Analysis: In 2013, then-FIFA Secretary General Jérôme Valcke stated that “less democracy is sometimes better for organising a World Cup”. He reasoned that a “strong head of state” reduces organisational costs. Economist Matthias Fett looks at the numbers and tests this hypothesis.

Once again, a major sports event is met with criticism for being placed in a semi-authoritarian regime with bad human rights records. The EOC vice president defends the decision of awarding the European Games to Minsk but is ready to discuss how to implement broader human rights demands for countries hosting Olympic events.

While the recently initiated French investigtion into Japanese Olympic head Tsunekazu Takeda and his alleged corruption is unlikely to affect the Games themselves, it has not reflected well on Takeda.

There is no single global anti mega-event movement. There is, however, a globalized way of protesting against mega-events that adapts to local conditions, and anti-Olympic protesting is a ‘new normal’. This is how researchers John Lauermann and Dennis Pauschinger sum up the article series on public protests and mega-events.

Tsunekazu Takeda, president of the Japan Olympic Committee and chair of the IOC marketing commission is being investigated for ‘active corruption’, media reports.

Although anti-Olympics activists face an uphill struggle against Olympic intransigence, Jules Boykoff points to areas that could help convert the many moments of anti-Games activism into a full-throttle movement. This is the sixth article in a series looking into protests and the Games.

The historical roots and deeper conditions of the 'demonstrations cup' in Brazil in 2013 are essential for the understanding of the movement’s consequences, says Erick Omena. In this essay, he looks into the genealogy of the public protests in Brazil leading up to the FIFA Confederations Cup, the first of three mega sporting events held in the country from 2013-2016.

American cities have not had much tradition for anti-Olympic movements in spite of a series of Olympic bids in recent years. This might be changing, writes Greg Andranovich and Matthew J. Burbank in this article that analyses the current anti-Olympic movement in Los Angeles, which is based on public awareness and social justice.