Sydney Olympic Games, 2000 | australia.gov.au Sydney Olympic Games, 2000 The exceptionally well-organised Sydney Games were a true celebration of Olympic values and sporting excellence. Olympic Committee The Sydney Olympic Games were held from 15 September to 1 October 2000. Sydney was awarded the right to host the 2000 Olympic Games in 1993. It was the second time that an Australian city had hosted the Olympic Games, the first being in Melbourne in 1956. The first Olympic Games of the modern era were held in Athens in 1896 following the founding of the International Olympic Committee in 1894. The Olympics began in Greece about 3,500 years ago but were discontinued in 393 AD. In 1887, Baron Pierre de Coubertin came up with the idea of reviving the Olympics. At the Sydney 2000 Olympics there were 199 competing countries and four individual athletes from East Timor who marched in the parade of nations.

There were 10,651 athletes (4,069 women, 6,582 men). There were 300 events. One of the extraordinary characteristics of the Sydney Olympics was the number of volunteers, 46,967, which had grown from an original group of 500, honoured in a parade through the city after the games. The extent of interest world-wide in the Olympics is reflected in the 16,033 accredited media people (5,298 written press, 10,735 broadcasters). Highlights – 100 years of women's participation Cathy Freeman wins gold in the 400m. Image courtesy of the ABC. Sydney 2000 celebrated 100 years of women's participation in the Olympic Games. The Triathlon made its Olympic debut with the women's race as the first event. Brigitte McMahon of Switzerland swam, cycled and ran to win gold and beat the favoured Australian athlete Michelie Jones who won silver. McMahon only passed Jones in sight of the finish line. Taekwondo was another new addition to the Olympic programme.

Australian Lauren Burns, won gold in taekwondo, women's -49kg. Roared on by home fans, Burns surged ahead to 4-2 in the second round after being tied at the end of first round. Susanthika Jayasinghe became the first Sri Lankan woman to win a medal, claiming bronze in the 200m, whilst Birgit Fischer of Germany earned two gold medals in kayaking to become the first woman in any sport to win medals 20 years apart, having won gold at the Moscow, Barcelona and Atlanta Olympic Games. Women also took part in weightlifting and the modern pentathlon for the very first time. Australian Maria Pekli, won silver in judo for the women's 57kg. Other Australian women gold medal winners included Natalie Cook and Kerri Pottharst for beach volleyball, and Jenny Armstrong and Belinda Stowell for sailing, in the women's 470 class. The Australian women's hockey, softball and water polo teams also showed their excellence in winning gold. Opening ceremony and Olympic Flame Sydney 200 opening ceremony. Image courtesy of the ABC.

The opening ceremony began with a tribute to Australian culture, history and identity with over 120 Australian stock horses stepping out, paying tribute to Australian stockmen. Performances that followed included references to the arrival of the First Fleet, immigration and rural industry as well as a large display of lawnmowers and an Australian Hill's hoist clothes line representing domestic life and ingenuity. Music and performance highlights of the opening were two hundred (200) Indigenous women from Central Australia dancing to cleanse and protect the Games and hundreds of tap-dancing teenagers. Olivia Newton-John and John Farnham sang the duet 'Dare to Dream' while walking among the athletes. Torres Strait Islander Christine Anu sang 'My Island Home' and the Australian National Anthem was sung by the boy band Human Nature with the second verse sung by Julie Anthony. The games were opened by the Australian Governor-General Sir William Deane with the Olympic Flag carried around the arena by eight former Australian Olympic champions: Bill Roycroft, Murray Rose, Liane Tooth, Gillian Rolton, Marjorie Jackson, Lorraine Crapp, Michael Wenden and Nick Green. Cathy Freeman lighting the Olympic Flame. Image courtesy of the ABC.

The opening ceremony concluded with the lighting of the Olympic Flame. Former Australian Olympic champion Herb Elliott brought the Olympic Flame into the stadium. Then, celebrating 100 years of women's participation in the Olympic Games, former Australian women Olympic champions: Betty Cuthbert and Raelene Boyle, Dawn Fraser, Shirley Strickland (later Shirley Strickland de la Hunty), Shane Gould and Debbie Flintoff-King brought the torch through the stadium, handing it over to Cathy Freeman. The longest ever Olympic torch relay brought the Olympic flame from Greece to Sydney. After travelling through the South Pacific, the flame was carried around Australia for 100 days. Cathy Freeman, an Australian athlete, had the honour of lighting the Olympic torch, lighting the flame in the cauldron within a circle of fire. This emotional moment helped symbolise the desire to reconcile with the Aboriginal populations of Australia. Ten days later, she won the 400m final before an ecstatic crowd. Sports and Australian medal winners Australian's medal tally reflected its strengths in swimming, boating (rowing, sailing and kayak), cycling, shooting, horse-riding, archery and tennis. These are sporting traditions well developed as national past-times in Australia over two hundred years.

Indigenous athlete Cathy Freeman's win of the women's 400 metres run also reflected the elegance, strength and rhythm inherent in Freeman's talent, determination and dedication as an athlete, showcasing Australia's Indigenous athletic skills. Swimmer Ian Thorpe Ian Thorpe wins the men's 400m Freestyle gold. Image courtesy of the ABC. After competing in just two Olympic Games, Ian Thorpe became the most decorated Australian swimmer in Olympic history. Ian Thorpe entered the 2000 Sydney Games being just 17 years old. Racing in the 400m freestyle on the first day of competition, he won the gold medal and broke his own world record. Thorpe was nicknames 'the Thorpedo' by the media. Just one hour later, Thorpe beat Gary Hall Jr of the US in a thrilling finish to the 4x100m freestyle relay. However, in a surprise result, he had to settle for silver behind Pieter van den Hoogenband of the Netherlands in the 200m freestyle [with half a second difference in the time]. Thorpe finished the Sydney Games with a haul of three gold and two silver medals.

Swimming Swimming was a highlight for Australia, winning medals in seventeen events. Another Australian gold medal winner was Susie O'Neill, winning the women's 200m freestyle swimming. Grant Hackett won gold in the 1500 metres men's freestyle beating rival Australian swimmer Kieran Perkins, one of the world's best-ever long-distance swimmers, Perkins having won two Olympic gold medals in 1992 and 1996. Silver medal winners in the swimming included: Grand Hackett winning the 1500 metres freestyle gold. Image courtesy of the ABC.

Regan Harrison, Geoff Huegill, Michael Klim, Matt Welsh, Ryan Mitchell, Adam Pine, Josh Watson, Ian Thorpe, men's 4x100m medley relay Leisel Jones, women's 100m breaststroke Susie O'Neill, women's 200m butterfly Susie O'Neill, Giann Rooney, Petria Thomas, Kirsten Thomson, Elka Graham, Jacinta Van Lint, women's 4x200m freestyle relay Keiren Perkins, men's 1500m freestyle Ian Thorpe, men's 200m freestyle Matt Welsh, men's 100m backstroke Bronze medal winners in the swimming showed strong form in the butterfly and backstroke: Geoff Huegill, men's 100m butterfly Justin Norris, men's 200m butterfly Petria Thomas, women's 200m butterfly Matt Welsh, men's 200m backstroke The swimming medal tally was complemented by Bronze medals for synchronised diving with Rebecca Gilmore and Loudy Tourky, in the women's, 10m platform and Robert Newberry, with Dean Pullar in the men's

 3m springboard event.

