The Olympic Games are an international sports festival that began in Ancient Greece. The original Greek games were staged every fourth year for several hundred years, until they were abolished in the early Christian era. The revival of the Olympic Games took place in 1896, and since then they have been staged every fourth year, except during World War I and World War II (1916, 1940, 1944).
Perhaps the basic difference between the ancient and modern Olympics is that the former was the ancient Greeks’ way of saluting their gods, whereas the modern Games are a manner of saluting the athletic talents of citizens of all nations
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The original Olympics featured competition in music, oratory, and theater performances as well. The modern Games have a more expansive athletic agenda, and for 2 and a half weeks they are supposed to replace the rancor of international conflict with friendly competition. In recent times, however, that lofty ideal has not always been attained.
The first Olympic game held in ATHENS in 1896.
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The ATHENS games were the first occurrence of the modern Olympic games. The inaugural games of the modern Olympics were attended by as many as 280 atletes, from 12 countries. But all the athletes were male,
The athletes competed in 43 events covering athletics
Cycling
Swimming
Gymnastics
Weightlifting
Wrestling
Fencing
Shooting
Tennis
There are 35 different sports, 53 disciplines and more than 400 events including in The Modern Olympics such as
- 3×3 basketball
- Archery
- Artistic Gymnastics
- Artistic Swimming
- Athletics
- Badminton
- Baseball/Softball
- Basketball
- Beach Volleyball
- Boxing
- Canoe Slalom
- Canoe Sprint
- Cycling BMX Freestyle
- Cycling BMX Racing
- Cycling Mountain Bike
- Cycling Road
- Cycling Track
- Diving
- Equestrian
- Fencing
- Football
- Golf
- Handball
- Hockey
- Judo
- Karate
- Marathon Swimming
- Modern Pentathlon
- Rhythmic Gymnastics
- Rowing
- Rugby
- Sailing
- Shooting
- Skateboarding
- Sport Climbing
- Surfing
- Swimming
- Table Tennis
- Taekwondo
- Tennis
- Trampoline Gymnastics
- Triathlon
- Volleyball
- Water Polo
- Weightlifting
- Wrestling
Nations are not chosen to host, Cities are. They generally must arrange a federal support for the games (that would be city, county, region or state, and National support), but arranging and maintaining that support is a role of the Olympic Organizing Committee. The OOC signs the contract with the International Olympic Committee. They receive the money and they put on the games. The generally must have the support of the various levels of government in order to be awarded the games.
Now, the requirements for a city are that they must be able to convince the IOC that they will be able to successfully stage the games, demonstrate government support, show a level of preparedness that preexists the bid, have a plan for development of the facilities that are necessary for the games, and Create an Olympic Legacy (a long standing benefit to the city, region, and nation for having staged the Olympics).
LIST OF OLYMPIC HOST CITIES
Summer Olympic Games
- 1896 Athens, Greece
- 1900 Paris, France
- 1904 St. Louis, United States
- 1908 London, England
- 1912 Stockholm, Sweden
- 1916 Cancelled (WWI – Berlin had been awarded)
- 1920 Antwerp, Belgium
- 1924 Paris, France
- 1928 Amsterdam, Netherlands
- 1932 Los Angeles, United States
- 1936 Berlin, Germany
- 1940 Cancelled (WWII – Tokyo had been awarded)
- 1944 Cancelled (WWII – London had been awarded)
- 1948 London, England
- 1952 Helsinki, Finland
- 1956 Melbourne, Australia
- 1960 Rome, Italy
- 1964 Tokyo, Japan
- 1968 Mexico City, Mexico
- 1972 Munich, West Germany
- 1976 Montreal, Canada
- 1980 Moscow, Soviet Union
- 1984 Los Angeles, United States
- 1988 Seoul, South Korea
- 1992 Barcelona, Spain
- 1996 Atlanta, United States
- 2000 Sydney, Australia
- 2004 Athens, Greece
- 2008 Beijing, China
- 2012 London, England
- 2016 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- 2020 Tokyo, Japan (postponed to 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic)
- 2024 Paris, France
- 2028 Los Angeles, United States
- 2032 Brisbane, Australia
Winter Olympic Games
- 1924 Chamonix, France
- 1928 St. Moritz, Switzerland
- 1932 Lake Placid, United States
- 1936 Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany
- 1940 Cancelled (WWII – Sapporo had been awarded)
- 1944 Cancelled (WWII – Cortina d’Ampezzo had been awarded)
- 1948 St. Moritz, Switzerland
- 1952 Oslo, Norway
- 1956 Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy
- 1960 Squaw Valley, United States
- 1964 Innsbruck, Austria
- 1968 Grenoble, France
- 1972 Sapporo, Japan
- 1976 Innsbruck, Austria
- 1980 Lake Placid, United States
- 1984 Sarajevo, Yugoslavia
- 1988 Calgary, Canada
- 1992 Albertville, France
- 1994 Lillehammer, Norway
- 1998 Nagano, Japan
- 2002 Salt Lake City, United States
- 2006 Turin, Italy
- 2010 Vancouver, Canada
- 2014 Sochi, Russia
- 2018 Pyeongchang, South Korea
- 2022 Beijing, China
- 2026 Milan – Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy
THE OLYMPIC FLAG
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The interlocking rings of the Olympic flag was created by Baron Pierre de Coubertin, the co-founder of the modern Olympic games. The five rings represented the five participating continents of the time: Africa, Asia, America, Europe, and Oceania. While the colors of the five rings, blue, yellow, black, green, and red together with the white background of the flag could compose the colors of every nation’s flag at the time of its inception as the official Olympic symbol in 1915. This is what the inventor, Baron Pierre de Coubertin, had to say about his Olympic symbol in 1931.
