The Olympic Games Portal
The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (French: Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games are considered the world's foremost sports competition with more than 200 teams, representing sovereign states and territories participating; by default the Games generally substitute for any World Championships the year in which they take place (however, each class usually maintains their own records). The Olympic Games are held every four years; since 1994, they have been alternated between the Summer and Winter Olympics every two years during the four-year period.
Their creation was inspired by the ancient Olympic Games, held in Olympia, Greece from the 8th century BC to the 4th century AD. Baron Pierre de Coubertin founded the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 1894, leading to the first modern Games in Athens in 1896. The IOC is the governing body of the Olympic Movement, which encompasses all entities and individuals involved in the Olympic Games. The Olympic Charter defines their structure and authority.
The evolution of the Olympic Movement during the 20th and 21st centuries has resulted in numerous changes to the Olympic Games. Some of these adjustments include the creation of the Winter Olympic Games for snow and ice sports, the Paralympic Games for athletes with disabilities, the Youth Olympic Games for athletes aged 14 to 18, the five Continental games (Pan American, African, Asian, European, and Pacific), and the World Games for sports that are not contested in the Olympic Games. The IOC also endorses the Deaflympics and the Special Olympics. The IOC has needed to adapt to a variety of economic, political, and technological advancements. The abuse of amateur rules by the Eastern Bloc nations prompted the IOC to shift away from pure amateurism, as envisioned by Coubertin, to the acceptance of professional athletes participating at the Games. The growing importance of mass media has created the issue of corporate sponsorship and general commercialisation of the Games. World Wars I and II led to the cancellation of the 1916, 1940, and 1944 Olympics; large-scale boycotts during the Cold War limited participation in the 1980 and 1984 Olympics; and the 2020 Olympics were postponed until 2021 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Selected Article -
Beijing was selected as host city on 31 July 2015 at the 128th IOC Session in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, marking its second time hosting the Olympics, and the last of three consecutive Olympics hosted in East Asia following the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang County, South Korea, and the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan. Having previously hosted the 2008 Summer Olympics, Beijing became the first city to have hosted both the Summer and Winter Olympics. The venues for the Games were concentrated around Beijing, its suburb Yanqing District, and Zhangjiakou, with some events (including the ceremonies and curling) repurposing venues originally built for Beijing 2008 (such as Beijing National Stadium and the Beijing National Aquatics Centre).
The Games featured a record 109 events across 15 disciplines, with big air freestyle skiing and women's monobob making their Olympic debuts as medal events, as well as several new mixed competitions. A total of 2,871 athletes representing 91 teams competed in the Games, with Haiti and Saudi Arabia making their Winter Olympic debut.
Selected Picture -
The Closing Ceremony of the 2000 Summer Olympics commenced with Christine Anu singing a stirring rendition of her hit song, Island Home. The ceremony concluded with a huge fireworks display on Sydney Harbour.
Selected Quote -
“ | I touched the wall and all my dreams, hopes and ambitions basically coalesced into one moment. | ” |
— Duncan Armstrong, Australian swimmer, on winning Olympic gold and setting a world record in Seoul 1988 |
Selected Athlete -
Current Events
- 31 May 2024 –
- French security services arrest a Chechen teenager suspected of plotting a islamist-inspired ambush on a football game during the Summer Olympics. (The Guardian)
- 8 May 2024 – 2024 Summer Olympics torch relay
- The ship Belem arrives in Marseille, France, with the Olympic flame. (AP)
- 4 May 2024 –
- The International Olympics Committee (IOC) bans Kuwait's Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah from all positions within the committee for 15 years over ethics breaches. Sheik Ahmad was previously banned by the IOC for three years in 2023 over his alleged interference in the Olympic Council of Asia elections, as well as for forgery and a fake arbitration procedure. (Reuters)
Did You Know...-
- ... that ski jumper Joséphine Pagnier, who competed at the 2022 Winter Olympics, won two medals at the Winter Youth Olympics two years ago?
- ... that freestyle skier Kirsty Muir was the youngest Team GB competitor at the 2022 Winter Olympics?
- ... that the 2012 Olympic women's soccer semifinal between the Canadian and the American national teams was called "the greatest knockout match in major-tournament football" since 1982?
- ... that Rebeca Andrade is the first Brazilian female gymnast to win a medal at the Olympic Games?
- ... that in 2022, Frida Westman was the first Swedish ski jumper to compete at an Olympic Games since 1994, when her father competed?
