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104-503: The IOC operates the service with an international focus, but also stated plans to work with local National Olympic Committees and rightsholders to establish localized versions and linear services as franchised versions of Olympic Channel. The service's main goal is to maintain year-round interest in Olympic sports between iterations of the Summer and Winter Olympics , especially among

208-473: A unit of distance . The most widely accepted inception date for the Ancient Olympics is 776 BC; this is based on inscriptions, found at Olympia , listing the winners of a footrace held every four years starting in 776 BC. For the first thirteen Olympics, the stadion footrace was the only event contested, and victory in that sprint was so valued that the next Olympiad was named after

312-650: A Chinese version of the channel. Named CCTV-16 , the channel launched on 25 October 2021. National Olympic Committee A National Olympic Committee ( NOC ) is a national constituent of the worldwide Olympic movement. Subject to the controls of the International Olympic Committee , NOCs are responsible for organizing their people's participation in the Olympic Games . They may nominate cities within their respective areas as candidates for future Olympic Games. NOCs also promote

416-732: A French version of the Olympic Channel, it was created by the French National Olympic and Sports Committee (CNOSF) and follows a similar concept, aiming to provide regular coverage of sports which have struggled to carve a niche on general-interest and for-profit sports networks. On 4 September 2017, the IOC announced a partnership with beIN Sports to launch a linear Olympic Channel for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, which launched on 1 November 2017. As

520-471: A cost overrun of 76%, Sochi 2014 of 289%. It has been documented that cost and cost overrun for the Games follow a power-law distribution , which means that, first, the Games are prone to large cost overruns and, second, it is only a matter of time until an overrun occurs that is larger than the largest to date. In short, hosting the Games is economically and financially extremely risky. The final cost for

624-604: A lead-up to the launch, the network broadcast a daily block of Olympic Channel programming on its main channel. At an industry forum in March 2017, NBC Olympics president Gary Zenkel stated that NBCUniversal would launch a localized version of Olympic Channel in the United States as a linear television channel later in the year. The U.S. version of Olympic Channel launched July 15, 2017, replacing Universal HD —which itself had picked up overflow Olympic sports content following

728-458: A model for future Games. Budget overruns are common for the Games. Average overrun for Games since 1960 is 156% in real terms, which means that actual costs turned out to be on average 2.56 times the budget that was estimated at the time of winning the bid to host the Games. Montreal 1976 had the highest cost overrun for Summer Games, and for any Games, at 720%; Lake Placid 1980 had the highest cost overrun for Winter Games, at 324%. London 2012 had

832-710: A national Olympic festival held annually from 1796 to 1798 in Revolutionary France also attempted to emulate the ancient Olympic Games. The competition included several disciplines from the ancient Greek Olympics. The 1796 Games also marked the introduction of the metric system into sport. In 1834 and 1836, the Olympic games were held in Ramlösa, Sweden , and in Stockholm , in 1843, organised by Gustaf Johan Schartau and others. At most 25,000 spectators saw

936-524: A particular candidate city. After being narrowly defeated in their bid for the 2012 Games, Parisian mayor Bertrand Delanoë specifically accused the British prime minister Tony Blair and the London bid committee , headed by former Olympic champion Sebastian Coe , of breaking the bid rules. He cited French president Jacques Chirac as a witness; Chirac gave guarded interviews concerning his involvement but

1040-544: A reduced number of disciplines and events. Over 14,000 athletes competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics and 2022 Winter Olympics combined, in 40 different sports and 448 events. The Summer Olympics have grown from 241 participants representing 14 nations in 1896, to more than 11,300 competitors representing 206 nations in 2020 . The scope and scale of the Winter Olympics is smaller; for example, Beijing hosted 2,971 athletes from 91 nations in 2022 . Most of

1144-512: A surplus in part by selling exclusive sponsorship rights to select companies. The IOC sought to gain control of these sponsorship rights. Samaranch helped to establish The Olympic Programme (TOP) in 1985, in order to create an Olympic brand. Membership in TOP was, and is, very exclusive and expensive. Fees cost US$ 50 million for a four-year membership. Members of TOP received exclusive global advertising rights for their product category, and use of

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1248-674: A surplus of $ 40 million. This excess revenue was used to create the Utah Athletic Foundation (also known as the Utah Olympic Legacy Foundation), which maintains and operates many of the surviving Olympic venues. It was reported in 1999 that the Nagano Olympic bid committee had spent approximately $ 14 million on entertaining the 62 IOC members and many of their associates. The precise figures are unknown since Nagano destroyed

