Olympic Games

The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; French: Jeux olympiques) are the world's biggest international sporting events. They have summer and winter sports where athletes from over 200 countries compete every four years. The Games started long ago in Olympia, Greece, and the modern version began in Athens in 1896, led by Baron Pierre de Coubertin.

Today, the Olympics have many sports and special traditions like the Olympic flag, Olympic flame, and torch relay. Many athletes join the Games, and winners receive gold, silver, or bronze Olympic medals.

The Games help countries work together and share cultures. They are a great chance for athletes to earn fame and for cities to show what they are like.

Ancient Olympics

Main article: Ancient Olympic Games

The Ancient Olympic Games were big sports events held every four years in Olympia, Greece to honor the god Zeus. They began in 776 BC and had many kinds of competitions like running, wrestling, and chariot racing. At first, only some people could join, but later anyone who spoke Greek could compete.

These games were also important religious festivals. Winners were celebrated with poems and statues, and they often got gifts from their towns. The games stopped in 393 AD when a Roman emperor decided to end all such festivals.

Modern Games

See also: List of Olympic Games host cities

Many events in the past used the name "Olympic" for sports competitions. The first was the Cotswold Games, or "Cotswold Olimpick Games", held near Chipping Campden, England, from 1612 to 1642.

The Olympic Games started again in Athens in 1896. Athletes from 14 countries came together. Since then, the Olympics have grown into the world's biggest sports event. Thousands of athletes from over 200 teams compete every four years. There are Summer and Winter Games. They show many sports and help countries compete in a friendly way.

International Olympic Committee

See also: International Olympic Committee

The Olympic Movement has many parts, like sports groups and people who follow Olympic rules. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) picks the host city, plans the Games, and updates the list of sports.

The Olympic Movement has three main parts:

• International Federations (IFs) manage each sport around the world. For example, FIFA manages football, and the Fédération Internationale de Volleyball manages volleyball.
• National Olympic Committees (NOCs) represent the Olympics in each country. For example, the Hellenic Olympic Committee is Greece's NOC.
• Organising Committees for the Olympic Games plan each Olympic event and dissolve after the Games end.

French and English are the official languages of the Olympics. The host country's language is also used. In March 2025, Kirsty Coventry became the first woman and first African to lead the IOC. She wants the Olympics to bring countries together through sports.

Commercialisation

The Olympic Games have had business partnerships since the first 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens. Companies like Kodak paid to advertise. Over time, more companies joined in, such as Coca-Cola, which has been a sponsor since the 1928 Summer Olympics.

As the Games grew, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) began managing these partnerships. This started in the 1970s. The 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles made a lot of money through special deals with companies. The IOC created a program called The Olympic Programme (TOP) in 1985. This let big companies advertise worldwide with the Olympic symbol, the five interlocking rings.

Television also became important. The 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin were the first to be shown on TV, but only locally. Later, the 1956 Winter Olympics were shown internationally. As TV grew, the IOC sold the rights to show the Games. Companies like NBC paid to show the Games, and this money helped fund the Olympics. Today, TV and business partnerships are key to the Olympic Games.

Symbols

Main article: Olympic symbols

The Olympic Games use special symbols to show their ideas and values. The most famous symbol is the Olympic rings—five connected rings that stand for the unity of the world's continents: Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe, and Oceania. The rings’ colors—blue, yellow, black, green, and red—are on the Olympic flag, and these colors were chosen because nearly every country uses at least one of them on their flag. This flag was first used in 1920 and is raised at every Olympic event.

The Olympic motto, Citius, Altius, Fortius, means "Faster, Higher, Stronger" and reminds athletes to do their best. Before the Games begin, a special flame is lit in Olympia using sunlight and then carried by runners to the host city, where it becomes part of the opening ceremony. Each Games also has a mascot, like an animal or a special figure, that represents the host country’s culture and adds fun to the events.

