One of the supposed objectives of the 2012 Olympics is to stimulate greater participation by the general public in sport. However, another even more pressing concern is the final medal table and Britain’s place in it. The National Audit Office recently got in on the act and produced a report (see attachment) on Britain’s strategy for increasing its medal tally at the Olympic Games.

The men's international tennis circuit will end with a prestigious final in London from 2009 under a four-year contract announced on Wednesday. The Masters Cup, staged in Shanghai for the last two years, is being renamed the ATP World Tour Final and is being switched to London's O2 Arena, formerly known as the Millennium Dome.

In late November, the leader of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) suggested to Britain's House of Commons that legislation should be passed prior to the 2012 Olympic Games that will make doping a punishable crime.

Children's sport is to lose out as clubs across the UK are denied £340 million of lottery grants to divert funds to the Olympics. The money, normally destined for thousands of small organisations, will instead be used to pay for 2012 projects, including a velodrome and an aquatic centre with two swimming pools and a diving pool.

It is a busy time for the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Gordon Brown. Yesterday the report he commissioned on climate change was published and last week he made a major foray into the world of sport. In an article headlined 'My fight to get Britain fit for the Olympics', he told of his own good fortune to have attended primary and secondary schools that had sport at the heart of their ethos.

THERE is a pernicious myth surrounding the Olympic Games. We have convinced ourselves that it is a gleaming symbol of meritocracy, a place where sportsmen and women achieve through talent rather than privilege.