1352-431: A trust to fund future Olympic Games. This trust was used to help finance the 1896 Games. George Averoff contributed generously for the refurbishment of the stadium in preparation for the Games. The Greek government also provided funding, which was expected to be recouped through the sale of tickets and from the sale of the first Olympic commemorative stamp set. Greek officials and the public were enthusiastic about

1456-472: A two-city race between Almaty , Kazakhstan and Beijing, China who hosted the 2008 Summer Olympics . The Guardian stated that the biggest threat to the future of the Olympics is few cities or countries want to host them. Bidding for the 2024 Summer Olympics became a two-city race between Paris and Los Angeles, so the IOC took the unusual step of simultaneously awarding both the 2024 Games to Paris and

1560-566: A wealthy Greek-Romanian philanthropist, first wrote to King Otto of Greece , in 1856, offering to fund a permanent revival of the Olympic Games. Zappas sponsored the first Olympic Games in 1859, which was held in an Athens city square. Athletes participated from Greece and the Ottoman Empire. Zappas funded the restoration of the ancient Panathenaic Stadium so that it could host all future Olympic Games. The stadium hosted

1664-458: A younger audience; it features coverage of competitions in Olympic sport, as well as short and long-form programmes focusing on Olympic athletes. The service initially broadcast in English, with subtitles available in nine other languages on-launch. Yiannis Exarchos , overseer of Olympic Channel and CEO of Olympic Broadcasting Services , stated that the service's content would focus primarily on

1768-553: Is a member of the CIJM. 5: National Olympic committee also the national Commonwealth Games Association. 1: Israel was a member of the OCA, but was expelled from the organization between 1952 and 1981. Joined the EOC in 1994. 2: National Olympic Committee is a member of the CIJM. 3: National Olympic committee also the national Commonwealth Games Association. 4: National Olympic Committee

1872-550: Is also National Commonwealth Games Association 1: National Olympic committee also a member of the Commonwealth Games Federation 1: National Olympic Committee is a member of the UANOC. 2: National Olympic Committee is a member of the OCA but not an ANOC member. 3: Official name used by the IOC, ANOC and OCA for the [REDACTED] Republic of China (Taiwan). 4: National Olympic Committee

1976-437: Is no scholarly consensus as to when the Games officially ended, the most commonly held date is 393 AD, when the emperor Theodosius I decreed that all pagan cults and practices be eliminated. Another date commonly cited is 426 AD, when his successor, Theodosius II , ordered the destruction of all Greek temples. Various uses of the term "Olympic" to describe athletic events in the modern era have been documented since

2080-569: Is suspended by the IOC. 1: National Olympic Committee is an associate member of the ONOC but not an ANOC member. The NOCs are all members of the Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC), which is also split among five continental associations: See the article for each continental association for the complete lists of all NOCs. The Faroe Islands and Macau both have recognized National Paralympic Committees and compete at

2184-478: Is unclear. Currently, all other remaining states are ineligible to join the IOC as they are not recognized by a majority of United Nations member countries. Constituent countries and dependent territories such as Curaçao , the Faroe Islands , Gibraltar , Greenland , Macau , New Caledonia and French Polynesia can also no longer be recognized, so athletes from these territories can only participate in

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2288-670: The 1988 Summer Games in Seoul, the host city for the Olympics has also played host to the Paralympics. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) signed an agreement in 2001 which guaranteed that host cities would be contracted to manage both the Olympic and Paralympic Games. The agreement came into effect at the 2008 Summer Games in Beijing, and at

2392-643: The 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver. Two years before the 2012 Games, the LOCOG chairman Lord Coe made the following statement about the Paralympics and Olympics in London: We want to change public attitudes towards disability, celebrate the excellence of Paralympic sport and to enshrine from the very outset that the two Games are an integrated whole. In 2010, the Olympic Games were complemented by

2496-542: The 2020 Summer Olympics and 2022 Winter Olympics combined, in 40 different sports and 448 events. The first-, second-, and third-place finishers in each event receive Olympic medals : gold, silver, and bronze, respectively. The Games have grown to the point that nearly every nation is now represented; colonies and overseas territories are often allowed to field their own teams. This growth has created numerous challenges and controversies , including boycotts , doping , match fixing , bribery, and terrorism. Every two years,

2600-428: The 2028 Games to Los Angeles. Both of the bids were praised for high technical plans and innovative ways to use a record-breaking number of existing and temporary facilities. The Olympic Movement encompasses a large number of national and international sporting organisations and federations, recognised media partners, as well as athletes, officials, judges, and every other person and institution that agrees to abide by