Upcoming Olympic Games
2024 Summer Olympics
The 2024 Summer Olympics (French: Jeux olympiques d'été de 2024), officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad (French: Jeux de la XXXIIIe Olympiade) and commonly known as Paris 2024, are an upcoming international multi-sport event scheduled to take place from 26 July to 11 August 2024 in France, with Paris as the main host city and 16 other cities spread across Metropolitan France, plus one subsite in Tahiti — an island within the French overseas country and overseas collectivity of French Polynesia.
Paris was awarded the Games at the 131st IOC Session in Lima, Peru, on 13 September 2017. After multiple withdrawals that left only Paris and Los Angeles in contention, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) approved a process to concurrently award the 2024 and 2028 Summer Olympics to the two cities. Having previously hosted in 1900 and 1924, Paris will become the second city, after London (who were the hosts in 1908, 1948 and 2012) to host the Summer Olympics three times. Paris 2024 will mark the centenary of Paris 1924 and Chamonix 1924, and these Olympic Games will be the sixth hosted by France (three in summer and three in winter), and the first French Olympics since the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville. The Summer Games will return to its traditional four-year Olympiad cycle, after the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo was postponed to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Paris 2024 will feature the debut of breakdancing as an Olympic event, and it will be the final Olympic Games held during the presidency of IOC President Thomas Bach. The Games will be the first to feature an identical number of men and women athletes. The Games are expected to cost €8.3 billion.
All-time Combined Olympic Games Medal Table
Separate current and precursor NOCs (records not combined):
No. | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | United States (USA) | 1175 | 951 | 833 | 2959 |
2 | Soviet Union (URS) | 473 | 376 | 355 | 1204 |
3 | Germany (GER) | 305 | 305 | 312 | 922 |
4 | Great Britain (GBR) | 296 | 323 | 331 | 950 |
5 | China (CHN) | 285 | 231 | 197 | 713 |
6 | France (FRA) | 264 | 293 | 332 | 889 |
7 | Italy (ITA) | 259 | 231 | 269 | 759 |
8 | Sweden (SWE) | 212 | 228 | 239 | 679 |
9 | Norway (NOR) | 209 | 186 | 173 | 568 |
10 | Russia (RUS) | 194 | 165 | 185 | 544 |
2026 Winter Olympics
The 2026 Winter Olympics (Italian: Olimpiadi invernali del 2026), officially the XXV Olympic Winter Games (Italian: XXV Giochi olimpici invernali) and also known as Milano Cortina 2026, is an upcoming international multi-sport event scheduled to take place from 6 to 22 February 2026 in the Italian cities of Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo. The joint bid from the two cities beat another joint bid from Swedish cities Stockholm–Åre by 47–34 votes at the 134th Session of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in Lausanne, Switzerland, on 24 June 2019.
This will be the fourth Olympic Games hosted in Italy, which previously hosted the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, the 1956 Winter Olympics in Cortina d'Ampezzo and the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome. It will be the first Olympic Games officially featuring multiple host cities and will be the first Winter Olympics since Sarajevo 1984 where the opening and closing ceremonies will be held in different venues. Events will also take place in seven other north-northeastern Italian cities. The games will mark the 20th anniversary of the Winter Olympics in Turin, the 70th anniversary of the Winter Olympics in Cortina d'Ampezzo and the first time that Milan will host an Olympic Games.
Olympic Sports
- Archery
- Athletics
- Badminton
- Basketball
- Beach volleyball
- Boxing
- Canoeing
- Cycling
- Diving
- Equestrian
- Fencing
- Football
- Golf
- Gymnastics
- Handball
- Field hockey
- Judo
- Karate
- Modern pentathlon
- Rowing
- Rugby
- Sailing
- Shooting
- Skateboarding
- Sport climbing
- Surfing
- Swimming
- Artistic swimming
- Table tennis
- Taekwondo
- Tennis
- Triathlon
- Volleyball
- Water polo
- Weightlifting
- Wrestling
Olympic Games Countdown
Olympic Games | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|
|
|
Paralympic Games | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|
|
|
Youth Olympic Games | |||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
Topics
Categories
Try browsing through any of the main categories below:
Things you can do
|
Here are some tasks awaiting attention:
|
Related portals
Associated Wikimedia
The following Wikimedia Foundation sister projects provide more on this subject:
-
Commons
Free media repository -
Wikibooks
Free textbooks and manuals -
Wikidata
Free knowledge base -
Wikinews
Free-content news -
Wikiquote
Collection of quotations -
Wikisource
Free-content library -
Wikispecies
Directory of species -
Wikiversity
Free learning tools -
Wikivoyage
Free travel guide -
Wiktionary
Dictionary and thesaurus