This is the first Olympic and Paralympic Analysis report. It is a privilege to share this journey with contributors to this report: many of whom we know well, and many of whom we met through this collaboration. This project requires contributors to work at short notice and with very tight deadlines – during the holiday season for some. In this context, we were delighted with the response to our invitations to contribute and we are grateful for our contributors’ expertise and commitment throughout the project. 

For their financial support, we thank the Center for Sports Communication & Media at the University of Texas at Austin and the Centre for Comparative Politics and Media Research at Bournemouth University. 

We are also very grateful for the support of the International Communication Association (ICA) Sports Communication Special Interest Group and the International Association for Media and Communication Research (IAMCR Media), Communication and Sport Section, for mobilizing their members to participate in this report.