Rowing, sailing and kayak Rowing featured strongly with silver for Darren Balmforth, Simon Burgess, Anthony Edwards and Robert Richards for the men's lightweight coxless four. The rowing men's eight also won silver. Tom King and Mark Turnbull won silver in the men's 470 class in sailing. Daniel Collins and Andrew Trim won silver in the kayak, for the men's K2 500 metres race. Michael Diamond wins men's trap shooting gold. Image courtesy of the ABC. Bronze medals in rowing, sailing and kayak for Australia went to: Matthew Lang, James Tomkins, rowing, men's coxless pair Michael Blackburn, sailing, laser class Katrin Borchert, kayak, women's K1 500m. Cycling - Individual and team efforts Australia showed its strength in cycling with medals across five classes. Gold was won by Brett Aitken and Scott McGrory, for men's madison. A silver medal was won by Michelle Ferris for cycling in the women's 500m trial.

Bronze medal winners in cycling were: Sean Eadie, Darryn Hill and Gary Neiwand, team sprint Shane Kelly, men's 1km time trial Brad McGee, men's 4000m individual pursuit. Phillip Dutton on House Doctor winning gold in the 3 day Equestrian event. Image courtesy of the ABC. Shooting, archery and equestrian In an exciting and nerve wracking shoot, Michael Diamond won gold for men's trap shooting, with team mate Russell Mark, winning silver for men's double trap. Annemarie Forder won bronze for shooting in women's 10m air pistol. Simon Fairweather won silver in archery for the men's individual. Phillip Dutton, Andrew Hoy, Stuart Tinney and Matt Ryan won gold in the 3-day equestrian team event and Andrew Hoy won silver in the individual three-day equestrian event, following a strong showing winning medals in the previous Olympics in Atlanta. Tennis doubles The Woodies. Mark Woodforde and Todd Woodbridge with their silver medals. Image courtesy of the ABC.

To top it off, another strong doubles pair, amongst the other team medallists, the 'two Woodies' Todd Woodbridge and Mark Woodforde, won silver for tennis in men's doubles. Marathon The marathon was one of the original modern Olympic events in 1896, though the distance did not become standardized until 1921. The distance commemorated the run of the Greek messenger Pheidippides from the Battle of Marathon to Athens as a symbol of the link between the modern and the ancient Olympics. The official distance is 42.195 kilometres (26 miles and 385 yards). The tradition of the marathon being the last event of the games was continued in Sydney with the Men's Marathon contested on a course that started in North Sydney, heading across the Sydney Harbour Bridge to finish in the stadium prior to the closing ceremony. In Sydney 2000, the event was won by Ethiopian Genzhnge Abera, with Eric Wananina second and Tesefe Tola, also of Ethiopia third. It was the first time since the 1968 Olympics that an Ethiopian had won the gold medal in this event.

The Festivals – national and international arts The tradition of cultural festivities and the Olympic Games stems from the philosophy of Baron Pierre de Coubertin, who saw the Games as an expression of the excellence of both mind and body. A cultural program is not an optional extra. It is a requirement. The Charter of the Modern Olympic Games requires the host city and country to present a program of national and international arts. Sydney chose to present a series of Olympic Arts Festivals over the four years of the Cultural Olympiad (1997-2000), each with a different theme and emphasis. The Festival of the Dreaming. 1997 – The Festival of the Dreaming Artistic Director, Rhoda Roberts oversaw the extensive Festival of the Dreaming from 14 September to 6 October 1997 in Sydney, one of the largest indigenous arts festivals yet to be held in the world. The festival had 30 exhibitions, 14 dance and theatre productions, eight performance troupes, 50 films, a literature program, three concerts and a number of special commissions.

The Festival of the Dreaming, the first of its kind in Australia, celebrated the world's indigenous cultures, especially those of the Australian Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders. Events in Centennial Park entranced audiences entering the park at night - the trees alive with the sound of birds as the country would have heard them at the time of colonisation - stepping through fire lit paths to encounter hovering Mimi spirits in mid-air, glimpsed as ethereal figures on stilts. The Festival of the Dreaming promoted a greater awareness and appreciation of Australia's Indigenous heritage to visitors. Most of the content was Australian, with additional representation from indigenous cultures from around the world, including the United States of America, Canada, Greenland, Korea, New Zealand, Western Samoa and Papua New Guinea. The festival explored the experience of indigenous people from its earliest origins to the impact of other cultures. Many of the projects from The Festival of the Dreaming toured nationally in 1998. 1998 – A Sea Change A Sea Change was the second Olympic Arts Festival held in the lead up to the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games. Artistic director, Andrea Stretton selected a wide range of events from all states and territories, communities large and small.

Combined, they focused on 'transformations in Australian culture', and celebrated Australia's development into a multicultural society and the impact of immigration. 1999 – Reaching the World The third festival was also directed by Andrea Stretton. It took examples of Australian visual and performing arts to the rest of the world, expressing the unique spirit of Australia's cultural life. 2000 – Harbour of Life For the 2000 Sydney Olympic Arts Festival, the director, Leo Scofield brought together six weeks of sounds and spectacles in areas of: symphony, opera, dance, jazz, cabaret, choral music, visual arts exhibitions, film and photography. The performances included many world premieres as well as especially commissioned works from Australian and international artists. It was presented as a global program with global events. Useful links Melbourne 1956 - AOC Melbourne 1956 3,314 (2,938 men, 376 women) Number of sports: View Full Medal Tally The Melbourne 1956 Games was the first time Australia hosted the Olympics. In many ways, it was the Games that took the Olympics to the world.

It was the first Games held outside of Europe or the United States, the first Games held in the southern hemisphere, the first Games where live television broadcasts captured the public’s imagination, and the first Games in which all the athletes walked together as one in the Closing Ceremony. This change to procedure had been suggested to organisers by an Australian schoolboy, John Ian Wing, and remains a much-loved tradition of togetherness and friendship. The Melbourne Olympics also heralded the arrival of Australia as a real sporting force at the Olympics, with stars such as swimmers Dawn Fraser and Murray Rose and sprinters Betty Cuthbert and Shirley Strickland helping Australia rise to third on the medal table. Only the Soviet Union (37 gold) and the United States (32 gold) beat Australia’s 13 gold medals. Notably, Melbourne was the first time the Soviet Union led the medal table. The stars of the Soviet team included distance runner Vladimir Kuts, who won the 5000m and 10,000m double. Watching Kuts in the stands was a young Australian named Herb Elliott, who was so inspired by the record-breaking runs he became determined to one day make his own name on the track.

Another young Australian runner later to emerge as an idol, Ron Clarke, had the honour of lighting the Olympic flame. Other heroes to emerge in Melbourne included Hungarian Laszlo Papp, who became the first man to win three successive boxing gold medals. Hungary also won its second successive water polo gold medal, but not before a bitter and bloody match with the Soviet Union, which had invaded Hungary only weeks earlier. With far more grace, Soviet gymnast Larissa Latynina made her Olympic debut. She won three gold and two silver medals, including the all-around event. Latynina would retire after the 1964 Games with a record total of gold medals and overall medals. Another record breaker was American diver Patricia McCormick, who repeated her double gold medal performance from 1952 by winning both the springboard and platform events. In total, 67 nations participated in Melbourne’s Games. Olympic Games | Olympics Wiki | Fandom powered by Wikia Main article: Summer Olympic Games After the initial success, the Olympics struggled. The celebrations in Paris (1900) and St. Louis (1904) were overshadowed by the World's Fair exhibitions in which they were included.

