The special issue on ＇Mediating the East Asian Era of the Olympic Games (2018-2022) is finally published online from "Communication & Sport". It takes several years since the editors (Koji, John, Jung Woo and I) began the projects the three consecutive Olympics held in East Asia, and the collaborations have produced several outcomes, including this special issue, an edited book from Plagrave, and a conference in Edinburgh.

Abstract

In the span of four years from 2018 to 2022, three consecutive Olympic Games were held in East Asia – namely PyeongChang 2018 in South Korea, Tokyo 2020 in Japan and Beijing 2022 in China. Given the geographic concentration of global multi-sports mega-events in the Far East, this period has been referred to as the ‘East Asian era’ of the Olympic Games. This introduction to the special issue outlines two major themes of the changes during the East Asian era: (1) the shift of economic and geopolitical power from the West to the East; and (2) the changes and challenges offered by the Olympic Agenda 2020 reforms and the COVID-19 pandemic within East Asia. After that, each contribution will be introduced and briefly described. Overall, by collecting contributions focusing on the 2018–2022 Olympic Games, this special issue critically analyses the state of play in the formations of dominant and emerging discourses during the East Asia era and offers its implications for a broader understanding of the continuity and changes to the economic, political, social, cultural and ecological dimensions of the Olympic Movement.

The order of the manuscripts in the special issue on Mediating the East Asian Era of the Olympic Games (2018-2022)

1. Introduction to the Special Issue: Mediating the East Asian Era of the Olympic Games (2018-2022)

- Koji Kobayashi, John Horne, Younghan Cho & Jung Woo Lee

2. Framing the Games: US Media Coverage of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics

- Jules Boykoff

3. Are They Really Chinese？ Examining Chinese Audiences’ Emotions and Perceptions Toward Naturalized Athletes at the 2022 Winter Olympics

- Bo Li, Olan K. M. Scott, Liang Zhao & Su Jin

4. The “Descendant of Dragon” or an “American Dreamer”？ The Flow of Identity in the Media Discourse of Eileen Gu between China and the US

- Liwen Zhang & Lin Shi

5. Opportunities and Challenges for Critical Reporting at the Olympics: Journalists’ Perspectives From Tokyo 2020

- Cerianne Robertson

6. The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly – Situational Crisis Communication and the COVID-19 Pandemic Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games

- Donna Wong and Yue Meng-Lewis

7. Covering the 2020 Tokyo Olympics as the Recovery Olympics after Fukushima

- Yasuhito Abe

8. The Olympic Games and Judo Diplomacy: An Exploratory Discussion on Country Image in Tokyo 2020

- Yoav Dubinsky

9. War and Peace, Freeze and Thaw: Regional Narratives of North Korea and the 2018 Winter Olympics

- Peter English & Richard Murray