This year’s hosting of the Winter Olympics and the Football World Cup by, respectively, China and Qatar – both authoritarian states – has sparked debate about the influence of politics in sport. A look at history shows that sport and politics have always gone hand in hand.

If you want to understand what doing sport is all about in this country, it’s worth taking a look at the historical influence of gymnastics.

Seeing and being seen is an important social aspect of sport. At one time, this was a particularly notable feature of tennis.

How a traditional game from Scotland became a glamour sport in Switzerland, and then went back to being a traditional game ‘of the people’: A brief history of curling in Switzerland

Bobsleighing started out as an activity to keep well-to-do foreign tourists entertained. It wasn’t until much later that the sport became popular among the Swiss as well.

For years, Switzerland has celebrated itself as a nation of skiers. Where does this self-image come from? Is it more of a myth, or more of a reality?