soccer World Cup, as critical sites for addressing major 21st-century socio-structural issues such as economic inequality, gentrification and displacement, securitized policing, climate change, and authoritarian governance. It highlights how these events, driven by powerful corporate and political interests, often exacerbate social injustices through public overspending, forced evictions, militarized security, and greenwashing, while benefiting elite actors like the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and FIFA. The article advocates for explicitly political, interdisciplinary research and scholar-activism that critically interrogates these dynamics, builds middle-range theoretical concepts, and produces descriptive histories from below to illuminate and challenge the hegemonic power structures embedded in global sports mega-events. It underscores the potential of sport studies to engage with broader struggles over power, identity, and justice within popular culture and calls for scholars to embrace political engagement to effect meaningful change.