Modern Olympic Games are probably the biggest international sporting event in which thousands of athletes from around the globe participate. More than 200 countries participate in Olympic Games which are held every four years. Modern Olympics are the fruit of inspiration got from ancient Olympic Games, which were held from the 8th century BC to the 4th century AD in Olympia, Greece.
LIST OF THE PRESIDENTS OF IOC | ||
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Demetrius Vikelas Baron de Coubertin Baillet-Latour Sigfrid Edström Avery BrundagE Lord Killanin Samaranch Jacques Rogge Thomas Bach |
Greece Switzerland Belgium Sweden United States United Kingdom Spain Belgium Germany |
1894–1896 1896–1925 1925–1942 1942–1952 1952–1972 1972–1980 1980–2001 2001–2013 2013– |
Ancient Olympic Games
Modern Olympic Games
Forerunners
In 17th century, various athletic events are described as the term “Olympic”. Events were organized with the name of Cotswold Olimpick Games by a lawyer Robert Dover.
‘L’Olympiade de la République’ was also a national Olympic festival held annually from 1796 to 1798 in France. In 1796 Games first time the metric system was implemented into sports.
In 19th century, William Penny Brookes brought Wenlock Olympian Games in 1859 and founded Wenlock Olympian Society on 15 November 1860.
Between 1862 and 1867, John Hulley and Charles Melly brought an annual Grand Olympic Games Festival in Liverpool, first to be wholly amateur and international in outlook.
Revival
Greek interest in reviving the Olympic Games began in 1821 with the Greek War of Independence. Evangelos Zappas first wrote to King Otto, in 1856, offering to fund and start the Olympic Games. Zappas sponsored the first Modern Olympic Games in 1859, which were held at Athens, Greece.
Baron Pierre de Coubertin presented various ideas during the first Olympic Congress of the newly created International Olympic Committee in June 1894 at University of Paris. That meeting final that the first Modern Olympic Games would held under the umbrella of IOC in Athens in 1896. I.O.C. headquarters at Lausanne, Switzerland.
List of Sports / Games
LIST OF THE SPORTS INCLUDED IN OLYMPICS | ||
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Archery Athletics Badminton Baseball Basketball Basque pelota Boxing Canoeing and kayaking Cricket Sport climbing Croquet Cycling Diving Equestrian Fencing Football Golf |
Gymnastics Handball Hockey (field) Jeu de paume Judo Karate Lacrosse Modern pentathlon Polo Rackets Rhythmic gymnastics Roque Rowing Rugby union Rugby sevens Sailing Shooting |
Skateboarding Softball Surfing Swimming Synchronized Swimming Table tennis Taekwondo Tennis Trampoline Triathlon Tug of war Volleyball Water motorsports Water Polo Weightlifting Wrestling |
Changes and Adaptations
For being the first time in 1900 (Paris Games) women took part in Olympics, however, those games did not have a stadium.
Summer Games
Below in the table, you can find basic statistics of Summer Olympic Games or popularly known just as Olympic Games.