Ceremonies

The Olympic Games have special opening and closing ceremonies that celebrate sports and bring together athletes from around the world. The opening ceremony happens on a Friday before the sports begin. Important guests enter the stadium, followed by performances showing the host country's culture. Athletes then march in, with Greece always entering first to honor the origins of the Olympics. Speeches are given to officially start the Games, and the Olympic torch is carried into the stadium to light a special flame.

The closing ceremony happens on a Sunday after all the events are done. Athletes enter together, and flags from the current host country, Greece, and the next host country are shown. Speeches are given to end the Games, and the Olympic flame is put out. The final medals for the Games are also awarded during the closing ceremony, honoring the top three athletes in the last event.

Sports

Main article: Olympic sports

The Olympic Games programme has many different sports and events. For example, wrestling is a Summer Olympic sport with two types: Greco-Roman and Freestyle. The Summer Olympics have 26 sports, and the Winter Olympics have 15 sports. Some sports, like athletics, swimming, and fencing, have always been in the Summer Olympics.

Olympic sports are managed by special groups called international sports federations, approved by the IOC. These groups help keep the sports fair and safe. Over time, new sports like badminton and basketball have joined the Olympics, while some older sports have left. The IOC checks the sports often to decide which ones should be in future Games.

Controversies

Main article: List of Olympic Games scandals and controversies

Boycotts

Main article: List of Olympic Games boycotts

Australia, France, Greece, Switzerland and the United Kingdom are the only countries to be represented at every Olympic Games since their start in 1896. Sometimes countries miss an Olympics because they don’t have enough qualified athletes. Other times, they choose not to attend for different reasons. The Olympic Council of Ireland decided not to join the 1936 Berlin Games, because the IOC said its team could only represent the Irish Free State and not all of Ireland.

There were three boycotts of the 1956 Melbourne Olympics: the Netherlands, Spain, and Switzerland chose not to attend because of what happened in Hungary involving the Soviet Union. They did send horse riders to a separate event in Stockholm. Cambodia, Egypt, Iraq, and Lebanon boycotted because of a disagreement called the Suez Crisis. The People's Republic of China did not attend because of athletes from Taiwan.

In 1972 and 1976, many African countries said they would not attend unless South Africa and Rhodesia were not allowed, because of how they treated people there. New Zealand was also asked to not attend because its rugby team had played in South Africa. The IOC agreed for the first two but not for New Zealand because rugby was not an Olympic sport. Twenty African countries, plus Guyana and Iraq, did not attend the Montreal Games after some of their athletes had already competed.

The Republic of China (Taiwan) was not allowed to attend the 1976 Games. This decision was criticized. Athletes from Taiwan did not return until the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, when they competed as Chinese Taipei with a special flag and anthem.

In 1980 and 1984, countries from opposite sides of the Cold War boycotted each other’s Games. The United States and sixty-five other countries did not attend the Moscow Olympics in 1980 because of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. This meant only 80 nations attended, the fewest since 1956. The Soviet Union and 15 others did not attend the Los Angeles Olympics of 1984. Even so, 140 National Olympic Committees attended, more than ever before. Romania, which was normally on the Soviet side, chose to attend, and the United States gave its team a warm welcome. The countries that did not attend held their own event called the Friendship Games in July and August.

There were calls to not attend the 2008 Olympics in Beijing because of concerns about China’s human rights record. No nation officially boycotted the Games. Georgia asked for a boycott of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, because of a conflict in South Ossetia. Some countries, including the United States and United Kingdom, chose to have diplomatic boycotts of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, meaning their diplomats did not attend, but athletes still competed.

Politics

The Olympic Games have sometimes been used to show political ideas. When Nazi Germany hosted the 1936 Games, they wanted to show they were peaceful, though they used the Games to show ideas about Aryan superiority.^: 107  Germany won many medals, but this message was weakened when African American Jesse Owens won four gold medals, and Hungarian Jew Ibolya Csák also performed well.^{: 111–112}  The Soviet Union first joined in the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki. Before that, they held their own events called Spartakiads. During the 1920s and 1930s, some groups tried to create Workers Olympics instead of the regular Olympics. The Soviet Union became very successful in the 1956 Summer Games and used their wins to show their political strength.

