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were designed in 1913, adopted in 1914 and debuted at the Games at Antwerp, 1920 .]] The Olympic Games (often referred to simply as '''The Olympics''' or '''The Games'''1) is an international Multi-sport Event subdivided into summer and winter Sporting Events . The summer and winter games are each held every four years (an Olympiad 2). Until 1992 , they were held in the same year. Since then, they have been celebrated two years apart. The Original Olympic Games (; ''Olympiakoi Agones'') began in 776 BC in Olympia , Greece , and was celebrated until AD 393.3 Interest in reviving the Olympic Games proper was first shown by the Greek poet and newspaper editor Panagiotis Soutsos in his poetry "Dialogue of the Dead" in 1833. David C. Young, The Modern Olympics - A Struggle for Revival, published by The Johns Hopkins University Press in 1996, ISBN 0-8018-5374-5 Evangelos Zappas sponsored the first modern international Olympic Games in 1859. He paid for the refurbishment of the Panathinaiko Stadium for Games held there in 1870 and 1875. David C. Young, The Modern Olympics - A Struggle for Revival, published by The Johns Hopkins University Press in 1996, ISBN 0-8018-5374-5 This was noted in newspapers and publications around the world including the London Review, which stated that "the Olympian Games, discontinued for centuries, have recently been revived! Here is strange news indeed ... the classical games of antiquity were revived near Athens". London Review, September 15, 1860. The International Olympic Committee was founded with the initiative of a French nobleman in 1894, Pierre Frédy, Baron De Coubertin . The first of the IOC's Olympic Games were the 1896 Summer Olympics , held in Athens , Greece . Participation in the Olympic Games has increased to include athletes from nearly all nations worldwide. With the improvement of satellite communications and global telecasts of the events, the Olympics are consistently gaining supporters.4 The most recent Summer Olympics were the 2004 Games In Athens and the most recent Winter Olympics were the 2006 Games In Turin . The Upcoming Games In Beijing are planned to comprise 302 events in 28 Sports .5 As of 2006, the Winter Olympics were competed in 84 events in 7 Sports .6 ANCIENT OLYMPICS See Also: Ancient Olympic Games There are many myths and legends surrounding the origin of the ancient Olympic Games. The most popular legend describes that s is reconstructed as 776 BC, although scholars' opinions diverge between dates as early as 884 BC and as late as 704 BC. From then on, the Games quickly became much more important throughout ancient Greece, reaching their zenith in the sixth and fifth centuries BC. The Olympics were of fundamental is the only athlete in history to win a victory in six Olympics.8 The Games gradually declined in importance as the Romans gained power in Greece. When Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire, the Olympic Games were seen as a pagan festival and in discord with Christian ethics, and in 393 AD the emperor Theodosius I outlawed the Olympics, ending a thousand-year tradition.9 During the ancient times normally only Young Men could participate. Competitors were usually Naked , not only as the weather was appropriate but also as the festival was meant to be, in part, a celebration of the achievements of the human body. Upon winning the games, the victor would have not only the prestige of being in first place but would also be presented with a crown of olive leaves. The Olive Branch is a sign of hope and peace.10 Even though the bearing of a torch formed an integral aspect of Greek ceremonies, the ancient Olympic Games did not include it, nor was there a symbol formed by interconnecting rings. These Olympic Symbols were introduced as part of the modern Olympic Games. REVIVAL In the early seventeenth century, an "Olympick Games" sports festival was run for several years at Chipping Campden in the English Cotswolds , and the present day local Cotswold Games trace their origin to this festival. They were a local sports event with extraordinary sports, such as shin-kicking. In 1850, an "Olympian Class" was begun at Much Wenlock in Shropshire , England . This was renamed "Wenlock Olympian Games" in 1859 and continues to this day as the Wenlock Olympian Society Annual Games . A national Olympic Games was organised by their founder, Dr William Penny Brookes, at Crystal Palace in London, in 1866. Meanwhile, a wealthy Greek philanthropist called Evangelos Zappas sponsored the revival of the first modern international Olympic Games. The first was held in an Athens city square in 1859. Zappas paid for the refurbishment of the ancient Panathenian stadium that was first used for an Olympic Games in 1870 and then again in 1875. That same stadium was refurbished a second time and used for the Athens 1896 Games. The revival sponsored by Zappas was a dedicated athletics Olympic Games with athletes that participated from two countries: Greece and the Ottoman Empire. The interest in reviving the Olympics as an international event grew further when the ruins of ancient Olympia were uncovered by German Archaeologist s in the mid-nineteenth century. At the same time, Pierre De Coubertin was searching for a reason for the French defeat in the Franco-Prussian War (1870–1871). He thought the reason was that the French had not received proper physical education, and sought to improve this. Coubertin also sought a way to bring nations closer together, to have the youth of the world compete in sports, rather than fight in war. In 1890 he attended a festival of the Wenlock Olympian Society, and decided that the recovery of the Olympic Games would achieve both of his goals. Baron Pierre de Coubertin