S. No. | Year | Host | Nations | Athletes | Sports | Toper | ||||||||
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1st | 1896 | Athens, Greece | 14 | 241 | 9 | United States | ||||||||
2nd | 1900 | Paris, France | 24 | 997 | 19 | France | ||||||||
3rd | 1904 | St. Louis, United States | 12 | 651 | 16 | United States | ||||||||
4th | 1908 | London, United Kingdom | 22 | 2008 | 22 | Great Britain | ||||||||
5th | 1912 | Stockholm, Sweden | 28 | 2407 | 14 | United States | ||||||||
6th | 1916 | Berlin | Cancelled due to First World War | |||||||||||
7th | 1920 | Antwerp, Belgium | 29 | 2626 | 22 | United States | ||||||||
8th | 1924 | Paris, France | 44 | 3089 | 17 | United States | ||||||||
9th | 1928 | Amsterdam, Netherlands | 46 | 2883 | 14 | United States | ||||||||
10th | 1932 | Los Angeles, United States | 37 | 1332 | 14 | United States | ||||||||
11th | 1936 | Berlin, Germany | 49 | 3963 | 19 | Germany | ||||||||
12th | 1940 | Tokyo / Helsinki | Cancelled due to Second World War | |||||||||||
13th | 1944 | London | Cancelled due to Second World War | |||||||||||
14th | 1948 | London, United Kingdom | 59 | 4104 | 17 | United States | ||||||||
15th | 1952 | Helsinki, Finland | 69 | 4955 | 17 | United States | ||||||||
16th | 1956 | Melbourne, Australia | 72 | 3314 | 17 | Soviet Union | ||||||||
17th | 1960 | Rome, Italy | 83 | 5338 | 17 | Soviet Union | ||||||||
18th | 1964 | Tokyo, Japan | 93 | 5151 | 19 | United States | ||||||||
19th | 1968 | Mexico City, Mexico | 112 | 5516 | 18 | United States | ||||||||
20th | 1972 | Munich, West Germany | 121 | 7134 | 21 | Soviet Union | ||||||||
21st | 1976 | Montreal, Canada | 92 | 6084 | 21 | Soviet Union | ||||||||
22nd | 1980 | Moscow, Soviet Union | 80 | 5179 | 21 | Soviet Union | ||||||||
23rd | 1984 | Los Angeles, United States | 140 | 6829 | 21 | United States | ||||||||
24th | 1988 | Seoul, South Korea | 159 | 8391 | 23 | Soviet Union | ||||||||
25th | 1992 | Barcelona, Spain | 169 | 9356 | 25 | Unified Team | ||||||||
26th | 1996 | Atlanta, United States | 197 | 10318 | 26 | United States | ||||||||
27th | 2000 | Sydney, Australia | 199 | 10651 | 28 | United States | ||||||||
28th | 2004 | Athens, Greece | 201 | 10625 | 28 | United States | ||||||||
29th | 2008 | Beijing, China | 204 | 10942 | 28 | China | ||||||||
30th | 2012 | London, United Kingdom | 204 | 10768 | 26 | United States | ||||||||
31st | 2016 | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | 207 | 11303 | 28 | United States |
Winter Games
Winter Olympics were introduced to add snow and ice sports. Winter Games were celebrated every four years on the same year as their summer counterpart. After 1992 Games, the Winter Olympics were held two years after each Summer Olympics. Below in the table, you can find basic statistics of Winter Olympic Games.
S. No. | Year | Host | Nations | Athletes | Sports | Topper | ||||||||
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1st | 1924 | Chamonix, France | 16 | 258 | 6 | Norway | ||||||||
2nd | 1928 | St. Moritz, Switzerland | 25 | 464 | 4 | Norway | ||||||||
3rd | 1932 | Lake Placid, United States | 17 | 252 | 4 | United States | ||||||||
4th | 1936 | Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany | 28 | 646 | 4 | Norway | ||||||||
— | 1940 | Sapporo, Japan | Cancelled due to Second World War | |||||||||||
— | 1944 | Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy | Cancelled due to Second World War | |||||||||||
5th | 1948 | St. Moritz, Switzerland | 28 | 669 | 4 | Norway, Sweden | ||||||||
6th | 1952 | Oslo, Norway | 30 | 694 | 4 | Norway | ||||||||
7th | 1956 | Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy | 32 | 821 | 4 | Soviet Union | ||||||||
8th | 1960 | Squaw Valley, United States | 30 | 665 | 4 | Soviet Union | ||||||||
9th | 1964 | Innsbruck, Austria | 36 | 1091 | 6 | Soviet Union | ||||||||
10th | 1968 | Grenoble, France | 37 | 1158 | 6 | Norway | ||||||||
11th | 1972 | Sapporo, Japan | 35 | 1006 | 6 | Soviet Union | ||||||||
12th | 1976 | Innsbruck, Austria | 37 | 1123 | 6 | Soviet Union | ||||||||
13th | 1980 | Lake Placid, United States | 37 | 1072 | 6 | Soviet Union | ||||||||
14th | 1984 | Sarajevo, Yugoslavia | 49 | 1272 | 6 | East Germany | ||||||||
15th | 1988 | Calgary, Canada | 57 | 1423 | 6 | Soviet Union | ||||||||
16th | 1992 | Albertville, France | 64 | 1801 | 6 | Germany | ||||||||
17th | 1994 | Lillehammer, Norway | 67 | 1737 | 6 | Russia | ||||||||
18th | 1998 | Nagano, Japan | 72 | 2176 | 7 | Germany | ||||||||
19th | 2002 | Salt Lake City, United States | 78 | 2399 | 7 | Norway | ||||||||
20th | 2006 | Turin, Italy | 80 | 2508 | 7 | Germany | ||||||||
21st | 2010 | Vancouver, Canada | 82 | 2566 | 7 | Canada | ||||||||
22nd | 2014 | Sochi, Russia | 88 | 2873 | 7 | Russia |
Paralympics
In 1960 Olympics, Sir Ludwig Guttmann brought 400 athletes to compete in the “Parallel Olympics”, which became known as Paralympics. Since then, the Paralympics have been held in every Olympic year.
