Nevertheless, London Olympic head Lord Sebastian Coe explained to the BBC: “It is very important to remember that actually by protecting these brands, by protecting the companies that have actually put money into the Games, we’re also protecting the taxpayer. Because if we don’t reach these targets, then actually the taxpayer is the guarantor of last resort.” The idea that brand policing actually protected British taxpayers was a crystalline articulation of celebration capitalism’s core: the public will bail out private companies when the going gets rough.

Jules Boykoff: The London 2012 “Schmoozathon”: Jules Boykoff on the London Olympics