Although the fight for independence by ethnic minorities has received much attention recently, there is no study of how globalized sport in its most advanced form can help to stimulate it. This book shows how the 1992 Olympic Games raised the tension that already existed between Catalonia and Spain. John Hargreaves analyzes and explains the way in which the conflict developed and eventually was resolved in terms of the special characteristics of Catalan nationalism, the nature of the new Spanish democracy and the special role played by the International Olympic Committee.