The 1906 Intercalated Games (so-called because of their off-year status, as 1906 is not divisible by four) were held in Athens, as the first of an alternating series of Athens-held Olympics. Although originally the IOC recognised and supported these games, they are currently not recognised by the IOC as Olympic Games, which has given rise to the explanation that they were intended to mark the 10th anniversary of the modern Olympics. The 1906 Games again attracted a broad international field of participants—in 1904, 80% had been American—and great public interest, thereby marking the beginning of a rise in popularity and size of the Games. From the 241 participants from 14 nations in 1896, the Games grew to nearly 11,100 competitors from 202 countries at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens . The number of competitors at the Winter Olympics is much smaller than at the Summer Games; at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin Italy, 2,633 athletes from 80 countries competed in 84 events. The Olympics are one of the largest media events.

In Sydney in 2000, there were over 16,000 broadcasters and journalists, and an estimated 3.8 billion viewers watched the games on television. The growth of the Olympics is one of the largest problems the Olympics face today. Although allowing professional athletes and attracting sponsorships from major international companies solved financial problems in the 1980s, the large number of athletes, media and spectators makes it difficult and expensive for host cities to organize the Olympics. For example, the 2012 Olympics (which were held in London), is based on an updated budget of over £9bn—one of the biggest budgets for an Olympics to date. Even if sponsorships do lighten the load in terms of the debt that these countries take on, one of the biggest problems faced is how their economies will cope with the extra financial burdens put on them. Despite the Olympics usually being associated with one host city, most of the Olympics have had events held in other cities, especially the football and sailing events. There were two Olympics where some events were held in a different country: during the 1920 Antwerp Olympics two sailing races were held in the Netherlands; and during the Melbourne Olympics equestrian events were held in Sweden.

The 2008 Beijing Olympics marked the third time that Olympic events have been held in the territories of two different NOC 's: at the 2008 Olympics, equestrian events were held in Hong Kong (which competes separately from mainland China.) 203 countries currently participate in the Olympics. This is a noticeably higher number than the number of countries belonging to the United Nations, which is only 193. The International Olympic Committee allows nations to compete which do not meet the strict requirements for political sovereignty that many other international organizations demand. As a result, many colonies and dependencies are permitted to host their own Olympic teams and athletes even if such competitors hold the same citizenship as another member nation. Examples of this include territories such as Puerto Rico , Bermuda , and Hong Kong , all of which compete as separate nations despite being legally a part of another country. Also, since 1980, Taiwan has competed under the name " Chinese Taipei ", and under a flag specially prepared by the IOC. Prior to that year the People's Republic of China refused to participate in the Games because Taiwan had been competing under the name "Republic of China".

The Republic of the Marshall Islands was recognised as a nation by the IOC on February 9, 2006, and competed in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing . [9] Youth Olympic Games Main article: Youth Olympic Games The Youth Olympic Games (YOG) [10] are planned to be a "junior" version of the Games, complementing the current "senior" Games, [11] and will feature athletes between the ages of 14 and 18. [12] The idea for such an event was envisioned in 2001 by IOC president Jacques Rogge , [13] and at the 119th IOC session in Guatemala City in July 2007, the IOC approved the Games. [14] The Youth Games versions will be shorter: the summer version will last at most twelve days; the winter version will last a maximum of nine days. [15] [16] The IOC will allow a maximum of 3,500 athletes and 875 officials to participate at the summer games, while 970 athletes and 580 officials are expected at the winter games.

[14] Each participating country would send at least four athletes. The sports contested at these games will be the same as those scheduled for the traditional Games, [13] but with a limited number of disciplines and events, and including some with special appeal to youth. Education and culture are also key components for this Youth edition. Estimated cost for the game are currently $30 million for the summer and $15–$20 million for winter games. [17] It has been stated the IOC will "foot the bill" for the Youth Games. The first host city will be Singapore in 2010; the first Winter Olympics is in 2012 in Innsbruk . Olympic problems Edit The 1956 Melbourne Olympics were the first Olympics to be boycotted. The Netherlands , Spain , and Switzerland refused to attend because of the repression of the Hungarian Uprising by the Soviet Union ; additionally, Cambodia , Egypt , Iraq , and Lebanon , boycotted the games due to the Suez Crisis.

[18] In 1972 and 1976 , a large number of African countries threatened the IOC with a boycott, to force them to ban South Africa , Rhodesia , and New Zealand . The IOC conceded in the first two cases, but refused in 1976 because the boycott was prompted by a New Zealand rugby union tour of South Africa, and rugby was not an Olympic sport. The countries withdrew their teams after the games had started; some African athletes had already competed. A lot of sympathy was felt for the athletes forced by their governments to leave the Olympic Village; there was little sympathy outside Africa for the governments' attitude. Twenty-two countries ( Guyana was the only non-African nation) boycotted the Montreal Olympics because New Zealand was not banned. [19] Also in 1976, due to pressure from the People's Republic of China ( PRC ), Canada told the team from the Republic of China ( Taiwan ) that it could not compete at the Montreal Summer Olympics under the name "Republic of China" despite a compromise that would have allowed Taiwan to use the ROC flag and anthem .

The Republic of China refused and as a result did not participate again until 1984, when it returned under the name " Chinese Taipei " and used a special flag. [20] In 1980 and 1984, the Cold War opponents boycotted each other's games. Sixty-five nations refused to compete at the Moscow Olympics in 1980 because of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, but 16 nations from Western Europe did compete at the Moscow Olympics. The boycott reduced the number of nations participating to only 81, the lowest number of nations to compete since 1956. The Soviet Union and 14 of its Eastern Bloc partners (except Romania ) countered by skipping the Los Angeles Olympics in 1984 , arguing the safety of their athletes could not be guaranteed there and "chauvinistic sentiments and an anti-Soviet hysteria are being whipped up in the United States". [21] The 1984 boycotters staged their own Friendship Games in July-August.

[22] [23] There have been growing calls for boycotts of the 2008 Olympics in Beijing in protest of China's poor human rights record and response to the recent disturbances in Tibet, Darfur, and Taiwan. There are also campaigns calling for Chinese goods to be boycotted. [24] [25] [26] Olympic Problems Edit One of the main problems facing the Olympics (and international sports in general) is doping , or performance enhancing drugs. In the early 20th century, many Olympic athletes began using drugs to enhance their performance. For example, the winner of the marathon at the 1904 Games , Thomas J. Hicks , was given strychnine and brandy by his coach, even during the race. As these methods became more extreme, gradually the awareness grew that this was no longer a matter of health through sports. In the mid-1960s, sports federations put a ban on doping, and the IOC followed suit in 1967. The first and so far only Olympic death caused by doping occurred in 1960.

At the cycling road race in Rome the Danish rider Knud Enemark Jensen fell from his bicycle and later died. A coroner's inquiry found that he was under the influence of amphetamines. The first Olympic athlete to test positive for doping use was Hans-Gunnar Liljenwall , a Swedish pentathlete at the 1968 Summer Olympics , who lost his bronze medal for alcohol use. Seventy-three athletes followed him over the next 38 years, several medal winners among them. The most publicised doping-related disqualification was that of Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson , who won the 100m at the 1988 Seoul Olympics , but tested positive for stanozolol. Despite the testing, many athletes continued to use doping without getting caught. In 1990, documents were revealed that showed many East German female athletes had been unknowingly administered anabolic steroids and other drugs by their coaches and trainers as a government policy. In the late 1990s, the IOC took initiative in a more organised battle against doping, leading to the formation of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) in 1999.

