The main focus of my thesis is on the impact of China's international relations on the Beijing 2008 and 2022 Olympic Games, which I address through the concepts of soft and smart power and sports diplomacy. The Olympic Games are an excellent opportunity for countries to demonstrate their economic strength and organisational skills to the whole international community, and therefore countries, especially those that want to re-establish themselves in the international arena, are seriously interested in becoming a host country. In order to be selected as a host country, certain conditions have to be met, such as adequate space, financial stability, ecological sufficiency, etc. Host countries do gain prestige through the running of the Olympic Games, but often, in addition to praise, they receive more criticism. At the time of the competitions, in addition to the running of the Games, the whole world is focused on the state system, the country's foreign policy and the specific problems within the country itself. This is also the case with the two Olympiads in China, where disagreements with Chinese domestic and foreign policy led to negative media coverage and protests or boycotts of the events by some countries. In this context, the thesis highlights China's different position in the world at the time of the Olympics: while the 2008 Olympics was China's attempt to show that it was an equal, modern member of the international community, in 2022 it did so as a high-tech superpower.
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