Today, Varna on the Bulgarian coast is a destination for clubbers, but 50 years ago this week, the first Olympic Congress to be held in 43 years was about to begin.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) are set to meet virtually next week for the first time "to respect the measures being implemented to contain the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic."

The grand opening of any International Olympic Committee (IOC) session is normally largely ceremonial, with speeches often full of pleasantries and platitudes.

One way or another, Russian sport is set to dominate the headlines over the next few months.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) Session in Lima, due to open on Wednesday (September 13), is the third time the "Olympic family" has met in South America in the last four years but in truth it is really making up for lost time. 

You might easily have missed it, but 2017 will bring the 50th anniversary of the birth of SportAccord - or the Global Association of International Sports Federations, as we may soon have to get used to calling it.

This weekend found me struggling to resurrect my cricket skills in a stunningly verdant corner of Leicestershire barely six miles from the now internationally famous King Power Stadium.

Almaty and Beijing are entering the home straight of the contest to the 2022 Winter Olympic Games. The election in Kuala Lumpur will be the first two-horse race in an Olympic host city election for 34 years.