All to know about the Olympics: Origin, History, and More

The Ancient Past: The first time the Olympics was held

Almost 3000 years ago, by the end of the 6th century BCE at least four Greek sporting festivals, called “classical games,” had achieved major importance. Those 4 games in the roster were - The Olympic Games, held at Olympia; the Pythian Games at Delphi; the Nemean Games at Nemea; and the Isthmian Games, held near Corinth. 

However, of all the games held throughout Greece, the Olympic Games were the most famous. They were held in honor of Zeus at Olympia by the city-state of Elis in the northwestern Peloponnese. The games were held every four years, or the Olympiad, which became a unit of time in historical chronologies. 

As per the historical records, the first Olympic champion was Coroebus of Elis, a cook, and baker, who won the sprint race in 776 BCE, which consisted of a single footrace known as the stade or stadion.

The Demise: When the Olympics died due to the differences

In the middle of the 2nd century BCE, Greece was invaded by the Roman Empire. Hence, support for the competitions at Olympia fell off considerably during the next century, as Romans believed that competing in public was degrading. In the wake of those notions, the Olympic Games were finally abolished in 400 CE by the Roman emperor Theodosius I.

 The Revival: How patrons revived the historic event

The ideas and work of the best-known architect of the modern Games Pierre, Baron de Coubertin, led to the creation of the modern Olympics. Born in Paris on New Year’s Day, 1863, Coubertin played a prominent role by bringing to the forefront the significance of the Olympic games. 

After his relentless efforts and work, at the conference on international sport in June 1894, the committee of 79 delegates, and 49 organizations from 9 countries agreed to revive the Olympic games. It was then decided that the first Olympics would be held in Athens, Greece in April 1896 after the games got revival.

The maiden edition saw 241 athletes from 14 nations take part in nine sports – athletics, cycling, fencing, gymnastics, shooting, swimming, tennis, weightlifting and wrestling.

The Modern Phase: How Olympics are a symbol of equality

Equality in the Olympics is an epitome that marks inclusion and diversity. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has endeavored to eradicate discrimination, promoting fair representation regardless of race, nationality, or socioeconomic background.

Initiatives like the Refugee Olympic Team highlight efforts to create a diverse and inclusive platform. The IOC's commitment to gender equality is evident, with increased female participation and leadership roles. More than a century after women first competed at the Olympic Games in Paris in 1900, female athlete numbers were close to equal to those of the men at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

In addition to being the most gender-balanced Summer Games in history, the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo saw the implementation of a rule change that allowed one male and one female athlete to jointly carry their flag during the Opening Ceremony. More so, over the past 25 years, the IOC has been encouraging and working with National Olympic Committees and International Federations (IFs) to increase female participation at the Olympic Games.

The Organisation: A look into the functioning of the Olympics

Founded at the first Olympic Congress in Paris in 1894, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) is the leader of the Olympic Movement and the guardian of the Olympic Games. During World War I Coubertin moved its headquarters to Lausanne, Switzerland. 

It acts as a catalyst for collaboration across the entire Olympic community. The IOC is responsible for maintaining the regular celebration of the Olympic Games and promoting the development of sports across the globe. Along with this, it ensures cooperation with competent public or private organizations and authorities endeavoring to place sport at the service of humanity and thereby promote peace;

In addition, the IOC hereby takes action to strengthen the unity, independence, political neutrality, and autonomy of the Olympic Movement.

Along similar lines, the IOC ensures to protection of clean athletes and the integrity of sports, by leading the fight against doping, and by taking action against all forms of manipulation of competitions and related corruption.

A look into symbol and Motto: Know the meaning 

The Olympic flag presented by Coubertin in 1914 is the prototype: it has a white background, and in the center, there are five interlaced rings—blue, yellow, black, green, and red. These rings represent the “five parts of the world” joined together in the Olympic movement - Africa, America, Asia, Europe, and Oceania.

Upon its initial introduction, Coubertin stated the following in the August 1913 edition of Olympique: “The six colours [including the flag's white background] combined in this way reproduce the colours of every country without exception. The blue and yellow of Sweden, the blue and white of Greece, the tricolour flags of France, United Kingdom, the United States, Germany, Belgium, Italy and Hungary, and the yellow and red of Spain are included, as are the innovative flags of Brazil and Australia, and those of ancient Japan and modern China. This, truly, is an international emblem.”

Coubertin adopted the official motto of the Olympic Games as “Citius, altius, fortius,” Latin for “Faster, higher, stronger.” More so,during the 1908 London Olympic Games, Coubertin made a statement “credo”: “The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win but to participate.” 

How many sports are played in the Olympics? The answer

A total of 40 sports are in the Olympics, including 32 in the upcoming Paris 2024 Summer Olympics and eight in Milano Cortina 2026, the next Winter Olympics.

However, The maiden edition back in 1896 saw 241 athletes from 14 nations take part in 9 sports – athletics, cycling, fencing, gymnastics, shooting, swimming, tennis, weightlifting, and wrestling.

 A New Shape: How the 2024 Paris Olympics are different from the rest

As per the official website of the 2024 Paris Olympics, Paris 2024 has taken the opportunity provided by the IOC in the Olympic Agenda 2020 to propose additional sports to enhance its programme and overall concept. 

“The IOC is keen to set a new standard for inclusive, gender-balanced and youth-centred games. Paris 2024 submitted its proposal to the IOC to integrate four new sports that are closely associated with youth and reward creativity and athletic performance. These sports are breaking, sport climbing, skateboarding, surfing. All four are easy to take up and participants form communities that are very active on social media. Over the next five years, the inclusion of these events in the Olympic Games will help inspire millions of children to take up sport.”