Athletes have also used the Olympics to show their own political views. At the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, American athletes Tommie Smith and John Carlos made a gesture called the Black Power salute on the podium. Another athlete from Australia, Peter Norman, showed support by wearing a badge. This led to the two American athletes being sent home. In gymnastics at the same Olympics, Czechoslovak athlete Věra Čáslavská quietly turned away during the Soviet anthem to protest the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia.

The government of Iran has tried to stop its athletes from competing against athletes from Israel. Arash Miresmaeili, an Iranian judoka, did not compete against an Israeli athlete during the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. He was given a large prize by Iran, which caused some people to wonder if he had done this on purpose.

After the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the IOC suggested that Russian and Belarusian athletes should not compete under their country’s name. In 2023, they said Russian and Belarusian athletes could compete but not represent their country or use their flags or anthems. Some athletes agreed to compete this way, while others did not. Those who did compete used a neutral flag and heard a neutral song if they won medals.

Use of performance-enhancing drugs

Main article: Doping at the Olympic Games

In the early 1900s, some Olympic athletes used drugs to improve their performance. For example, in 1904, Thomas Hicks, who won the marathon, was given strychnine by his coach. By the 1960s, sports groups started to ban these drugs, and in 1967, the IOC did the same.

There have been many cases where athletes used drugs and were caught. The first was Hans-Gunnar Liljenwall, a Swedish pentathlete at the 1968 Summer Olympics, who lost his bronze medal for drinking alcohol. One famous case was after the 1988 Summer Olympics, when Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson tested positive for stanozolol after winning the 100-metre dash.

In 1999, the IOC created the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) to help stop the use of performance-enhancing drugs. There were more positive tests at the 2000 Summer Olympics and 2002 Winter Olympics because testing got better. The IOC has set rules for testing that many other sports groups follow.

In 2024, there were rumors that many Chinese swimmers might have used banned substances before Tokyo 2020. Both WADA and another group said the positive tests might have been because of contaminated food. An investigation began, and the IOC threatened to take away the 2034 Olympics from Salt Lake City if the investigation was not stopped.

Russian doping scandal

Further information: Doping in Russia, McLaren Report, Russia at the 2012 Summer Olympics § Russian doping scandal, Russia at the 2014 Winter Olympics, Russia at the 2016 Summer Olympics, Olympic Athletes from Russia at the 2018 Winter Olympics, and Oswald Commission

Doping in Russian sports has been a big problem. Russia has had 44 Olympic medals stripped for doping—the most of any country. From 2011 to 2015, over a thousand Russian athletes benefited from a cover-up. Russia was partly banned from the 2016 Summer Olympics and fully banned from the 2018 Winter Olympics, though they could compete as “Olympic Athletes from Russia”.

In December 2019, Russia was banned for four years from major sporting events for doping and lying to WADA. The ban was later reduced to two years. During this time, Russian athletes could compete but not under the Russian name, flag, or anthem. They had to compete as “Neutral Athlete” or “Neutral Team”.

In February 2022, during the Beijing Olympics, there was a report about a positive test for a banned substance by the ROC’s Kamila Valieva. The case was still being investigated, and decisions were delayed several times. By the end of the Beijing Olympics, five athletes had been reported for doping violations. A final decision in Valieva’s case was expected by the end of January 2024.

Sex discrimination

Main article: Participation of women in the Olympics

Women were first allowed to compete in the 1900 Summer Olympics in Paris, but as late as the 1992 Summer Olympics, 35 countries only sent men. This changed quickly. In 2000, Bahrain sent two women for the first time: Fatema Hameed Gerashi and Mariam Mohamed Hadi Al Hilli. In 2004, Robina Muqimyar and Fariba Rezayee became the first women to compete for Afghanistan. In 2008, the United Arab Emirates sent women for the first time; Maitha Al Maktoum in taekwondo, and Latifa Al Maktoum in equestrian. Both were from Dubai's ruling family.

By 2010, only three countries had never sent women: Brunei, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar. The IOC said it would push these countries to let women compete in the 2012 London Games. Anita DeFrantz, from the IOC, said countries might be barred if they did not allow women to compete. After this, the Qatar Olympic Committee said it hoped to send up to four women in shooting and fencing to the 2012 Games.