2704-565: The Deaflympics and the Special Olympics . The IOC need to adapt to a variety of economic, political, and technological advancements. The abuse of amateur rules 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

2808-599: 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

2912-533: The Northern Mariana Islands , Anguilla , Montserrat , Turks & Caicos Islands , Transnistria , Kurdistan , Northern Cyprus , Somaliland , Abkhazia , and Native Americans . It was reported in 2014 that South Ossetia intend to establish a National Olympic Committee. [REDACTED] Vatican [REDACTED] Vatican Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games ( Olympics ; French : Jeux olympiques, ) are

3016-665: The Paralympic Games . However, neither territory's National Olympic Committee is recognized by the IOC, so they cannot participate in the Olympics. Macau remains recognized by the Olympic Council of Asia and takes part in the Asian Games . Other existing countries/regions with unrecognized Olympic committees: Catalonia , Gibraltar , French Polynesia , Niue , New Caledonia , Curaçao , Guadeloupe , French Guiana , Martinique , Sint Maarten ,

3120-561: The Paris Exposition in 1900 and the Louisiana Purchase Exposition at St. Louis in 1904 failed to attract much participation or notice. Of the 650 athletes in the 1904 Olympics, 580 were American; the winner of the marathon was later disqualified upon discovery of a photograph of him riding in a car during the race. The Games rebounded with the 1906 Intercalated Games (so-called because they were

3224-595: The Stoke Mandeville Games , Guttmann's event became an annual sports festival. Over the next 12 years, Guttmann and others continued their efforts to use sports as an avenue to healing. In 1960, Guttmann brought 400 athletes to Rome to compete in the "Parallel Olympics", which ran in parallel with the Summer Olympics and came to be known as the first Paralympics . Since then, the Paralympics have been held in every Olympic year and, starting with

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3328-593: The Winter Olympic Games as competitions in which all IOC-recognized NOCs can participate. Each continent also runs its own championships for their members: While not continental unions in themselves, the Union of Arab National Olympic Committees (UANOC) and International Committee of Mediterranean Games (CIJM) organize multi-sport events between Arabic-speaking countries and Mediterranean countries respectively. All 22 National Olympic Committees that form

3432-486: The summer solstice —usually late August or early September. This "came after the annual harvest but before the picking of the olives." Heralds were sent from Elis to announce the dates. Competition at first was among only "legitimate sons of free-born Greek parents." However, after Macedonia, and then Rome, conquered Greece, the ten Olympic judges loosened the earlier standard and permitted anyone who spoke Greek to participate. Tens of thousands of Greeks would make

3536-629: The 17th century. The first such event was the Cotswold Games or "Cotswold Olimpick Games", an annual meeting near Chipping Campden , England, involving various sports. It was first organised by the lawyer Robert Dover between 1612 and 1642, with several later celebrations leading up to the present day. The British Olympic Association , in its bid for the 2012 Olympic Games in London, mentioned these games as "the first stirrings of Britain's Olympic beginnings". L'Olympiade de la République ,

3640-561: The 1984 Summer Games by using existing facilities and only two new that were paid for by corporate sponsors. The Organizing Committee led by Peter Ueberroth used some of the profits to endow the LA84 Foundation to promote youth sports in Southern California , educate coaches and maintain a sports library. The 1984 Summer Olympics are often considered until that date, the most financially successful modern Olympics and

3744-529: The American rights. In the following decades, the Olympics became one of the ideological fronts of the Cold War, and the International Olympic Committee wanted to take advantage of this heightened interest via the broadcast medium. The sale of broadcast rights enabled the IOC to increase the exposure of the Olympic Games, thereby generating more interest, which in turn enhanced the appeal of TV air time to

3848-580: 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 because of the COVID-19 restrictions . The Olympic Movement consists of international sports federations (IFs), National Olympic Committees (NOCs), and organising committees for each specific Olympic Games. As

3952-472: The IOC took control of sponsorship, the NOCs had responsibility for negotiating their own contracts for sponsorship and use of the Olympic symbols. The IOC originally resisted funding by corporate sponsors. It was not until the retirement of IOC President Avery Brundage , in 1972, that the IOC began to explore the potential of the television medium and the lucrative advertising markets available to them. Under

4056-574: The IOC were not as strict as those within the United Nations , which allowed these territories to field teams separately from their sovereign state. Following an amendment to the Olympic Charter in 1996, NOC recognition can only be granted after recognition as an independent country by the international community. Since the rule does not apply retroactively , the dependent territories and constituent countries which were recognized before

