Summer Olympic Games

The Summer Olympic Games or the Games of the Olympiad are an international sporting event which are held every four years by the International Olympic Committee. The "Games", as they are often called, are held in a different city each time. It is a great honour for a city to be "awarded" (given) the right to hold the Olympic Games. Two years after the Summer Olympics, the Winter Olympic Games are held. The Winter Games were held in the same year as the summer Games from 1924 to 1992 and then switched to two years apart in 1994. These are always in a cold, mountainous place because the sports are all snow and ice sports such as skiing. Many more countries send athletes to the Summer Olympics than to the Winter Olympics
The Olympic Games were first held in Ancient Greece more than two thousand years ago. The first modern Summer Olympic Games were held in Athens in 1896. There were 200 athletes from Greece and 45 athletes from 13 other countries. Since 1904, medals have been given to the three best athletes or teams in each sport.
The earliest Games consisted of 42 events only, but it was expected that 10,500 athletes would compete in the 302 events on the program for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.
List of modern Summer Olympic Games
Games in italics were cancelled or have not yet been held.
1896 - Games of the I Olympiad - Athens, Greece
1900 - Games of the II Olympiad - Paris, France
1904 - Games of the III Olympiad - St. Louis, Missouri, United States
1906 - Intercalated Games - Athens, Greece
1908 - Games of the IV Olympiad - London, United Kingdom
1912 - Games of the V Olympiad - Stockholm, Sweden
1916 - Games of the VI Olympiad - Berlin, Germany - Cancelled due to World War I 1920 - Games of the VII Olympiad - Antwerp, Belgium
1924 - Games of the VIII Olympiad - Paris, France
1928 - Games of the IX Olympiad - Amsterdam, Netherlands
1932 - Games of the X Olympiad - Los Angeles, California, United States
1936 - Games of the XI Olympiad - Berlin, Germany
1940 - Games of the XII Olympiad - Helsinki, Finland - Cancelled due to World War II 1944 - Games of the XIII Olympiad - London, United Kingdom - Cancelled due to World War II 1948 - Games of the XIV Olympiad - London, United Kingdom
1952 - Games of the XV Olympiad - Helsinki, Finland
1956 - Games of the XVI Olympiad - Melbourne, Australia / Stockholm, Sweden (Equestrian events)
1960 - Games of the XVII Olympiad - Rome, Italy
1964 - Games of the XVIII Olympiad - Tokyo, Japan
1968 - Games of the XIX Olympiad - Mexico City, Mexico
1972 - Games of the XX Olympiad - Munich, West Germany (now Munich, Germany)
1976 - Games of the XXI Olympiad - Montreal, Quebec, Canada
1980 - Games of the XXII Olympiad - Moscow, Soviet Union (now Moscow, Russia)
1984 - Games of the XXIII Olympiad - Los Angeles, California, United States
1988 - Games of the XXIV Olympiad - Seoul, South Korea
1992 - Games of the XXV Olympiad - Barcelona, Spain
1996 - Games of the XXVI Olympiad - Atlanta, Georgia, United States
2000 - Games of the XXVII Olympiad - Sydney, Australia
2004 - Games of the XXVIII Olympiad - Athens, Greece
2008 - Games of the XXIX Olympiad - Beijing, China / Hong Kong, China (Equestrian events)
2012 - Games of the XXX Olympiad - London, United Kingdom
2016 - Games of the XXXI Olympiad - Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
2020 - Games of the XXXII Olympiad - Tokyo, Japan
2024 - Games of the XXXIII Olympiad - Paris, France 2028 - Games of the XXXIV Olympiad - Los Angeles, California, United States 2032 - Games of the XXXV Olympiad - Brisbane, Australia Cancelled Games
The 1906 Summer Olympics or 1906 Intercalated Games were discounted ex post facto'' by the IOC. All medals awarded during these games have not since been counted officially on total medal counts.
The following games were cancelled due to the World Wars. The 1916 Summer Olympics were cancelled due to the onset of WWI; both Summer Olympics of 1940 and 1944 were cancelled due to WWII.
Some summer events were held by the IOC in celebration of its Jubilee in Lausanne, despite the war that cancelled the 1944 Summer Olympics, at the Jubilee Celebrations of the IOC.
Related pages
Athletics at the Summer Olympics
References
Olympics-related lists