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 nations participating. The Olympic Games are normally held every four years, alternating between the Summer and Winter Olympics every two years in the four-year period.
Their creation was inspired by the ancient Olympic Games (Ancient Greek: Ὀλυμπιακοί Ἀγῶνες), 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,[definition needed] with the Olympic Charter defining its structure and authority.
The evolution of the Olympic Movement during the 20th and 21st centuries has resulted in several 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 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.
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Beijing was selected as host city in 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, 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 upon 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.
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The five Olympic rings represent the five continents and were designed in 1913, adopted in 1914 and debuted at the Games at Antwerp, 1920.
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“ | The six colors, including the white background, represent the colors of all the world's flags ... this is a true international emblem. | ” |
— Pierre de Coubertin, reviver of the Olympic Games |
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Current Events
- 21 March 2022 – Doping in Russia, Russia at the Olympics
- Russian racewalker Elena Lashmanova is banned from the Olympics for two years and will be stripped of her gold medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics following doping allegations against her. (ESPN)
- 2 March 2022 – Reactions to the 2021–2022 Russo-Ukrainian crisis, International reactions to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
- A Western intelligence report indicates that China had some level of knowledge about the Russian invasion of Ukraine as it requested Russian officials not to invade during the 2022 Olympic Games. China disputes the accuracy of the reports, saying they are a way to shift blame on the country and smear it. (The New York Times)
- 27 February 2022 – Reactions to the 2021–2022 Russo-Ukrainian crisis
- FIFA prohibits Russia from playing under its own flag, but will allow the country to compete under a neutral banner of "Football Union of Russia", which is similar to how the International Olympic Committee requires Russian athletes to compete at the Olympics under the name of the Russian Olympic Committee. International football matches that would have taken place in Russia may only be played without spectators in other, neutral countries. However, several teams, including all possible playoff opponents for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, refuse to compete against the Russian team. (The Guardian)
- 20 February 2022 – 2022 Winter Olympics
- The closing ceremony for the Winter Olympics is held in Beijing. (NPR)
- 19 February 2022 – 2022 Winter Olympics
- Slovakia at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Ice hockey at the 2022 Winter Olympics
- The Slovakia men's hockey team wins their first medal at the Winter Olympics after defeating Sweden in the men's tournament. (The Hockey News)
Did You Know...-
- ... that the video for Katy Perry's song "Rise" features clips of athletes from various Olympic Games?
- ... that sports shooter Lenchu Kunzang was approached by the Bhutan Olympic Committee after topping her rifle shooting class during police training?
- ... that the Olympic kayaking gold medallist Joe Clarke had to write a letter to his school before he was allowed to join their canoeing club?
- ... that Dan Bibby scored the golden point for Great Britain in the 2016 Olympic rugby sevens quarter-final?
- ... that Bryony Page is Great Britain's first-ever Olympic medallist in trampolining?
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 also known as Paris 2024, is an upcoming international multi-sport event scheduled to take place from 26 July to 11 August 2024 in Paris, Île-de-France, France. Having previously hosted in 1900 and 1924, Paris will become the second city to host the Summer Olympics three times after London (1908, 1948 and 2012). The Games will mark the centenary of the Paris Games of 1924, and the sixth Olympic games hosted by France (three in summer and three in winter), and the first Olympic Games in France since the 1992 Winter Olympic games in Albertville. This will be the first of two consecutive Olympic games to be held in Europe, will be followed by the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy.
The bidding process for these Games began in 2015. Five cities submitted their candidature, but Hamburg, Rome, and Budapest withdrew, leaving only Paris and Los Angeles in contention. A proposal to elect the 2024 and 2028 Olympic host cities concurrently was approved by an Extraordinary IOC Session on 11 July 2017 in Lausanne. On 31 July 2017, the IOC negotiated a deal that would see Paris host the Games in 2024 and Los Angeles four years later. The formal announcement of this decision took place at the 131st IOC Session in Lima, Peru, on 13 September 2017.
All-time Combined Olympic Games Medal Table
Separate current and precursor NOCs (records not combined):
No. | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
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1 | ![]() |
1173 | 953 | 833 | 2959 |
2 | ![]() |
473 | 376 | 355 | 1204 |
3 | ![]() |
305 | 305 | 312 | 922 |
4 | ![]() |
296 | 323 | 331 | 950 |
5 | ![]() |
284 | 231 | 196 | 711 |
6 | ![]() |
264 | 293 | 332 | 889 |
7 | ![]() |
259 | 231 | 269 | 759 |
8 | ![]() |
213 | 227 | 239 | 679 |
9 | ![]() |
210 | 184 | 174 | 568 |
10 | ![]() |
196 | 165 | 186 | 547 |
2026 Winter Olympics
The 2026 Winter Olympics, 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, Lombardy and Cortina d'Ampezzo, Veneto. Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo beat another joint bid from Swedish cities Stockholm–Åre by 47–34 votes to be elected host cities 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, the second for Cortina d'Ampezzo (previously hosted the 1956 Winter Olympics), and the first hosted in Milan. It will be the first Olympic Games featuring multiple host cities in an official form and will be the first Winter Olympics since Sarajevo 1984 at which the opening and closing ceremonies will be held in different places. It will mark the 20th anniversary of the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, the most recent Winter Olympics in Italy and the 70th anniversary of the 1956 Winter Olympics in Cortina d'Ampezzo, the first Olympics held in Italy. It was also the last of the two consecutive Olympics to be held in Europe with France hosting the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.
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
- Synchronized swimming
- Table tennis
- Taekwondo
- Tennis
- Triathlon
- Volleyball
- Water polo
- Weightlifting
- Wrestling
Olympic Games Countdown
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