4160-424: The IOC's decision-making. His resistance to this revenue stream meant the IOC left organising committees to negotiate their own sponsorship contracts and use the Olympic symbols. When Brundage retired, the IOC had US$ 2 million in assets; eight years later the IOC coffers had swelled to US$ 45 million. This was primarily due to a shift in ideology toward expansion of the Games through corporate sponsorship and

4264-875: The IOC, the United States Olympic Committee (USOC), the Salt Lake Organizing Committee (SLOC), and the United States Department of Justice (DOJ). Although nothing strictly illegal had occurred, it was felt that the acceptance of the gifts was morally dubious. As a result of the investigation, ten members of the IOC were expelled and a further ten sanctioned. Stricter rules were adopted for future bids, and caps were introduced to define how much IOC members could accept from bid cities. Additionally, new term and age limits were put into place for IOC membership, and fifteen former Olympic athletes were added to

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4368-433: The Olympic Channel, which may optionally include linear television channels. The streaming platform is provided by Playmaker Media, a division of NBC Sports Group . Olympic Channel was added to CBC Television 's streaming platform CBC Gem on July 23, 2020. Sport en France is a broadband television channel launched in 2019 and carried by the country's four main triple play operators. Although not explicitly branded as

4472-519: The Olympic Games. He felt that the Olympics "is worthy of study because it is one of the biggest meetings in a global context and has many political, economic, and other problems associated with it". He began Olympika in 1992, the first peer-reviewed academic journal focused on the Olympic Games. The International Society of Olympic Historians was founded in 1991, which publishes the Journal of Olympic History . Some economists are sceptical about

4576-620: 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

4680-648: The Olympic symbol, the interlocking rings , in their publications and advertisements. The 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin were the first Games to be broadcast on television, though only to local audiences. The 1956 Winter Olympics in Italy were the first internationally televised Olympic Games, and the broadcasting rights for the following Winter Games in California were sold for the first time to specialised television broadcasting networks— CBS paid US$ 394,000 for

4784-443: The Olympics and its media exposure provide athletes with the chance to attain national and international fame. The Games also provide an opportunity for the host city and country to showcase themselves to the world. The Olympic Games have become a significant global event, fostering international cooperation and cultural exchange. At the same time, hosting the Olympic Games can also bring significant economic benefits and challenges to

4888-705: The Olympics as part of their parent nation's national team. This rule also applies to territories experiencing a change in status – the Netherlands Antilles Olympic Committee was dissolved at the 123rd IOC session in July 2011 as the Netherlands Antilles ceased to exist in 2010. For those countries and territories that are part of the Commonwealth of Nations , their National Olympic Committees usually also serve as

4992-576: The Olympics displaced more than two million people over two decades, often disproportionately affecting disadvantaged groups. The 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi were the most expensive Olympic Games in history, costing in excess of US$ 50 billion. According to a report by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development released at the time of the games, the cost would not boost Russia's national economy, but could attract business to Sochi and

5096-570: The Olympics in 1870 and 1875. Thirty thousand spectators attended that Games in 1870, though no official attendance records are available for the 1875 Games. In 1890, after attending the Olympian Games of the Wenlock Olympian Society , Baron Pierre de Coubertin , who aimed to promote international peace and friendship through sports, was inspired to found the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Coubertin built on

5200-565: The Summer Olympics has a positive effect on the philanthropic contributions of corporations headquartered in the host city, which seems to benefit the local nonprofit sector. This effect begins in the years leading up to the Games and might persist for several years afterwards, though not permanently. The Games have had significant negative effects on host communities; for example, the Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions reports that

5304-660: The Tokyo 2020 Olympics was reported to be JPY 1,423.8 billion (US$ 13 billion). This was achieved by balancing revenues and expenditures through various efforts to increase revenue and continuously review expenditures. The primary sources of revenue included the International Olympic Committee (IOC) contribution of JPY 86.8 billion (US$ 0.8 billion), TOP sponsorship of JPY 56.9 billion (US$ 0.5 billion), local sponsorship of JPY 376.1 billion (US$ 3.4 billion), an insurance payout of JPY 50 billion (US$ 0.5 billion) for

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5408-506: The UANOC and the 26 from CIJM are also members of either the ANOCA, EOC or OCA and are eligible to send their athletes to either the African, European or Asian Games. National Olympic Committees from the UANOC and CIJM are noted in the list below. 1: National Olympic Committee is a member of the UANOC. 2: National Olympic Committee is a member of the CIJM. 3: National Olympic Committee

