History of Modern Olympics

Timeline of Modern Olympics

Period: Jul 25, 1892 to Jul 25, 2014

Creation of Modern Olympics

Nov 15, 1892

In November 1892, at a meeting of the Union des Sports Athlétiques in Paris, Coubertin proposed the idea of reviving the Olympics as an international athletic competition held every four years. Two years later, he got the approval he needed to found the International Olympic Committee (IOC), which would become the governing body of the modern Olympic Games.

First Modern Olympic games

Jul 25, 1896

The first modern Olympics were held in Athens, Greece, in 1896. In the opening ceremony, King Georgios I and a crowd of 60,000 spectators welcomed 280 participants from 13 nations (all male), who would compete in 43 events, including track and field, gymnastics, swimming, wrestling, cycling, tennis, weightlifting, shooting and fencing.
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First North American Olympics

Sep 25, 1904

The first Olympic Games to be held on the continent of North America. They were held in St. Louis. They were not real popular because of expensive travel methods.

Introduction of Medals

Oct 25, 1904

Gold, silver and bronze medals were not awarded until 1904.

First Cancelled Modern Olympics

Feb 25, 1916

Cancelled Due to WWI

First Display of Olympic Flag

Aug 25, 1920

The official symbol of the modern Games is five interlocking colored rings, representing the continents of North and South America, Asia, Africa, Europe and Australia. The Olympic flag, featuring this symbol on a white background, flew for the first time at the Antwerp Games in 1920.
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Gaining Popularity

Feb 18, 1924

The Olympics truly took off as an international sporting event after 1924, when the VIII Games were held in Paris. Some 3,000 athletes (with more than 100 women among them) from 44 nations competed that year, and for the first time the Games featured a closing ceremony. The Winter Olympics debuted that year, including such events as figure skating, ice hockey, bobsledding and the biathlon.

First Olympics Scheduled to be held in Asia

Jul 25, 1940

First Olympics held in Asia

Jul 25, 1964

XVIII 1964 Tokyo Japan Asia

First Olympics held in South America

Jul 25, 1968

The first Olympic Games to be held on the continent of South America. They were held in Mexico City.

Since 1984, professional athletes at the Games

Jul 25, 1984

The modern Olympic Games were long open only to amateur athletes, in line with Pierre de Coubertin’s wishes. The IOC abolished this rule in 1984 (for the Games
in Los Angeles), and since then professional athletes have also been able to take part.

Latest Statistics

Jul 25, 2010

At the 2010 Games in Vancouver (Canada), a total of 2,566 athletes came
together from 82 countries as diverse as Ghana, Brazil, New Zealand
and Pakistan.