Public Diplomacy at the London Olympic Games

Not only the United Kingdom, but also every other participant country, had ample opportunity to use the 2012 London Olympics as a venue for public diplomacy.  When the world is watching, public diplomacy flourishes.

The UK, and London itself, made the most of their time in the spotlight.  As the British Consul General in Los Angeles, Dame Barbara Hay, points out, “We had two things in mind: the message and the audience.”  The message was about a hospitable and politically open country, which was delivered with varying degrees of subtlety to a global audience, many members of which had never before considered what modern Britain is really like.  If one of the goals of public diplomacy is to stimulate emulation, Britain took great strides toward achieving this, in addition to other participating countries which also took advantage of the public diplomacy opportunity provided by the Olympics.  

Take a look at how the below articles about the 2012 Olympics describe the games as a showcase for public diplomacy.