5512-802: The United States ( American Samoa , Guam , Puerto Rico , and the United States Virgin Islands ), three British Overseas Territories ( Bermuda , the British Virgin Islands , and the Cayman Islands ), one constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands ( Aruba ) and one special administrative region of China ( Hong Kong ). Prior to 1996, rules for recognizing dependent territories or constituent countries as separate countries within

5616-599: The Youth Games, which give athletes between the ages of 14 and 18 the chance to compete. The Youth Olympic Games were conceived by IOC president Jacques Rogge in 2001 and approved during the 119th Congress of the IOC. The first Summer Youth Games were held in Singapore from 14 to 26 August 2010, while the inaugural Winter Games were hosted in Innsbruck , Austria, two years later. These Games will be shorter than

5720-447: The allegation was never fully explored. Turin 's bid to host the 2006 Winter Olympics was also clouded by controversy; a prominent IOC member, Marc Hodler , closely connected to the rival bid of Sion , alleged bribery of IOC officials by members of the Turin Organising Committee. These accusations led to a wide-ranging investigation, and also served to sour many IOC members against Sion's bid which potentially helped Turin to capture

5824-407: The athletes and officials are housed in the Olympic Village for the duration of the Games. This accommodation centre is designed to be a self-contained home for all Olympic participants, and is furnished with cafeterias, health clinics, and locations for religious expression. The IOC has allowed the formation of National Olympic Committees (NOCs) to represent individual nations. These do not meet

5928-409: The auspices of the IOC would take place in Athens in 1896. The IOC elected the Greek writer Demetrius Vikelas as its first president. The first Games held under the auspices of the IOC were hosted in the Panathenaic Stadium in Athens in 1896. The Games brought together 14 nations and 241 athletes who competed in 43 events. Zappas and his cousin Konstantinos Zappas had left the Greek government

6032-433: The budget announced in December 2020, and JPY 29.2 billion (US$ 0.3 billion) from the estimated budget in December 2021. This successful financial management resulted in a balanced budget for the Tokyo 2020 Games. Seeking a scholarly institution to independently research the Games, Bob Barney led efforts to establish the International Centre for Olympic Studies in 1989, endeavouring to write about sociocultural impacts of

6136-404: The commercialisation of the Olympic Games, even as these attitudes came to be seen as incongruous with the realities of modern sports. The advent of state-sponsored athletes from the Eastern Bloc countries further eroded the ideology of the pure amateur , as it placed self-financed amateurs of Western countries at a disadvantage. Brundage was accused of antisemitism and of racism in resisting

6240-419: The committee. Nevertheless, from sporting and business standpoints, the 2002 Olympics were one of the most successful Winter Games in history; records were set in both the broadcasting and marketing programs. Over 2 billion viewers watched more than 13 billion viewer-hours. The 2002 Games were also a financial success, raising more money with fewer sponsors than any prior Olympic Games, leaving SLOC with

6344-421: The current: The ANOC members are eligible to enter the Olympic Games . Some National Olympic Committees who are members of a continental Olympic association but not ANOC members compete in continental-level and subregional-level tournaments. These committees, however, are not allowed to participate in the Olympic Games. The five continental Olympic associations are: The IOC runs the Summer Olympic Games and

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6448-420: The decision-making body, the IOC is responsible for choosing the host city for each Games, and organises and funds the Games according to the Olympic Charter . The IOC also determines the Olympic programme, consisting of the sports to be contested at the Games. There are several Olympic rituals and symbols, such as the Olympic flag , torch , and opening and closing ceremonies . Over 14,000 athletes competed at

6552-501: The development of athletes and the training of coaches and officials at a national level within their geographies. As of 2023, there are 206 National Olympic Committees. These include each of the 193 member states of the United Nations , one UN observer state ( Palestine ), two states without UN recognition ( Kosovo and Taiwan ) and one associated state of New Zealand (the Cook Islands ). There are also nine dependent territories with recognized NOCs: four territories of

6656-403: The difficult journey to attend the festival. Some sources say as many as 40,000 attended. These Games featured mainly athletic but also combat sports such as wrestling and the pankration , horse and chariot racing events. It has been widely written that during the Games, all conflicts among the participating city-states were postponed until the Games were finished. This cessation of hostilities

6760-550: The discontinuation of Universal Sports in 2015. On July 1, 2022, NBC announced that Olympic Channel would end its current operation as a U.S. linear cable channel on September 30, 2022, but indicated its programming would be moved to other NBCUniversal platforms. In January 2019, the IOC announced a partnership with Claro TV and Claro Video to distribute Olympic Channel programming on its Claro Sports linear channel and video streaming service to South American countries. In January 2019, China Media Group announced plans to launch