At the 2012 Summer Olympics, every country included women for the first time. Saudi Arabia sent two women, Qatar sent four, and Brunei sent one (Maziah Mahusin, in the 400 m hurdles). Qatar’s Bahiya al-Hamad (shooting) was the flagbearer, and Maryam Yusuf Jamal of Bahrain became the first woman from the Persian Gulf to win a medal, getting bronze in the 1500 m race.

The only Olympic events where men and women can compete against each other are in equestrian sports. As of 2008, men had more medal events than women. With women’s boxing added in 2012, women could compete in all sports open to men. In winter sports, women still cannot compete in Nordic combined. After men were allowed in artistic swimming at the Paris 2024 games, the only event left where men cannot compete is rhythmic gymnastics.

Mixed events, where men and women from the same country compete together, have also been added. Starting in 2018, curling had a mixed event. As of the 2024 Paris games, there are 13 mixed medal events across 11 disciplines at the summer games.

War and terrorism

The world wars caused three Olympiads to be cancelled: the 1916 Games because of World War I, and the summer and winter games of 1940 and 1944 because of World War II. The Russo-Georgian War started on the opening day of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. Both the American President George W. Bush and Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin were at the Olympics and spoke about the conflict.

Terrorism has affected the Olympic Games several times. In 1972, during the Munich Games, eleven members of the Israeli Olympic team were taken hostage by the Palestinian group Black September in what is known as the Munich massacre. Two athletes were killed right away, and the other nine during a failed rescue attempt. A German police officer and five of the terrorists also died.

Terrorism also affected Olympic Games in the United States. During the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, a bomb was detonated at the Centennial Olympic Park, killing two people and injuring 111 others. The bomb was set by Eric Rudolph, who is serving a life sentence. The 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City happened just five months after the September 11 attacks, so security was very high. The opening ceremony included symbols to remember 9/11, such as the flag from Ground Zero and honour guards from NYPD and FDNY.

Citizenship

The Olympic Charter says athletes must be citizens of the country they represent. If an athlete has citizenship in two countries, they can choose which one to compete for. But they must wait three years after competing for one country before switching to the other, unless special permission is given.

Sometimes athletes change their citizenship to compete for a different country. This can happen because of better training opportunities or because they cannot qualify for their birth country’s team.

Champions and medallists

Further information: Lists of Olympic medallists and List of multiple Olympic gold medallists

In the Olympic Games, athletes or teams who finish in the top three places in each event receive medals. The first-place winner gets a gold medal, the second place a silver medal, and the third place a bronze medal. Over time, the materials for these medals have changed, but each gold medal always contains real gold. In some sports, only two bronze medals are given instead of three.

Historically, the medal system has changed. At the very first Olympics in 1896, only the top two places received medals. Today, athletes who finish fourth through eighth may receive special certificates called Olympic diplomas.

Nations

Main articles: List of participating nations at the Summer Olympic Games and List of participating nations at the Winter Olympic Games

Main article: List of Olympic Games host cities

See also: List of Olympic medals by host nation

Many countries from all around the world take part in the Olympic Games. By the time of the 2020 Summer Games in Tokyo, athletes from 207 different groups, called National Olympic Committees (NOCs), had joined in. Some countries, like Australia, France, Great Britain, Greece, and Switzerland, have been in every Summer Olympics ever held.

In the Winter Olympics, 119 different NOCs have joined in. Twelve countries have been in every Winter Olympics so far, including Austria, Canada, Finland, and Norway.

Choosing a city to host the Olympics used to take about seven or eight years. Now, it takes even longer so cities have more time to get ready. The city first applies through its country's Olympic group. Then, a special group checks each city’s plans before the International Olympic Committee makes the final choice.

So far, the Olympics have been held in 47 different cities across 23 countries. Recently, the Games have been in Asia and Oceania more often. The 2016 Games were in Rio de Janeiro, making it the first time a South American country hosted the Olympics.