bl.uk > Sport & society home

The London Marathon

Sport & life

A wide ranging view of sport and the social issues raised by it.

Night time in London

Parliament & law

Explore the Olympics through the voices of parliament, legal writing and socio-legal research.

School sportsday race

Education

An examination of teaching and learning within the formal educational environment.

A rally

Politics & protest

Why do national governments and governing bodies place such importance on hosting events and what do they hope to gain from them?

Canary Wharf at night [85KB]

Business & economics

A look at the evidence around the economic impact of hosting the Olympics and the opportunities the Olympics create for business.

man on a pig[11KB]

Food and the Games

Sport nutrition, a subset of nutritional science, is the study of nutrition and diet in relation to athletic performance. Our food studies curator, Polly Russell, looks at some of the issues confronting Olympians & Paralympians.

More about Food

detail of 1916 Olympic stamp[10KB]

A Historian in trainers

Dr Martin Polley describes his research into the Cotswold Olimpicks and the Much Wenlock Olympian Games and looks at the local factors which influenced these festivals. He also dares to give it a try as a competitor!

More history

Beijing Olympic tower[10KB]

Olympism in China

Professor Ruotao of the University of Physical Education & Sports in Beijing discusses the Chinese interpretation of the Olympic values from 1978-2008.

More politics

Contribute to the Library

Calling all publishers! We need your London 2012 publications - printed and electronic - for the researchers of the future. Learn about what the British Library, and other libraries and archives are doing to collect the Olympic Games published legacy, and how you can help.

Find out more

Social sciences at the British Library

Find out more