6864-400: The economic benefits of hosting the Olympic Games, emphasising that such "mega-events" often have large costs while yielding relatively few tangible benefits in the long run. Hosting (or even bidding for) the Olympics appears to increase the host country's exports, as the host or candidate country sends a signal about trade openness when bidding to host the Games. Research suggests that hosting

6968-435: The establishment of new NOCs to represent nations that qualify as "an independent State recognised by the international community". Consequently, the IOC did not allow the formation of NOCs for Sint Maarten and Curaçao when they gained the same constitutional status as Aruba in 2010, although the IOC had recognised the Aruban Olympic Committee in 1986. Since 2012, athletes from the former Netherlands Antilles have had

7072-438: The exclusion of South Africa . Under the Samaranch presidency, the office was accused of both nepotism and corruption. Samaranch's ties with the Franco regime in Spain were also a source of criticism. In 1998, it was reported that several IOC members had taken gifts from members of the Salt Lake City bid committee for the hosting of the 2002 Winter Olympics . There were soon four independent investigations underway: by

7176-434: The experience of hosting an Olympic Games. This feeling was shared by many of the athletes, who even demanded that Athens be the permanent Olympic host city. The IOC intended for subsequent Games to be rotated to various host cities around the world. The second Olympics was held in Paris. After the success of the 1896 Games, the Olympics entered a period of stagnation which threatened its survival. The Olympic Games held at

7280-552: The festival's second day. (Pelops was famous for his chariot race with King Oenomaus of Pisatis . ) The winners of the events were admired and immortalised in poems and statues. Although a wreath made from the sacred olive tree in the precinct of Zeus was the only official prize at the Olympic Games, winners' fame brought them economic wealth, too, in the form of subsidies from their hometowns and wealthy sponsors. See, e.g., Finley and Pleket, and Perrottet The Games were held every four years, and this period, known as an Olympiad ,

7384-445: The financial records after the IOC requested that the entertainment expenditures should not be made public. In July 2000, when the Los Angeles Times reported on the tangled nature of how the IOC redistributes profits from sponsorships and broadcasting rights , Olympic historian Bob Barney stated that he had "yet to see matters of corruption in the IOC", but noted there were "matters of unaccountability". He later noted that when

7488-770: The first to be wholly amateur in nature and international in outlook, although only 'gentlemen amateurs' could compete. The programme of the first modern Olympiad in Athens in 1896 was almost identical to that of the Liverpool Olympics. In 1865 Hulley, Brookes and E.G. Ravenstein founded the National Olympian Association in Liverpool, a forerunner of the British Olympic Association . Its articles of foundation provided

7592-742: The framework for the International Olympic Charter . In 1866, a national Olympic Games in Great Britain was organised at London's Crystal Palace . Greek interest in reviving the Olympic Games began with the Greek War of Independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1821. It was first proposed by poet and newspaper editor Panagiotis Soutsos in his poem "Dialogue of the Dead", published in 1833. Evangelos Zappas ,

7696-597: The games. In 1850, an Olympian Class was started by William Penny Brookes at Much Wenlock , in Shropshire , England. In 1859, Brookes changed the name to the Wenlock Olympian Games . This annual sports festival continues to this day. The Wenlock Olympian Society was founded by Brookes on 15 November 1860. Between 1862 and 1867, Liverpool held an annual Grand Olympic Festival. Devised by John Hulley and Charles Pierre Melly , these games were

7800-538: The host city nomination. The Olympic Games have been commercialised to various degrees since the inaugural 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens, when a number of companies paid for advertising, including Kodak . In 1908, Oxo , Odol  [ de ] mouthwash, and Indian Foot Powder became official sponsors of the London Olympic Games . Coca-Cola first sponsored the Summer Olympics in 1928 , and has remained an Olympic sponsor ever since. Before

7904-468: The host city, affecting infrastructure, tourism and local communities. The Ancient Olympic Games ( Ancient Greek : τὰ Ὀλύμπια , ta Olympia ) were religious and athletic festivals held every four years at the sanctuary of Zeus in Olympia, Greece . The date of the festival was determined according to a complicated formula whereby the midpoint of the festival would occur during the second full moon after

8008-484: The host country is an English or French speaking country: French is always spoken first, followed by an English translation, and then the dominant language of the host nation (when this is not English or French). The IOC has often been accused of being an intractable organisation, with several life members on the committee. The presidential terms of Avery Brundage and Juan Antonio Samaranch were especially controversial. Brundage fought strongly for amateurism and against