The recent 2000 Summer Olympics and 2002 Winter Olympics have shown that this battle is not nearly over, as several medalists in weightlifting and cross-country skiing were disqualified due to doping offences. One innocent victim of the anti-doping movement at the Olympics was the Romanian gymnast Andreea Răducan who was stripped of her gold medal-winning performance in the All-Around Competition of the 2000 Sydney games. Test results indicated the presence of the banned-stimulant pseudophedrine which had been prescribed to her by an Olympic doctor. Raducan had been unaware of the presence of the illegal substance in the medicine that had been prescribed to her for a cold she had during the games. During the 2006 Winter Olympics , only one athlete failed a drug test and had a medal revoked. The only other case involved 12 members with high levels of haemoglobin and their punishment was a five day suspension for health reasons. The International Olympic Committee introduced blood testing for the first time during these games.

Politics Main article: Politics in the Olympics Politics interfered with the Olympics on several occasions, the most well-known of which was the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin , where the games were used as propaganda by the German Nazis. At this Olympics, a true Olympic spirit was shown by Luz Long , who helped Jesse Owens (a black athlete) to win the long jump, at the expense of his own silver medal. [27] The Soviet Union did not participate in the Olympic Games until the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki . Instead, the Soviets organized an international sports event called Spartakiads, from 1928 onward. Many athletes from Communist organizations or close to them chose not to participate or were even barred from participating in Olympic Games, and instead participated in Spartakiads. [28] A political incident on a smaller scale occurred at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City . Two American track-and-field athletes, Tommie Smith and John Carlos , performed the Black Power salute on the victory stand of the 200-meter track and field race.

In response, the IOC's autocratic president Avery Brundage told the USOC to either send the two athletes home, or withdraw the complete track and field team. The USOC opted for the former. [29] The government of the Islamic Republic of Iran specifically orders its athletes not to compete in any olympic heat, semi-final, or finals that includes athletes from Israel . At the 2004 Olympics, an Iranian judoka who had otherwise earned his place, did not compete in a heat against an Israeli judoka. [30] Violence Edit Despite what Coubertin had hoped for, the Olympics did not bring total peace to the world. In fact, three Olympiads had to pass without Olympics because of war: due to World War I the 1916 Games were cancelled, and the summer and winter games of 1940 and 1944 were cancelled because of World War II. During the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, a massacre of 11 members from the Israeli Olympic team occurred. The team members were taken hostage and eventually killed, along with a German police officer, by the Palestinian group Black September.

During the Summer Olympics in 1996 in Atlanta , a bombing at the Centennial Olympic Park killed two and injured 111 others. The bomb was set by Eric Robert Rudolph, an conservative American domestic terrorist, who is currently serving a life sentence. [31] The 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City were the first Olympic Games since the September 11, 2001 attacks. Olympic Games since then have required an extremely high degree of security due to the fear of possible terrorist activities. [32] There have been pro-Tibet / pro-human rights protests during the Beijing Olympic Games Torch Relay, some of which included violent incidents Olympic Movement Edit A number of organizations are involved in organizing the Olympic Games. Together they form the Olympic Movement. The rules and guidelines by which these organizations operate are outlined in the Olympic Charter . At the heart of the Olympic Movement is the International Olympic Committee (IOC), currently headed by Jacques Rogge . It can be seen as the government of the Olympics, as it takes care of the daily problems and makes all important decisions, such as choosing the host city of the Games, and the programme of the Olympics.

Three groups of organisations operate on a more specialised level: International Federations (IFs), the governing bodies of a sport (e.g. FIFA , the IF for football (soccer) , and the FIVB , the international governing body for volleyball .) National Olympic Committees (NOCs), which regulate the Olympic Movement within each country (eg. USOC , the NOC of the United States ) Organizing Committees for the Olympic Games (OCOGs), which take care of the organisation of a specific celebration of the Olympics. At present, 202 NOCs and 35 IFs are part of the Olympic Movement. OCOGs are dissolved after the celebration of each Games, once all subsequent paperwork has been completed. More broadly speaking, the term Olympic Movement is sometimes also meant to include everybody and everything involved in the Olympics, such as national sport governing bodies, athletes, media, and sponsors of the Olympic Games. Criticism Edit Most Olympic Games have been held in European and North American cities; only a few games have been held in other places, and all bids by countries in South America and Africa have failed. Many believe the games should expand to include locations in poorer regions.

Economists point out that the massive infrastructure investments could springboard cities into earning higher GDP after the games. However, many host cities regret the high costs associated with hosting the games as a poor investment [33] . In the past, the IOC has often been criticised for being a monolithic organisation, with several members remaining a member at old age, or even until their deaths. The leadership of IOC president Juan Antonio Samaranch especially has been strongly criticised. Under his presidency, the Olympic Movement made great progress, but has been seen as autocratic and corrupt. Samaranch's ties with the Franco's regime in Spain and his long term as a president (21 years, until he was 81 years old) have also been points of critique. In 1998, it became known that several IOC members had taken bribes from the organising committee for the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City , Utah , in exchange for a vote on the city at the election of the host city. The IOC started an investigation, which led to four members resigning and six being expelled. The scandal set off further reforms, changing the way in which host cities are elected to avoid further bribes.

Also, more active and former athletes were allowed in the IOC, and the membership terms have been limited. The same year (1998), four European groups organized the International Network Against Olympic Games and Commercial Sports to oppose their cities' bids for future Olympic Games. Also, an Anti-Olympic Alliance had formed in Sydney to protest the hosting of the 2000 Games. Later, a similar movement in Vancouver and Whistler, British Columbia organized to protest the hosting of the 2010 Winter Games. These movements were particularly concerned about adverse local economic impact and dislocation of people to accommodate the hosting of the Olympics. A BBC documentary aired in August 2004, entitled Panorama: "Buying the Games", investigated the taking of bribes in the bidding process for the 2012 Summer Olympics . The documentary claimed it is possible to bribe IOC members into voting for a particular candidate city. In an airborne television interview on the way home, the Mayor of Paris Bertrand Delanoë , specifically accused the British Prime Minister Tony Blair and the London Bid Committee (headed by former Olympic athlete Sebastian Coe ) of breaking the bid rules with flagrant financial and sexual bribes.

He cited French President Jacques Chirac as a witness but President Chirac gave rather more guarded interviews. In particular, Bulgaria 's member Ivan Slavkov, and Muttaleb Ahmad from the Olympic Council of Asia, were implicated. They have denied the allegations. Mayor Delanoë never mentioned the matter again. Others have alleged that the 2006 Winter Olympics were held in Turin because officials bribed the IOC and so Turin got the games and Sion, Switzerland (which was the favorite) did not. The Olympic Movement has been accused of being overprotective of its symbolism (in particular, it claims an exclusive and monopolistic copyright over any arrangement of five rings and the term "olympics"), and have taken action against things unrelated to sport, such as the role-playing game Legend of the Five Rings. It was accused of homophobia in 1982 when it successfully sued the Gay Olympics, an event now known as the Gay Games, to ban it from using the term "olympics" in its name. [34] Olympic symbols Main article: Olympic symbols The Olympic movement uses many symbols, most of them representing Coubertin's ideas and ideals.

