Claim: The Olympic Games are sporting events that are international.

The Summer Olympic Games or the Games of the Olympiad -LRB- Jeux olympiques d'été -RRB- , first held in 1896 , is an international multi-sport event that is hosted by a different city every four years . The most recent Olympics were held in Rio de Janeiro , Brazil . The International Olympic Committee organizes the games and oversees the host city 's preparations . In each Olympic event , gold medals are awarded for first place , silver medals are awarded for second place , and bronze medals are awarded for third ; this tradition began in 1904 . The Winter Olympic Games were created due to the success of the Summer Olympics .   The Olympics have increased in scope from a 42-event competition with fewer than 250 male competitors from 14 nations in 1896 to 302 events with 10,768 competitors -LRB- 5,992 men , 4,776 women -RRB- from 204 nations in 2012 .   Eighteen countries have hosted the Summer Olympics . The United States has hosted four Summer Olympics -LRB- 1904 , 1932 , 1984 , 1996 -RRB- , more than any other nation , and Great Britain has hosted three Summer Olympics -LRB- 1908 , 1948 , 2012 -RRB- , all in London . Four cities have hosted two Summer Olympics : Athens -LRB- 1896 , 2004 -RRB- , Paris -LRB- 1900 , 1924 -RRB- , Los Angeles -LRB- 1932 , 1984 -RRB- , and Tokyo -LRB- 1964 , 2020 -RRB- . Tokyo is the first city outside of the Western world to host the Summer Olympics multiple times .   Asia has hosted the Summer Olympics four times -LRB- 1964 , 1988 , 2008 , 2020 -RRB- in Japan , South Korea , and China . The only Summer Olympics held in the Southern Hemisphere have been in Australia -LRB- 1956 , 2000 -RRB- and Brazil -LRB- 2016 -RRB- . The 2016 Games are the first Summer Olympics to be held in South America and the first to be held during the local winter season . Africa has yet to host a Summer Olympics .   Only five countries -- Greece , Australia , France , Great Britain , and Switzerland -- have been represented at every Summer Olympic Games . The only country to have won at least one gold medal at every Summer Olympic Games is Great Britain . The United States leads the all-time medal table .