About Us

In ‘major’ events around the world such as Olympics, FIFA World Cups, and political summits, the scale and magnitude of security provisions rivals those of the sporting events themselves. Mega-events are about much more than sport—they have become identified as primary sites for terrorist attack and political disruption, where ‘critical infrastructure protection’ has emerged as a defining feature in the planning, delivery and legacies of major events. From the the 2008 Beijing Winter Olympics, the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, the upcoming London 2012 Olympics as well as other Olympic and FIFA events to come in Rio, Brazil, each of these events have involved, or are currently undergoing drastic security efforts similar to those during times of war.

As a result, mega-events events are catalysts for novel forms of urban securitization and surveillance involving federal policing, intelligence agencies, military, municipal police, as well as other government agencies such as health, transportation, and private security firms. Massive capital investments and the rapid development of powerful new interoperable security and surveillance configurations are also forging enduring security legacies that last well beyond the event itself.

The Security Games web project is designed to provide continuous news information, content and analysis on the different dimensions of security and surveillance associated with mega-events around the world. Launched in conjunction with the release of Colin J. Bennett and Kevin D. Haggerty’s edited book Security Games: Surveillance and Control at Mega-Events, this website is the first of its kind to comprehensively document and analyze the many localized and global dimensions of security, surveillance and mega-events for academics, policy practitioners, non-governmental organizations and activists.