The Olympic Rings are the most widely used symbol. The five colored rings on a white field form the Olympic Flag . The colors, white, red, blue, green, yellow, and black, were chosen such that each nation has at least one of these colors in its national flag. The flag was adopted in 1914, but the first Games at which it was flown were Antwerp, 1920 . It is hoisted at each celebration of the Games. The Olympic Motto is "Citius, Altius, Fortius", a Latin phrase meaning "Swifter, Higher, Stronger". Coubertin's ideals are probably best illustrated by the Olympic Creed : "The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win but to take part, just as the most important thing in life is not the triumph but the struggle. The essential thing is not to have conquered but to have fought well." Prior to each Games, the Olympic Flame is lit in Olympia, Greece and brought to the host city by runners carrying the torch in relay. There it plays an important role in the opening ceremonies.

Though the torch fire has been around since 1928 , the relay was introduced in 1936 as part of the then German government's attempt to promote their National Socialist ideology. The Olympic mascot, an animal or human figure representing the cultural heritage of the host country, was introduced in 1968 . It has played an important part of the games since 1980 with the debut of Misha , a Russian bear. French and English are the official languages of the Olympic movement. Olympic ceremonies Edit Apart from the traditional elements, the host nation ordinarily presents artistic displays of dance and theatre representative of that country. [35] Various traditional elements frame the opening ceremonies of a celebration of the Olympic Games. The ceremonies typically start with the hoisting of the host country's flag and the performing of its national anthem.{{ safesubst:ifsubst |{{subst:Unsubst|Citation needed| name|¬|reason|¬| date|October 2007 }}| Template:Fix The traditional part of the ceremonies starts with a "parade of nations" (or of athletes), during which most participating athletes march into the stadium, country by country.

One honoured athlete, typically a top competitor, from each country carries the flag of his or her nation, leading the entourage of other athletes from that country. Traditionally (starting at the 1928 Summer Olympics ) Greece marches first, because of its historical status as the origin of the Olympics, while the host nation marches last. (In 2004, when the Games were held in Athens, Greece marched last as host nation rather than first, although the flag of Greece was carried in first.) Between these two nations, all other participating nations march in alphabetical order of the dominant language of the host country,{{ safesubst:ifsubst |{{subst:Unsubst|Citation needed| name|¬|reason|¬| date|November 2007 }}| Template:Fix or in French or English alphabetical order if the host country does not write its dominant language in an alphabet which has a set order. In the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona , both Spanish and Catalan were official languages of the games, but due to politics surrounding the use of Catalan, the nations entered in French alphabetical order.

The XVIII Olympic Winter Games in Nagano, Japan saw nations entering in English alphabetical order since the Japanese language grouped both China and Chinese Taipei together in the Parade of Nations. After all nations have entered, the president of the host country's Olympic Organising Committee makes a speech, followed by the IOC president who, at the end of his speech introduces the representative of the host country who declares the Games open by reciting the formula: «I declare open the Games of ... (name of the host city) celebrating the ... (number of the Olympiad) Olympiad of the modern era.» [36] (There is a similar recital for the Winter Games.) Before 1936, the Opener often used to make a short Speech of Welcome before declaring the Games open. However, since 1936 when Adolf Hitler opened both the Garmisch Partenkirchen Winter Olympics and the Berlin Summer Olympics, the Openers have unswervingly stuck to that formula. The only exception was in 1984, when U.S. President Ronald Reagan opened the Summer Olympics that year in Los Angeles when he said: Celebrating the XXIII Olympiad of the modern era, I declare open the Olympic Games of Los Angeles.

[37] Despite the Games having been awarded to a particular city and not to the country in general, the Olympic Charter presently requires the Opener to be the host country's head of state . [36] However, there have been many cases where someone other than the host country's head of state opened the Games. The first example was at the Games of the II Olympiad in Paris in 1900, when there wasn't even an Opening Ceremony. There are five examples from the United States alone where the Games were not opened by the head of state. [38] Next, the Olympic Flag is carried horizontally (since the 1960 Summer Olympics ) into the stadium and hoisted as the Olympic Anthem is played. The flag bearers of all countries circle a rostrum , where one athlete (since the 1920 Summer Olympics ) and one judge (since the 1972 Summer Olympics ) speak the Olympic Oath , declaring they will compete and judge according to the rules.

[36] Finally, the Torch is brought into the stadium, passed from athlete to athlete, until it reaches the last carrier of the Torch, often a well-known athlete from the host nation, who lights the fire in the stadium's cauldron. [36] The Olympic Flame has been lit since the 1928 Summer Olympics , but the torch relay did not start until the 1936 Summer Olympics . Beginning at the post- World War I 1920 Summer Olympics , the lighting of the Olympic Flame was for 68 years followed by the release of doves , symbolizing peace. [36] This gesture was discontinued after several doves were burned alive in the Olympic Flame during the opening ceremony of the 1988 Summer Olympics . [39] However, some Opening Ceremonies have continued to include doves in other forms; for example, the 2002 Winter Olympics featured skaters holding kite-like cloth dove puppets. Opening ceremonies have been held outdoors, usually on the main athletics stadium, but those for the 2010 Winter Olympics will be the first to be held indoors, at the BC Place Stadium .

[40] Closing Edit After medals are awarded and presented for a particular event, the flags of the nations of the three medalists are raised. The flag of the gold medalist's country is in the center and always raised the highest while the flag of the silver medalist's country is on the left facing the flags and the flag of the bronze medalist's country is on the right, both at lower elevations to the gold medalist's country's flag. The flags are all raised while the national anthem of the gold medalist's country plays. This format of medal presentation is also seen in other multi-sporting events such as the Southeast Asian Games , the Commonwealth Games and the Asian Games , as well as some motor racing events including Formula 1 and MotoGP Olympic sports Main article: Olympic sports Currently, the Olympic program consists of 35 different sports, 53 disciplines and more than 400 events. The Summer Olympics includes 28 sports with 38 disciplines and the Winter Olympics includes 7 sports with 15 disciplines.

[43] Nine sports were on the original Olympic programme in 1896: athletics , cycling , fencing , gymnastics , weightlifting , shooting , swimming , tennis , and wrestling . If the 1896 rowing events had not been cancelled due to bad weather, they would have been included in this list as well. [44] At the most recent Winter Olympics, 15 disciplines in seven sports were featured. Of these, cross country skiing , figure skating , ice hockey , Nordic combined , ski jumping , and speed skating have been featured on the programme at all Winter Olympics. In addition, figure skating and ice hockey also have been contested as part of the Summer Games before the introduction of separate Winter Olympics. In recent years, the IOC has added several new sports to the programme to attract attention from young spectators. Examples of such sports include snowboarding and beach volleyball . The growth of the Olympics also means that some less popular ( modern pentathlon ) or expensive (white water canoeing ) sports may lose their place on the Olympic programme. The IOC decided to discontinue baseball and softball beginning in 2012.

Cricket and Rugby union used to be in the Olympic Games but were discontinued; a revival is now seen as possible. Rule 48.1 of the Olympic Charter requires that there be a minimum of 15 Olympic sports at each Summer Games. Following its 114th Session (Mexico 2002), the IOC also decided to limit the programme of the Summer Games to a maximum of 28 sports, 301 events, and 10,500 athletes. The Olympic sports are defined as those governed by the International Federations listed in Rule 46 of the Olympic Charter. A two-thirds vote of the IOC is required to amend the Charter to promote a Recognised Federation to Olympic status and therefore make the sports it governs eligible for inclusion on the Olympic programme. Rule 47 of the Charter requires that only Olympic sports may be included in the programme. The IOC reviews the Olympic programme at the first Session following each Olympiad. A simple majority is required for an Olympic sport to be included in the Olympic programme. Under the current rules, an Olympic sport not selected for inclusion in a particular Games remains an Olympic sport and may be included again later with a simple majority.

