JULES BOYKOFF reads from his new nonfiction book NOLYMPIANS: INSIDE THE FIGHT AGAINST CAPITALIST MEGA-SPORTS IN LOS ANGELES, TOKYO AND BEYOND with ANNE ORCHIER

NOlympians: Inside the Fight Against Capitalist Mega-Sports in Los Angeles, Tokyo and Beyond (Fernwood Publishing)

NOlympians: Inside the Fight Against Capitalist Mega-Sports in Los Angeles, Tokyo and Beyond investigates the intersection of the global rise of anti-Olympics activism and the declining popularity of hosting of the Games. The Olympics were once buoyed by myths of luminous prosperity and upticks in tourism and jobs, but in recent years these assurances have been debunked. Now more than ever, it’s clear that the Olympics have transmogrified into a political-economic juggernaut that arrives with displacement, expanded policing, and anti-democratic backroom deals.

Jules Boykoff – a former professional soccer player who represented the US Olympic soccer team – zooms in on Los Angeles, where the Democratic Socialists of America have launched the NOlympics LA campaign ahead of the 2028 Summer Games. Boykoff shows how DSA-LA’s anti-Olympics activism fits with the resurgence of socialism in the US and beyond.

Boykoff’s research, based on more than 100 interviews with anti-Olympics activists, personal experiences at protests in Los Angeles, Rio de Janeiro, London, and Tokyo, academic research, mass- and alternative-media coverage, and Olympic archives, is the backbone for this story of activists fighting against the odds and embracing the transformative politics of democratic socialism.

Advanced Praise for NOlympians:

“The Olympic City, like so much of capitalist speculation, rests on a lie, that of shared prosperity. Through a meticulous analysis of NOlympics activism, this vitally important and urgently needed book demonstrates how social movements are exposing this lie and challenging the structures of displacement and policing that accompany the Games. Essential reading, NOlympians is a hopeful vision of how transnational resistance can build democratic urban futures.” — Ananya Roy, UCLA

“NOlympians is a timely reminder that the Olympics must end. Powerfully and precisely, Jules Boykoff introduces us to critical voices on both sides of the Pacific who are questioning the value of the capitalist mega-event. These voices are telling us that we no longer need the Olympics. This important book inspires us to listen.” — Hiroki Ogasawara, Kobe University, Japan

“Jules Boykoff is a leading voice on the politics of mega-sporting events. In NOlympians, Boykoff brings us the voices of activists on the ground who are leading an inspiring fight against the Games, ultimately showing the power and possibilities of grassroots resistance in the face rampant and corrosive capitalism.” — Amira Rose Davis, Penn State University

Jules Boykoff is the author of four books on the Olympic Games and two on the suppression of political dissent in the United States. His writing has appeared in places like New Left Review, the Guardian, the Nation, the New York Times, NBC Think, and the Los Angeles Times. He teaches political science at Pacific University in Oregon.

Anne Orchier is an organizer with NOlympics LA and a member of the L.A. Tenants Union.