“The Olympic flag has a white background, with five interlaced rings in the center: blue, yellow, black, green and red. This design is symbolic; it represents the five continents of the world, united by Olympism, while the six colours are those that appear on all the national flags of the world at the present time.”
The first ever Olympic Flag was presented to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) at the 1920 Summer Olympics in Antwerp, Belgium. This flag was lost after the 1920 games and replaced for the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris, and that same flag flew over the Summer Olympic games until 1988 when it was retired. In 1997, the original “Antwerp Flag” was discovered in Hal Prieste’s suitcase and returned to the IOC in a ceremony at the 2000 Sydney Olympics by a 103-year-old Prieste.
The International Olympic Committee
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The International Olympic Committee is the guardian of the Olympic Games and the leader of the Olympic Movement.
At the Congress of Paris in 1894, the control and development of the modern Olympic Games were entrusted to the International Olympic Committee (Comité International Olympique). During World War I Coubertin moved its headquarters to Lausanne, Switzerland,
Where they have remained. The IOC is responsible for maintaining the regular celebration of the Olympic Games, seeing that the Games are carried out in the spirit that inspired their revival, and promoting the development of sports throughout the world. The original committee in 1894 consisted of 14 members and Coubertin.
IOC members are regarded as ambassadors from the committee to their national sports organizations. They are in no sense delegates to the committee and may not accept, from the government of their country or from any organization or individual, any instructions that in any way affect their independence.
The IOC is a permanent organization that elects its own members. Reforms in 1999 set the maximum membership at 115, of whom 70 are individuals, 15 current Olympic athletes, 15 national Olympic committee presidents, and 15 international sports federation presidents. The members are elected to renewable eight-year terms, but they must retire at age 70. Term limits were also applied to future presidents.
The IOC elects its president for a period of eight years, at the end of which the president is eligible for reelection for further periods of four years each. The executive board of 15 members holds periodic meetings with the international federations and national Olympic committees. The IOC as a whole, and a meeting can be convened at any time that one-third of the members so request. And The Olympic Committee is the guardian of the Olympic Games and the leader of the Olympic Movement
2020 OLYMPICS
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Tokyo was selected as the host city during the 125th IOC session in in Buenos Aires Argentina, on 7 September 2013. Originally scheduled to take place from 24 July to 9 August 2020, the event was postponed in March 2020 as a result of the COVID 19
The 2020 Summer Olympic Games take place between 23 July and 8 August.
The Paralympic Games are due to run between 24 August and 5 September.
The Games were postponed last year because of Covid.
The Olympics will feature
33 sports
At 339 events
Across 42 venues
The Paralympics will feature
22 sports
At 539 events
Across 21 venues
Image from “Wikipedia”
Most events are in the Greater Tokyo area, although some football games and the marathon will take place in the northern city of Sapporo.
In 2020 JAPAN facing complications due to the global Covid-19 pandemic. In late July, approximately 11,000 athletes and 4,000 athletic support staff will gather for more than two weeks of competition at various hosting cities. Another 5,000 athletes will attend the Paralympics, In that case it was a very dangerous situation, but postpone the event is not the only way to fight agents covid 19. According to the Tokyo 2020 Playbooks, which were developed by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the International Paralympic Committee and the Tokyo 2020 Organizing Committee to ensure that all participants and spectators remain safe and healthy during the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, The OIC inform both spectators and athletes should take responsibilities to supply their own face coverings and are advised to be vaccinated against Covid-19 before the Games begin.
Some of Japan’s most senior advisers on the Covid-19 pandemic have warned that allowing millions of spectators at the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics will facilitate the spread of the virus both domestically and internationally. On the one hand, that was right, But postponed the games is not the only to fight against the Covid 19. The Olympics were originally scheduled to take place in 2020 but were postponed for a year because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Finally after a long delay Officially, the 2020 Summer Olympic Games take place between 23 July and 8 August, but the first events have already begun. The Paralympic Games are due to run between 24 August and 5 September
“The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not winning but taking part; the essential thing in life is not conquering but fighting well.”
– Pierre de Coubertin (primarily responsible for the revival of the Olympic Games in 1894)