At the 117th IOC Session , 26 sports were included in the programme for London 2012. Until 1992, the Olympics also often featured demonstration sports . The objective was for these sports to reach a larger audience; the winners of these events are not official Olympic champions. These sports were sometimes sports popular only in the host nation, but internationally known sports have also been demonstrated. Some demonstration sports eventually were included as full-medal events. Amateurism and professionalism Edit Template:See The ethos of English public schools greatly influenced Pierre de Coubertin. The public schools had a deep involvement in the development of many team sports including all British codes of football as well as cricket and hockey . The English public schools of the second half of the 19th century had a major influence on many sports. The schools contributed to the rules and influenced the governing bodies of those sports out of all proportion to their size. They subscribed to the Ancient Greek and Roman belief that sport formed an important part of education, an attitude summed up in the saying: mens sana in corpore sano – a sound mind in a healthy body.

In this ethos, taking part has more importance than winning, because society expected gentlemen to become all-rounders and not the best at everything. Class prejudice against "trade" reinforced this attitude. The house of the parents of a typical public schoolboy would have a tradesman 's entrance, because tradesmen did not rank as the social equals of gentlemen. Apart from class considerations there was the typically English concept of "fairness," in which practicing or training was considered as tantamount to cheating; it meant that you considered it more important to win than to take part. Those who practiced a sport professionally were considered to have an unfair advantage over those who practiced it merely as a "hobby." In Coubertin's vision, athletes should be gentlemen. Initially, only amateurs were considered such; professional athletes were not allowed to compete in the Olympic Games. A short-lived exception was made for professional fencing instructors. [45] This exclusion of professionals has caused several controversies throughout the history of the modern Olympics. 1912 Olympic pentathlon and decathlon champion, Jim Thorpe , was disqualified when it was discovered that he played semi-professional baseball prior to winning his medals. He was restored as champion on compassionate grounds by the IOC in 1983.

Swiss and Austrian skiers boycotted the 1936 Winter Olympics in support of their skiing teachers, who were not allowed to compete because they earned money with their sport and were considered professionals. It gradually became clear to many that the amateurism rules had become outdated, not least because the self-financed amateurs of Western countries often were no match for the state-sponsored "full-time amateurs" of Eastern bloc countries. Nevertheless, the IOC, led by President Avery Brundage , held to the traditional rules regarding amateurism. In the 1970s, after Brundage left, amateurism requirements were dropped from the Olympic Charter, leaving decisions on professional participation to the international federation for each sport. This switch was perhaps best exemplified by the American Dream Team , composed of well-paid NBA stars, which won the Olympic gold medal in basketball in 1992.

As of 2004 , the only sport in which no professionals compete is boxing (though even this requires a definition of amateurism based on fight rules rather than on payment, as some boxers receive cash prizes from their National Olympic Committees); in men's football (soccer) , the number of players over 23 years of age is limited to three per team. Advertisement regulations are still very strict, at least on the actual playing field, although "Official Olympic Sponsors" are common. Athletes are only allowed to have the names of clothing and equipment manufacturers on their outfits. The sizes of these markings are limited. Olympic champions and medalists See also: List of multiple Olympic gold medalists The athletes (or teams) who place first, second, or third in each event receive medals. The winners receive "gold medals". (Though they were solid gold until 1912, they are now made of gilded silver.) The runners-up receive silver medals, and the third-place athletes bronze medals. In some events contested by a single-elimination tournament (most notably boxing ), third place might not be determined, in which case both semi-final losers receive bronze medals.

The practice of awarding medals to the top three competitors was introduced in 1904; at the 1896 Olympics only the first two received a medal, silver and bronze, while various prizes were awarded in 1900 . However, the 1904 Olympics also awarded silver trophies for first place, which makes Athens 1906 the first games that awarded the three medals only. In addition, from 1948 onward athletes placing fourth, fifth and sixth have received certificates which became officially known as "victory diplomas;" since 1976 the medal winners have received these also, and in 1984 victory diplomas for seventh- and eighth-place finishers were added, presumably to ensure that all losing quarter-finalists in events using single-elimination formats would receive diplomas, thus obviating the need for consolation (or officially, "classification") matches to determine fifth through eighth places (though interestingly these latter are still contested in many elimination events anyway). Certificates were awarded also at the 1896 Olympics, but there they were awarded in addition to the medals to first and second place.

Commemorative medals and diplomas — which differ in design from those referred to above — are also made available to participants finishing lower than third and eighth respectively. At the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, the first three were given wreaths as well as their medals. Because the Olympics are held only once every four years, the public and athletes often consider them as more important and valuable than world championships and other international tournaments, which are often held annually. Many athletes have become celebrities or heroes in their own country, or even world-wide, after becoming Olympic champions. The diversity of the sports, and the great differences between the Olympic Games in 1896 and today make it difficult to decide which athlete is the most successful Olympic athlete of all time. This is further complicated since the IOC no longer recognises the Intercalated Games which it originally organised. When measuring by the number of titles won at the Modern Olympic Games, the following athletes may be considered the most successful. Athlete Edit The IOC does not publish lists of medals per country, but the media often does.

A comparison between countries would be unfair to countries with fewer inhabitants, so some have made calculations of medals per number of inhabitants, such as [1] for the 2004 Olympics and [2] for a few more. A problem here is that for a very small country, gaining just one medal could mean the difference between the very top and the very bottom of the list (a point illustrated by the Bahamas ' per capita number one position in 2004). On the other hand, a large country may not be able to send a number of athletes that is proportional to its size because a limit is set for the number of participants per country for a specific sport. A comparison of the total number of medals over time is further complicated by the fact that the number of times that countries have participated is not equal, and that many countries have gained and lost territories where medal-winning athletes come from. A case in point is the USSR , which not only participated relatively rarely (18 times, versus 45 times for the UK ), but also ceased to exist in 1991. The resulting Russian Federation is largely, but not entirely equal to the former USSR. Also, one would have to use population statistics at the time.

The IOC medal tally chart is based on the number of gold medals for country. Where states are equal, the number of silver medals (and then bronze medals) are counted to determine rankings. Since 1996, the only countries that have appeared in the top 10 medal tallies for summer Olympics have been the Russian Federation , United States , China , France , Germany , Australia and Italy . Since 1994, the only countries that have appeared in the top 10 medal tallies for winter Olympics have been Norway , the Russian Federation , the United States , Canada , Germany , Austria , South Korea , Switzerland , France and Italy . Olympic Games host cities Main article: List of Olympic host cities By 2014, the Olympic Games were hosted by 42 cities in 22 countries. The upcoming 2012 Summer Olympic Games will be held in London, and the 2014 Winter Olympic Games will be held in Soshi. The number in parentheses following the city/country denotes how many times that city/country had then hosted the games, with said exclusions.

This table does not include the "Olympic Games" organized by Evangelos Zappas prior to the IOC's creation in 1894. It does list the "Intercalated Games" of 1906 , but it is not included in the counts as the IOC no longer considers them to be official Olympic Games. Olympic Games host cities 1 Originally awarded to Chicago , but moved to St. Louis to coincide with the World's Fair 2 Cancelled due to World War I 3 Cancelled due to World War II 4 Equestrian events were held in Stockholm , Sweden . Stockholm had to bid for the equestrian competition separately; it received its own Olympic flame and had its own formal invitations and opening & closing ceremonies, just like the regular Summer Olympics. [46] 5 Equestrian events to be held in China's Hong Kong SAR . Although Hong Kong's separate NOC is conducting the equestrian competition, it is an integral part of the Beijing Games; it is not being conducted under a separate bid, flame, etc., as was the 1956 Stockholm equestrian competition. The IOC website lists only Beijing as the host city [47] .

