We review the detection capabilities in the forward direction of the various LHC experiments together with the associated physics programme. A selection of measurements accessible with near-beam instrumentation in various sectors (and extensions) of the Standard Model (SM) is outlined, including QCD (diffractive and elastic scattering, low-x parton dynamics, hadronic Monte Carlos for cosmic-rays), electroweak processes in yy interactions, and Higgs physics (vector-boson-fusion and central exclusive production).
LHC; Forward detectors; p-p; Pb-Pb; QCD; Electroweak sector; Exclusive Higgs boson
