Athletes’ parade on August 23rd, during communism in Romania: the genealogy of control

Purpose This article examines how the concepts that shaped the communist discourse were visually represented during the athletes’ parades celebrating Romania’s national day from 1953 to 1989. Design/methodology/approach To understand how communist ideology operated, this study utilizes discourse analysis, focusing on the use of metaphors as a means to construct reality. By extending beyond the linguistic domain, discourse analysis can be applied to various fields and purposes. This research employs the Foucauldian Discourse Analysis method to explore how communist power influenced and controlled the visual narrative in the athletes’ parades. Findings The analysis reveals that the core ideas within the communist sports discourse were simple, repetitive and universal. Key concepts such as mass participation in sports, Olympic sports and the Institute of Physical Education and Sports were closely intertwined, helping to reinforce the regime’s message about sports achievements. In the later years of communism, nationalism increasingly dominated the discourse surrounding mass sports. Moreover, Nicolae Ceausescu’s personality cult began to influence the narrative, altering the feedback athletes were expected to deliver during the parades on August 23rd. Research limitations/implications The research highlights how remnants of the former communist system continue to linger, impeding the creation of new frameworks and ideas within the field of sports in post-communist Romania. Practical implications The practical implications of this article consist in highlighting the fact that the communist dictatorship was also exercised through this type of manifestation, in which sport and athletes were tools that served the system. The mandatory character on the one hand but also the political, repetitive and monotonous messages transmitted during the parades, on the other hand, show us why this form of public manifestation can no longer be restarted in Romania, at least as far as sport and athletes are concerned. Originality/value This study is the first to explore the socio-historical dimensions of the August 23rd sports parades during Romania’s communist era, offering a unique perspective on how the regime used sports as a tool for ideological expression.