See also The 9 weirdest cities that have hosted the Olympics (and why!) The 9 weirdest cities that have hosted the Olympics (and why!) By Marc Sollinger February 06, 2014 | 12:05 PM A picture taken in Moscow on October 6, 2013, shows Russia's President Vladimir Putin holding a torch during a ceremony to mark the start of the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympic torch relay across Russia. - ALEXEI NIKOLSKY/AFP/Getty Images With the Winter Olympics starting, the world’s attention is drawn toward Sochi, a small and sunny resort city in the Southwestern corner of Russia. And with that attention, a question. Why Sochi ? It does seem strange to choose a city known for its beach and palm trees to host something called the Winter Olympics, but strange city choices aren’t new to the Games. So without further ado, here are the nine oddest choices to host the Olympics: Melbourne & Stockholm. That's right, the 1956 Summer Games were held in two entirely different cities , in two entirely different countries, and on two entirely different continents.

No, track athletes didn’t run the 100 meters in Melbourne and then take a flight to Stockholm to compete in the 200 meters. Melbourne was picked as the host city and nearly all of the events happened there, but because of Australia’s strict quarantine laws, the equestrian events had to be held in Stolkholm. The Olympic organizers were not aware of these laws before they picked Melbourne, and by the time the International Olympic Committee learned of them, it was already too late to do anything about it. Helsinki. As Sochi is one of the warmest cities to host a Winter Olympics, Helsinki was one of the coldest cities to host a Summer Olympics . During the summer months it averages 64 degrees, which isn't too cold, unless you compare it to other Summer Games. The Beijing Olympics had an average high of 87 degrees, and the Athens Olympics averaged 90 degrees. But that’s not the only reason Helsinki was a strange choice for the 1952 Olympics. It's actually the smallest and least economically powerful city the IOC has ever picked. According to Brookings, Helsinki has the lowest GDP of any city to host the Summer Olympics .

And Finland is the smallest nation to have organized them. By all accounts, it did a fine job hosting, with 70,000 people crowding into the stadium stadium. At the time, Helsinki had a population of 380,000 . Squaw Valley, Calif. The Winter Olympics has been hosted in some fairly out-of-the-way places. Lake Placid, N.Y., Albertville, France, and Innsbruck, Austria, aren't really megacities. But the 1960 Winter Olympics have the distinction of being the only Games to go to a place with only one resident . When Alexander Cushing persuaded the IOC to have the games in his new resort of Squaw Valley, there was one chairlift, one lodge, and one person living there. That person was Alexander Cushing . Fortunately for Cushing’s legacy, a world-class winter sports complex was built in time for the games, and afterwards, Squaw Valley became a destination ski resort, frequently visited by Hollywood stars. In fact, the opening ceremonies were designed by Walt Disney himself, and included the release of 2,000 doves. St. Louis.

The choice for the 1904 Summer Olympics wasn’t as out-of-the blue as you might think. St. Louis was the fourth-largest American city at the time , and the games were part of an immense World’s Fair that celebrated the centennial of the Louisiana Purchase. Unfortunately, the World’s Fair completely overshadowed the Olympics . Even more unfortunate, it led to one of the most disgusting moments in Olympic history . A competition, concocted by one of the Fair's organizers, pitted Olympic athletes against "savages" from the human zoos at the World's Fair. Yes, "human zoos." The fair took people from "primitive" societies, recreated their villages in St. Louis, and then let tourists gawk at them . It was disgusting. And the contest between these displaced tribespeople and Olympic athletes was embarrassing. Montreal. Montreal makes sense as an Olympic host city. It's the second-largest city in Canada and generates $142.8 billion in GDP. It wouldn't have been a strange choice for the IOC at all, if not for the corruption and cost overruns.

Originally estimated to be around $360 million, costs for the 1976 Summer Games ballooned to $1.6 billion. Montreal's Olympic Stadium was eventually paid for. In 2006 . Although the site of some of the greatest moments in Olympic history (Nadia Comanici’s perfect 10 being the best example), the Montreal games stand as a reminder for future host cities to not overspend on the Games . Moscow & Los Angeles. Moscow and Los Angeles are two of the biggest and most culturally important cities in the world. Combined, they have a GDP of over $1 trillion. However, the IOC's choice to pick Moscow as the host of the 1980 Summer Games and Los Angeles as the host of the 1984 Games presented a few problems, as there happened to be a Cold War going on at the time. The U.S. organized a boycott of the Moscow Games as a response to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. More than 50 nations joined America in the boycott, lowering the number of participating nations to 80, the fewest since 1956. In response, the USSR boycotted the Los Angeles Olympics .

Only thirteen other countries joined them, but this bloc of countries took home 58 percent of the gold medals in the 1976 Olympics. And though the Los Angeles Games are now remembered for actually managing to turn a $223 million profit (mostly because of corporate sponsorship and using existing structures), picking these two cities caused the level of athletic competition to dip significantly. Sochi. This list had to include Sochi, one of the strangest host cities to be chosen. It's a subtropical resort town that boasts palm trees and beaches. Granted, the skiers and snowboarders will be skiing and snowboarding on the nearby mountains, but organizers are still hoarding snow in case it doesn't, well, snow. And because Sochi is a sunny vacation destination, organizers had to construct massive sports and transportation projects. Partly due to that, it's the most expensive Olympics in history, with a price tag of nearly $50 billion. Certainly one of the weirdest host cities ever to be picked. Melbourne / Stockholm 1956 Summer Olympics - results & video highlights Official Reports arrow Co-hosts Melbourne won the right to host the 1956 Olympic Games by one vote over Buenos Aires.

Australian quarantine laws were too severe to allow the entry of foreign horses, so the equestrian events were held separately in Stockholm in June. Great rivalry French long-distance runner Alain Mimoun had tasted Olympic defeat on the track three times at the hands of Czech Emil Zátopek. However, in the marathon it was Mimoun who pulled away to record a comfortable victory. He waited at the finish line for Zátopek, his old friend and great rival, who trotted home in sixth place Dominant team The US basketball team, led by Bill Russell and K.C. Jones, put on the most dominant performance in Olympic history. They scored more than twice as many points as their opponents and won each of their games by at least 30 points. Symbol of unity Prior to 1956, the athletes in the Opening and Closing Ceremonies marched in alphabetical order by National Olympic Committees. However, in Melbourne, following a suggestion by a young Australian named John Ian Wing, the athletes entered the stadium together during the Closing Ceremony as a symbol of global unity.

NOCs: 72 Athletes: 3,314 (376 women, 2,938 men) Events: 145 This was the first time that the Games had been held in Oceania. Equestrian sports in Stockholm To allow for the equestrian sports to be held and to avoid the problem of quarantine for horses entering Australia, the Games took place in two different cities (Stockholm and Melbourne), in two different countries (Sweden and Australia), on two different continents (Europe and Oceania) and in two different seasons (June and November). This is the only time in the Games' hundred-year existence that the unity of time and place, as stipulated in the Charter, has not been observed. The two Germanys under one flag The International Olympic Committee had great political success in managing to bring together the two Germanys (East and West) within a combined team (EUA) competing under a black, red and yellow flag with the Olympic rings, and with "Ode to Joy" from Beethoven's IX Symphony as their anthem. This practice would take place for the following two editions of the Games.