Youth Games
In 2010, Youth Games were added in Olympics. Athletes between the ages of 14 and 18 got the chance to compete. The Youth Olympic Games were conceived by Jacques Rogge in 2001 and approved during the 119th Congress of IOC. First Summer Youth Games were held in Singapore in 2001, while inaugural Winter Games were hosted in Innsbruck, Austria, in 2003. These Games are shorter than the senior Games. Summer version of Youth Games lasts for twelve days, while the winter version completes in nine days. 3,500 athletes and 875 officials can participate in Summer Youth Games. 970 athletes and 580 officials are allowed to take participate in Winter Youth Games.
Olympic Movement
The Olympic Movement encompasses a large number of sports organizations, media partners, as well as athletes, officials & judges etc. French and English are the official languages of Olympic Movement. The other language used at each Olympic Game is the language of host country. Every proclamation (such as announcements) is made in these languages. The Olympic Movement is made of three major elements:
- International Federations, for example, International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) is the IF for association football. There are currently 35 IFs in the Olympic Movement, representing each of the Olympic sports.
- National Olympic Committees, for example, Indian Olympic Association (IOA) is the NOC of India. There are currently 205 NOCs recognised by the IOC.
- Organising Committees for Olympic Games: OCOGs are dissolved after each Games once the final report is delivered to the IOC.
Olympic Symbols
The Olympic Flag
Olympic flag consists of five intertwined rings and represents the unity of five inhabited continents of Africa, Americas, Asia, Australia and Europe. The colors of rings of flag were chosen because every nation had at least one of them on its national flag. The flag was adopted in 1914.
The Olympic Motto
The Olympic motto is Citius, Altius, Fortius meaning that “Faster, Higher, Stronger” was proposed by Pierre de Coubertin in 1894 and has been official since 1924. The motto was coined by Coubertin’s friend, Henri Didon, for a Paris youth gathering of 1891.
Olympic Ideal
Following lines are the Olympic ideals. These are expressed in Olympic creed:
The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win but to take part, just as the most important thing in life is not the triumph but the struggle. The essential thing is not to have conquered but to have fought well.
Olympic Mascot
The Olympic Mascot is an animal or human figure representing the cultural heritage of the host country. It was introduced in Summer Olympics of 1968. Misha was first Olympic Mascot which reached to the international stardom.
Ceremonies
Opening Ceremony
With hoisting the national flag of host nation, Opening Ceremony starts. The national anthem of host country is also played. Then some cultural programs from the host country are performed. Then nation-wise athletes’ parade starts. Greece is traditionally the first nation to enter in parade. This is done to give honor the origins of Olympics. Finally, the Olympic torch is brought into the stadium and often a successful Olympic athlete of host country, lights the Olympic flame.
Closing Ceremony
When all sporting events have concluded, Closing Ceremony takes place. Flag-bearers enter the stadium. Three national flags are hoisted while the corresponding national anthems are played. The flags are concern to current host; Greece, to honor the birthplace of the Olympic; and next host of Summer or Winter Olympic Games. Then presidents of the organizing committee and IOC gives their closing speeches and Games are officially closed. Then Olympic flame is extinguished.
Medal Presentation Ceremonies
After the successful conclusion of each Olympic event, medal ceremony is held. Winner, Runner-up and Third-placed competitors or teams stand on top of a three-tiered rostrum to get their respective medals. Gold medal goes to Winner, Silver medal goes to Runner-up and Third-placed athlete gets bronze medal. An IOC member awards the Medals and national flags of three medalists are raised. National anthem of gold medalist’s country also played.