stood on the ideas of both Dr Brookes and the foundations of Evangelis Zappas to found the International Olympic Committee. In a Congress at the Sorbonne University, in Paris , France , held from June 16 to June 23 , 1894 he presented his ideas to an international audience. On the last day of the congress, it was decided that the first IOC Olympic Games would take place in 1896 in Athens , in the country of their birth. To organise the Games, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) was established, with the Greek Demetrius Vikelas as its first president. The Panathenian stadium that was used for Olympic Games in 1870, and 1875 was refurbished and reused for the Olympic Games held in Athens in 1896. The total number of athletes at the The First IOC Olympic Games , less than 250, seems small by modern standards, but the games were the largest international sports event ever held until that time. The Greek officials and public were also very enthusiastic, and they even proposed to have the monopoly of organizing the Olympics. The IOC decided differently, however, and the Second Olympic Games took place in Paris , France . Paris was also the first Olympic Games where women were allowed to compete. MODERN OLYMPICS See Also: Summer Olympic Games Winter Olympic Games After the initial success, the Olympics struggled. The celebrations in Paris (1900) and St. Louis (1904) were overshadowed by the World's Fair exhibitions in which they were included. The so-called Intercalated Games (because of their off-year status, as 1906 is not divisible by four) were held in 1906 in Athens, as the first of an alternating series of Athens-held Olympics. Although originally the IOC recognised and supported these games, they are currently not recognised by the IOC as Olympic Games, which has given rise to the explanation that they were intended to mark the 10th anniversary of the modern Olympics. The 1906 Games again attracted a broad international field of participants—in 1904, 80% had been American—--and great public interest, thereby marking the beginning of a rise in popularity and size of the Games. From the 241 participants from 14 nations in 1896, the Games grew to nearly 11,100 competitors from 202 countries at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens . The number of competitors at the Winter Olympics is much smaller than at the Summer Games; at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin Italy, 2,633 athletes from 80 countries competed in 84 events. The Olympics are one of the largest media events. In Sydney in 2000 there were over 16,000 broadcasters and journalists, and an estimated 3.8 billion viewers Watched The Games on Television . The growth of the Olympics is one of the largest problems the Olympics face today. Although allowing professional athletes and attracting sponsorships from major international companies solved financial problems in the 1980s, the large number of athletes, media and spectators makes it difficult and expensive for host cities to organize the Olympics. 203 countries currently participate in the Olympics. This is a noticeably higher number than the number of countries recognised by the United Nations , which is only 193. The International Olympic Committee allows nations to compete which do not meet the strict requirements for political sovereignty that many other international organizations demand. As a result, many colonies and dependencies are permitted to host their own Olympic teams and athletes even if such competitors hold the same citizenship as another member nation. Examples of this include territories such as Puerto Rico , Bermuda , and Hong Kong , all of which compete as separate nations despite being legally a part of another country. Also, since 1980, Taiwan has competed under the name " Chinese Taipei ", and under a flag specially prepared by the IOC. Prior to that year the People's Republic Of China refused to participate in the Games because Taiwan had been competing under the name " Republic Of China ". The Republic of the Marshall Islands was recognised as a nation by the IOC on February 9, 2006, and should compete in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing .11 OLYMPIC PROBLEMS Boycotts The 1956 Melbourne Olympics were boycotted by the Netherlands , Spain , and Switzerland , because of the repression of the Hungarian Uprising by the Soviet Union ; additionally, Cambodia , Egypt , Iraq , and Lebanon , boycotted the games due to the Suez Crisis .12 In 1972 and 1976 , a large number of African countries threatened the IOC with a boycott, to force them to ban South Africa , Rhodesia , and New Zealand . The IOC conceded in the first 2 cases, but refused in 1976 because the boycott was prompted by a New Zealand Rugby Union tour to South Africa, and rugby was not an Olympic sport. The countries withdrew their teams after the games had started; some African athletes had already competed. A lot of sympathy was felt for the athletes forced by their governments to leave the Olympic Village; there was little sympathy outside Africa for the governments' attitude. Twenty-two countries (Guyana was the only non-African nation) boycotted the Montreal Olympics because New Zealand was not banned.13 Also in 1976, due to pressure from the People's Republic Of China ( PRC ), Canada told the team from the Republic Of China ( Taiwan ) that it could not compete at the Montreal Summer Olympics under the name " Republic Of China " despite a compromise that would have allowed Taiwan to use the ROC Flag and Anthem . Taiwan refused and as a result did not participate until 1984, when it returned under the name " Chinese Taipei " and used a special flag.14 In 1980 and 1984, the '', 9 May 1984 |
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