History Of Modern Olympics

The history of modern Olympics can be traced to Greece, where the ancient Olympics were staged. After success in Greece in the late 19^th century, the games were picked up by a Frenchman, who took the event to an international level. Today the quadrennial event is a major world undertaking. The Olympics stem from the Greek’s winning their freedom from the Ottoman Empire in 1821 as a result of the Greek War of Independence. After establishing their independence, they wanted to reestablish a culture heritage and looked to the Olympics of antiquity, of which Greece was famed.

Greece hosted an Olympics-type event several times in the late 19^th century, with a reported 30,000 people attending the 1870 games. A Frenchman named Baron Pierre de Coubertin attended the 1890 and was inspired to take the mantle of the Olympics, leading to a new chapter in the history of modern Olympics. Coubertin formed the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to organize and administer the Olympics every four years. The 1896 games in Athens were the first games operated by the IOC. The games were very popular, and many suggested that the games always be in Athens. The IOC, however, determined an international rotation would be best, an important aspect in the history of modern Olympics, and Paris was chosen for 1900.

The Olympics included figure skating and ice hockey, but as the IOC wanted to expand the number of cold- and snow-related events, it decided to create the Winter Olympics games as a separate event. In 1924 the first Winter Olympics were held, a significant event in the history of modern Olympics. The Winter Games also went on a every-four-year schedule.

The Olympics today generally host over 200 countries and 10,000 athletes, much larger than perhaps even Coubertin ever imagined they would be and by including far more sports than at any other time in the history of modern Olympics. The event is a worldwide television phenomenon and countries spare no expense in attempting to land the honor of being host city.