8112-541: The ideas and work of Brookes and Zappas with the aim of establishing internationally rotating Olympic Games that would occur every four years. He presented these ideas during the first Olympic Congress of the newly created International Olympic Committee. This meeting was held from 16 to 23 June 1894, at the University of Paris . On the last day of the Congress, it was decided that the first Olympic Games to come under

8216-432: The leadership of Juan Antonio Samaranch , the Games began to shift toward international sponsors who sought to link their products to the Olympic brand. During the first half of the 20th century, the IOC ran on a small budget. As president of the IOC from 1952 to 1972, Avery Brundage rejected all attempts to link the Olympics with commercial interest. He believed that the lobby of corporate interests would unduly impact

8320-647: The members of the Commonwealth Games Association , though not for the constituent countries of the United Kingdom (England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland), nor for Canada or Australia, who maintain separate organisations for Commonwealth and Olympic sport. For the other Commonwealth members, their NOCs are responsible for organising and overseeing their national teams at the Commonwealth Games . This section lists

8424-763: The most expensive Winter Games were Sochi 2014 at US$ 51 billion. As of 2016, costs per athlete were, on average, US$ 599,000 for the Summer Games and $ 1.3 million for the Winter Games; for London 2012, the cost per athlete was $ 1.4 million, and the figure was $ 7.9 million for Sochi 2014. Where ambitious construction for the 1976 Summer Games in Montreal and the 1980 Summer Games in Moscow had burdened organisers with expenses greatly in excess of revenues, Los Angeles strictly controlled expenses for

8528-422: The official languages of the Olympic Movement. The other language used at each Olympic Games is the language of the host country (or languages, if a country has more than one official language apart from French or English). Every proclamation (such as the announcement of each country during the parade of nations in the opening ceremony) is spoken in these three (or more) languages, or the main two depending on whether

8632-538: The option to represent either the Netherlands or Aruba . The Oxford Olympics Study 2016 found that, since 1960, sports-related costs for the Summer Games were on average US$ 5.2 billion and for the Winter Games $ 3.1 billion. These figures do not include wider infrastructure costs like roads, urban rail, and airports, which often cost as much or more than the sports-related costs. The most expensive Summer Games were Beijing 2008 at US$ 40–44 billion, and

8736-421: The postponement of the Games, and other sources including licensing. The expenditures included JPY 195.5 billion (US$ 1.8 billion) for venue-related costs and JPY 444.9 billion (US$ 4 billion) for service expenditures. The total cost also accounted for COVID-19 countermeasures amounting to JPY 35.3 billion (US$ 0.3 billion). Despite initial estimates, the total costs were reduced by JPY 220.2 billion (US$ 2 billion) from

8840-545: The progenitors of the Games. According to legend, it was Heracles who first called the Games "Olympic" and established the custom of holding them every four years. The myth continues that after Heracles completed his twelve labours , he built the Olympic Stadium as an honour to Zeus. Following its completion, he walked in a straight line for 200 steps and called this distance a " stadion " (Ancient Greek: στάδιον , Latin : stadium , "stage"), which later became

8944-569: The rule change are allowed to continue sending separate teams to the Olympics, while the Faroe Islands and Macau send their own Paralympic teams. The only state which thus qualifies to participate in the future is the Vatican City , a UN observer state. Niue , an associated state of New Zealand, could also be eligible as it conducts its own foreign relations and participates independently in UN specialized agencies and treaties, though this

9048-410: The rules of the Olympic Charter. As the umbrella organisation of the Olympic Movement, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) is responsible for selecting the host city, overseeing the planning of the Olympic Games, updating and approving the Olympic sports programme, and negotiating sponsorship and broadcasting rights. The Olympic Movement is made of three major elements: French and English are

9152-456: The sale of television rights. When Juan Antonio Samaranch was elected IOC president in 1980, his desire was to make the IOC financially independent. The 1984 Summer Olympics became a watershed moment in Olympic history. The Los Angeles-based organising committee, led by Peter Ueberroth , was able to generate a surplus of US$ 225 million, which was an unprecedented amount at that time. The organising committee had been able to create such

9256-449: The second Olympics to take place within the third Olympiad), which were held in Athens. These Games attracted a broad international field of participants and generated a great deal of public interest, marking the beginning of a rise in both the popularity and the size of the Olympics. The 1906 Games were officially recognised by the IOC at the time (although not any longer), and no Intercalated Games have been held since. The Winter Olympics

9360-583: The senior Games; the summer version will last twelve days, while the winter version will last nine days. The IOC allows 3,500 athletes and 875 officials to participate at the Summer Youth Games, and 970 athletes and 580 officials at the Winter Youth Games. The sports to be contested will coincide with those scheduled for the senior Games, however there will be variations on the sports including mixed NOC and mixed gender teams as well as

