Baron Pierre de Coubertin, founder of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 1894[/caption]
# Baron Pierre de Coubertin founded the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 1894, leading to the first modern Games in Athens in 1896.
# 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 held in Olympia, Greece from the 8th Century BC to the 4th Century AD.
# The evolution of the Olympic Movement during the 20th and 21st Centuries resulted in several changes to the Olympic Games, including the creation of the Winter Olympic Games for snow and ice sports, Paralympic Games for athletes with disabilities, and Youth Olympic Games for athletes aged 14 to 18
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The Ancient Olympic Games had been held in Olympia, Greece from the 8th Century BC to 4th Century AD[/caption]
# Five Continental games (Pan American, African, Asian, European, and Pacific), and the World Games too were introduced for sports that are not contested in the Olympic Games.
# The IOC also endorses the Deaflympics and the Special Olympics.
# Growing importance of mass media 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.
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The Olympic symbol consists of five intertwined rings representing the unity of the five inhabited continents; Africa, the Americas as one continent, Asia, Europe, and Oceania. Colours blue, yellow, black, green, and red are there because every nation have at least one of them on its national flag[/caption]
# Large-scale boycotts during the Cold War limited participation in the 1980 and 1984 Olympics
# The 2020 Olympics was postponed until 2021 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic