"L.A. has a long love affair with the Olympic Games and the Olympic movement. The legacies from the 1932 and 1984 Games still resonate across our great city, and they are part of the reason that 88% of Angelenos passionately support our bid" states L.A.'s 2024 bid book, which rather unusually helped win them the rights to the '28 Games owing to the lack of other willing host cities. That they were awarded the '28 Games despite bidding for '24 demonstrates the IOC's eagerness to get a host booked in, and the issues the Olympic movement is once more facing following the financially disastrous 2016 Rio Summer Games and 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics.

Looking back at images of the 1984 Olympics, you wouldn't think that it was designed at a cut price. Huge orange scaffolds featuring teal and silver-colored spheres towered above venues. Rows of yellow gazebos sat atop purple and mint green columns. Sonotubes all over California lined streets, sporting locations, entry gates: some circled with simple, contrasting hoops; others splattered with baby blue and vibrant orange, Pollock-style; others adorned with brightly colored stars or pastel pictograms, a twist on Games previous. This was Olympic psychedelia, a gleeful '80s aesthetic which underlined the complementary power of sport, culture and art.

The Olympic Village is now an accepted part of the Olympic tradition, with its inter-athlete promiscuity, lavish banquets and state of the art accommodation. However, it hasn't always been that way.

“Will it be hard to find, do you reckon?” asks my friend Ben Coakley as he drives us through the rolling hills of southern Wales. The answer, we soon discover, is no. Half an hour north of Cardiff, we catch sight of our destination with ease: an imposing concrete structure that dominates a central location in the village of Nelson. More than 150 years old, it’s the last sports venue of its kind.

This article is the first in a four-part series exploring Los Angeles' architectural relationship with the Olympics. It will chronicle how the Olympics affected L.A.'s built environment, how L.A. impacted Olympic traditions from 1932 to 1984 and how these have changed L.A.'s approach to 2028.

For nearly a decade, scientists at Monterey Bay’s Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) have studied the topography and ecology of Sur Ridge, an underwater expanse the size of Manhattan located 37 miles off the coast of California. While Sur Ridge, a submarine seamount made up of a series of peaks and valleys, had been known to scientists for decades, its abundant potential for aquatic life wasn’t realized until recently.

Twitch has become synonymous with competitive esports. Prior to its incarnation in 2011, esports comprised a decentralized and confusing ecosystem without a streaming hub for fans and gaming enthusiasts. While Twitch solved that problem, its sheer dominance in the space is giving rise to a new one — profitability.

Chess has captured the imagination of humans for centuries due to its strategic beauty—an objective, board-based testament to the power of mortal intuition. Twenty-five years ago Wednesday, though, human superiority on a chessboard was seriously threatened for the first time.

Renaissance Italy was full of new ideas; cultural and economic rebirth; and artistic fervor, and it produced some of the most notable scientific work Europe had seen for centuries. It was also a time of syphilis. The first recorded outbreak occurred in 1494/95 in the city of Naples, after which it spread rapidly throughout Europe. As a physician in Verona, Girolamo Fracastoro observed the mortifying effects of the disease firsthand.

We sat down (virtually) with the Astralis CCO to talk esports, branding, and the future of the industry.

Request for UN investigation comes after months of alleged harassment, arrests, and abductions by Saudi forces. Saudi Arabia’s al-Huwaitat tribe has sent an urgent communication to the United Nations calling for an investigation into allegations of forced displacement and abuse by Saudi authorities. The request, submitted in late September, comes after months of alleged harassment, arrests, and abductions by Saudi forces apparently due to the tribe’s refusal to relocate to facilitate the government's mega-project, NEOM.

On June 29, Riot Games published the following statement on their website. “It’s been a year of breaking new ground so far — to continue that trend, the LEC is excited to announce NEOM as a Main Partner for Summer 2020.” New ground was indeed broken. Fans of the LEC, or “League of Legends” European Championship, voiced their outrage over the partnership with the Saudi Arabian planned city project. Those working on the league’s broadcast organized a unanimous strike. Sixteen hours later, Riot backed out of the deal.

Football has always been entangled with notions of national identity. It’s not a simple relationship, nor a consistent one, but its unitary power is a big part of what makes the international game so special. Whilst most of us associate international matches with poorly sung anthems, flags protruding from car roofs and hotly contested debates about XI inclusions, for others even being considered an international football team is a gratifying and validating experience.

Since the start of the century, and in particular within the last decade, Qatar has taken steps to establish itself as a sporting nation as part of a wider drive to improve its international profile. A huge part of this drive has been its focus on the footballing sphere. The Qatari approach to ‘football diplomacy’ can be broken down into three core elements which serve complementary purposes on the global stage.

Turki Al-Sheikh’s footballing ventures have been nothing if not eventful. After being named head of the Saudi General Sports Authority in August 2017, the Mohammed Bin Salman confidant strode into Egyptian football in December of the same year, becoming honorary president of Al-Ahly SC. Al-Ahly, the most historically successful club in Africa, were looking for external financial backing. Sources differ on the reasons for this; some claim Al-Ahly were in significant financial difficulties for th

Nearly two years have passed since the 2018 World Cup, and establishing the overall outcome is a difficult task. Firstly, the tournament has reason to be remembered fondly by fans: exciting, attractive football, a strong home team, and a few surprises (Germany’s early exit, Croatia’s run to the final and Russia’s elimination of Spain certainly stick in the memory). That coupled with the introduction of VAR ensured the tournament proved entertaining. From the Kremlin’s perspective this helped dem

Esports is the industry of competitive sports video gaming, and it’s a burgeoning sector. Games such as League of Legends, FIFA and CS:GO regularly draw in thousands of viewers interested in watching professional gamers battle it out on a competitive stage. Esports journalism, however, remains a fairly unturned stone compared with traditional sports journalism.

That the European Games in Belarus received little press coverage in the UK will be a relief to human rights organisations across the continent. The tournament in Minsk was the 2nd instalment of the Games, the hosting criterion of which seems to consist of undemocratic principles and authoritarian regimes.

Over the last decade, Azerbaijan has turned towards sports diplomacy in order to improve its international reputation. It has hosted the 2015 European Games, sponsored Atlético Madrid’s shirts, witnessed Formula 1 races, and submitted bids for two Olympics. This year it will host the Europa League final; next year it will host some games of the European Championship. This comes in the midst of falling energy prices and widespread international condemnation of its treatment of the national press

In a 2007 speech to the International Olympic Committee, Vladimir Putin described Sochi as a “unique place”, where “on the seashore you can enjoy a fine spring day, but up in the mountains it’s winter”. Sochi is indeed unique. A city of contrast, caught between cultures and climates. The city’s area stretches from the foothills of the Caucasus Mountains to the edges of the Black Sea. On the boardwalk which lines its coast, nightclubs can be heard blasting tunes throughout holiday season. Nearby,