The New Ethical Dimension of Sports Events: a Reflection on the Evolution from the Ancient Greek Olympic Sports Festival to Postmodern Sports Events

The purpose of this paper is to identify the new social functions of sports events in postindustrial society starting from a reflection on the intersections in the relationship among the ethical values of the ancient Greek Olympic sports festival and the postmodern model of sustainable event management. From a literature review on leisure, sports, and event studies, it emerges that sports events, conceived of as postmodern festivals, can help people who take part in them experience a new ethical dimension and celebrate the spirit of ancient Olympia and its values in an innovative way. In summary, from the review of the above-mentioned literature emerges a set of ethical potentials of ancient sports festivals within the possible implementation of their intrinsic values in the context of contemporary sports events through the specific actions of planning and management for sustainable and ethical development.