9464-420: The service would be "the start of an exciting new journey to connect the worldwide audience with the Olympic Movement all year round". The channel is produced out of Madrid , and was allocated a seven-year budget of US$ 600 million. The initial digital service has an international focus, but the IOC stated that it plans to work with National Olympic Committees and local rightsholders to develop local versions of

9568-430: The southern Krasnodar region of Russia as a result of improved services. But by December 2014, eight months after the games The Guardian stated that Sochi "now feels like a ghost town", citing the spread-out nature of the stadiums and arenas and the still-unfinished infrastructure. At least four cities withdrew their bids for the 2022 Winter Olympics , citing the high costs or lack of local support, resulting in only

9672-420: The spotlight is on the athletes, it has "the power to eclipse impressions of scandal or corruption", with respect to the Olympic bid process. An August 2004, a BBC documentary, Panorama : Buying the Games , reported the results of an investigation into bribes allegedly used in the bidding process for the 2012 Summer Olympics . The documentary claimed that it was possible to bribe IOC members into voting for

9776-402: The stories of athletes, arguing that "We need to take some risks and it's better to take risks now because we're stronger than we’ve ever been. The personalities of athletes, their lifestyles, are something very, very attractive." IOC president Thomas Bach , who originally proposed the concept of an Olympics-oriented television channel in 1994 when he was a junior officer of the IOC, stated that

9880-405: The strict requirements for political sovereignty that other international organisations demand. As a result, colonies and dependencies are permitted to compete at Olympic Games, examples being territories such as Puerto Rico , Bermuda , and Hong Kong , all of which compete as separate nations despite being legally a part of another country. The current version of the Olympic Charter allows for

9984-405: The winner, e.g. "the third year of the eighteenth Olympiad when Ladas of Argos won the stadion." The Ancient Games varied over time, but they came to feature running events, a pentathlon (consisting of a jumping event, discus and javelin throws, a foot race, and wrestling), boxing, wrestling, pankration , and equestrian events. Tradition has it that Coroebus , a cook from the city of Elis ,

10088-442: The world's leading international sporting events. They feature 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 during

10192-433: The year in which they take place (however, each class usually maintains its own records). The Olympics are staged every four years. Since 1994 , they have alternated between the Summer and Winter Olympics every two years during the four-year Olympiad . 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

10296-620: Was actually 11 days) was held in 1924 in Chamonix , France, in connection with the Paris Games held three months later; this event became the first Winter Olympic Games . Although, it was intended that the same country host both the Winter and Summer Games in a given year, this idea was quickly abandoned. The IOC mandated that the Winter Games be celebrated every four years in the same year as their summer counterpart. This tradition

10400-497: Was created to feature snow and ice sports that were logistically impossible to hold during the Summer Games. Figure skating (in 1908 and 1920) and ice hockey (in 1920) were featured as Olympic events at the Summer Olympics. The IOC desired to expand this list of sports to encompass other winter activities. At the 1921 Olympic Congress in Lausanne , it was decided to hold a winter version of the Olympic Games. A winter sports week (it

10504-503: Was known as the Olympic peace or truce. This idea is a modern myth because the Greeks never suspended their wars. The truce did allow those religious pilgrims who were traveling to Olympia to pass through warring territories unmolested because they were protected by Zeus. See also Finley and Pleket. The origin of the Olympics is shrouded in mystery and legend; one of the most popular myths identifies Heracles and his father Zeus as

10608-400: Was the first Olympic champion, which indicates that the competition was not limited to the aristocracy. The Olympics were of fundamental religious importance, and the sporting events, which were held alongside ritual sacrifices honouring both Zeus (whose famous statue by Phidias stood in his temple at Olympia ) and Pelops (divine hero and mythical king of Olympia), did not start until

10712-483: Was upheld through the 1992 Games in Albertville , France; after that, beginning with the 1994 Games , the Winter Olympics were held every four years, two years after each Summer Olympics. In 1948, Sir Ludwig Guttmann , determined to promote the rehabilitation of soldiers after World War II , organised a multi-sport event between several hospitals to coincide with the 1948 London Olympics . Originally known as

10816-773: Was used by Greeks as one of their units of time measurement. The Games were part of a cycle known as the Panhellenic Games , which included the Pythian Games , the Nemean Games , and the Isthmian Games . The Olympic Games reached the height of their success in the 6th and 5th centuries BC, but then gradually declined in importance as the Romans gained power and influence in Greece. While there

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