Interacting forms of expertise and authority in mega‐event security: the example of the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games

Abstract

This paper explores the interests, forms of expertise and sources of authority in security governance at the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games. To do so, the research approach pursued here focuses on the micro level, locating the various contributions to event security in the context of a particular range of projects and decisions relating to the planning and instauration of Olympic venue security. On this basis, the paper empirically explores how security governance at sport mega events, as the outcome of complex negotiations, permeates and shapes particular places and projects during the event. This investigation also brings to the fore a number of more fundamental insights with regard to the processes, relationships and interests underpinning security governance in the post‐9/11 context.