The Olympic protests over Russian anti-gay laws can soon be replaced by protests over Russian handling of the situation in Syria. The Syria-question has the potential to become the biggest political issue in the run-up to the Winter Olympic Games in Sochi in 2014 Syria in the UN Security Council

Currently, the IOC faces great international pressure because of Russia's new, strict anti-gay laws. Andreas Selliaas comments on the situation and on whether the IOC ought to take a greater political responsibility.

More and more sports wish to be included in the Olympic Games – an event that has already grown too big. IOC faces the dilemma of accepting more sports making the Olympics even more gigantesque or facing the risk of rival competitions. A way out of the dilemma could be the creation of the Olympic Spring Games, argues Jean-Loup Chappelet one year after the London 2012 Games.

Newly published reports on the London Olympics paint a positive picture of the impacts of the Games on the British economy.

The race between Istanbul, Madrid and Tokyo as Olympic hosts in 2020 promises to be as close and unpredictable as ever after the IOC's publication of the report on the strengths and weaknesses of the respective bids. In this article, David Gold takes a closer look at the IOC evaluation report.

The German IOC vice-president Thomas Bach stands out as clear favourite to become the next Olympic president at the elections in Buenos Aires on 10 September 2013. But recently German investigative journalist Jens Weinreich heard a whisper in the corridors: “ABB”. Read what it stands for in the first of two articles analysing the election of the next IOC president and the choice of the 2020 Olympic host city.

Analysis: Several scandals centring around Brazil’s Olympic president and Rio 2016 chairman, Carlos Nuzman, is creating unrest regarding Brazil’s image and internal dispute between the government and the Brazilian Olympic Committee

A new report on gender balance in Olympic competitions and leadership gives recommendations on how to further reduce the gender imbalance that research finds to exist in the Olympic movement.