The first Games boycott The Soviet invasion of Hungary provoked protests from numerous western countries, and some of them, such as Spain, Switzerland and the Netherlands, withdrew from the Games. On another matter, Egypt, Lebanon and Iraq refused to participate in protest of the Franco-British Suez intervention. And the People's Republic of China refused to participate because of the presence of the Republic of China (Taiwan). This conflict would take 28 years to be resolved. All the athletes parading together The 1956 Games were also marked by an innovation in the Closing Ceremony. Upon the suggestion of John Ian Wing, a Chinese apprentice carpenter living in Australia, it was decided to let all the athletes parade together, rather than by country, as a symbol of world unity. New technology In fencing, the electric foil was introduced, and in swimming, the semi-automatic, digital-display timing device appeared. Ceremonies Melbourne 22 November 1956. Opening Ceremony. The Olympic flame is lit.

Official opening of the Games by: HRH the Duke of Edinburgh Lighting the Olympic Flame by: br /> Ron Clarke (athletics) Olympic Oath by: Official Oath by: The officials' oath at an Olympic Summer Games was first sworn in 1972 in Munich. It is composed of a drawing of Australia, with a torch and Olympic rings superimposed. In the bottom half, the inscription "MELBOURNE 1956", extended on each side by laurel branches. Melbourne On the obverse, the traditional goddess of victory, holding a palm in her left hand and a winner’s crown in her right. A design used since the 1928 Games in Amsterdam, created by Florentine artist Giuseppe Cassioli (ITA -1865-1942) and chosen after a competition organised by the International Olympic Committee. For these Games, the picture of victory is accompanied by the specific inscription: "XVIth OLYMPIAD MELBOURNE 1956". On the reverse, an Olympic champion carried in triumph by the crowd, with the Olympic stadium in the background.

N.B: From 1928 to 1968, the medals for the Summer Games were identical. The Organising Committee for the Games in Munich in 1972 broke new ground by having a different reverse which was designed by a Bauhaus representative, Gerhard Marcks. More info Stockholm On the obverse, the ancient horse and rider emblem of the Equestrian Games in Stockholm accompanied by the specific inscription “XVI OLYMPIADENS RYTTARTAVLINGAR 1956 STOCKHOLM” . The obverse was designed by John Sjösvard. On the reverse, the Olympic rings with a superimposed torch, a composition based on the design by the Greek artist Vasos Falireas (1905-1979) and approved by the International Olympic Committee. In the background "OLYMΓIA". Around the design, the motto "CITIUS ALTIUS FORTIUS" and the inscription "JEUX OLYMPIQUES". Number of torchbearers: 330 runners in Greece and approx.

160 horse riders in Denmark and Sweden Total distance: around 325 km in Greece Countries crossed: Greece, Denmark, and Sweden More info It is in the form of an invitation card folded three times. On the first flap, the Olympic rings, in the background of the third flap, the arms of the city of Melbourne. 35,000 copies were made in two different formats (100 x 63.5cm and 50 x 32cm). Having the equestrian events in Stockholm rather than Melbourne naturally had an impact on the official report. Indeed, the organisers of the equestrian Games in Stockholm decided to publish their own official report. There are thus two official reports, “The official report of the Organizing Committee for the Games of the XVI Olympiad Melbourne 1956”, published in 1958, and “The Official Report of the Organizing Committee for the Equestrian Games of the XVIth Olympiad”, published in 1959. The first is only in English; the second is in both English and Swedish.

The Olympic Games come to Australia - 80 Days That Changed Our Lives - ABC Archives 80 Days That Changed Our Lives Tweet The 1956 Summer Olympic Games in Melbourne was a 'coming of age' for Australian sport and proved Australia was capable of hosting a global event never before held outside of Europe or North America. The Games were memorable for the sporting achievements of Australian athletes Dawn Fraser, Betty Cuthbert, Shirley Strickland and Murray Rose, as well as record-breaking performances by Russian athlete Vladimir Kuts and German swimmer Ursula Happe. Even though they were nicknamed 'The Friendly Games,' the Melbourne Olympics had their share of drama. Cold War tensions manifested themselves in a particularly bruising water polo match between Hungary and the Soviet Union. As bloodied athletes left the pool, many spectators lent support for Hungary in the wake of the Soviet response to the recent Hungarian Revolution. Many Australians embraced the international sporting competition at the XVI Olympiad, as well as being exposed to the political realities of the Cold War era. An ABC radio program and TV film footage are combined here to show the preparations undertaken by the city of Melbourne to host the Games.

Civic improvements including Olympic Games inspired street decorations and newly constructed sporting facilities showed that Melbourne was indeed ready to host a global sporting event. Amongst the interviewees heard in this clip are Brigadier CML Elliot (Director of Housing and Catering) and Sir Dallas Brooks (Governor of Victoria), each promising a Games memorable for hospitality as much as sport. Long distance runner Dave Stevens comments on the opportunity for Australian spectators to watch some of the world's finest athletes competing on home soil, and shares his hope that Cold War tensions not mar the Games. Your Photos When and where will Australia next host Olympics? | The Roar When and where will Australia next host Olympics? 2016 Olympics TV Guide news Melbourne 1956 and Sydney 2000 are the two times the world’s biggest sporting event has visited our shores. It is likely that we will see the games return to Australia, but where and when should we enter the bidding fray? The AOC has signalled since the 2008 Beijing Games that it will one day try and bid for the Olympics, despite the rising costs associated with hosting the event. Both Melbourne and Brisbane have also in this timeframe announced their interest in being the Aussie candidate city for an Olympic Games.

FULL AUSTRALIAN OLYMPIC TEAM FOR RIO 2016 Both cities have logical and credible arguments to be an Olympic city. Melbourne, which hosted the 2006 Commonwealth Games, has a lot of the infrastructure needed to host an Olympic Games (a canoe and rowing centre is the biggest missing piece of Olympic venue requirement). Combine this with a few upgrades of existing venues and Melbourne as a city would be a cost effective, safe option for governments, the AOC and IOC. Brisbane on the other hand has yet to host a summer Olympics. This works well in their favour as the IOC look to give Olympics to cities that have yet to host them. Brisbane and the south-east Queensland region have the distinction of being Australia’s fastest growing regions. Three million people are expected to live in the area by 2030, as more people seek to live a sunny life. It is expected that by 2030 the area will be larger than Melbourne. Also, through using some of the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games venues, Brisbane will be able to keep the costs down like Melbourne and deliver fantastic games.

Before this city is even decided, the AOC first has to choose a viable year on which to bid for the Olympics. The AOC, with public funding, cannot bid for an unreasonable Olympics or it faces annihilation, like the bid for the 2022 FIFA World Cup. This, I feel, rules out a bid for the 2020 Olympics as it is likely that those games will go to North America. By 2020, Atlanta ’96 would be the last Games held in North America and considering 50 percent of the TV revenue comes from the US, there would be pressure for an American bid to succeed. I would also rule out 2024 as an African bid, which is likely to come from Durban or Cape Town plus expected bids from Europe and Asia, would make it highly unlikely for an Australian bid to succeed. So this makes 2028 the best chance for Australia to enter a bid to host Olympic games. Twenty-eight years will is a long time between drinks, and with the cyclical nature of hosting sporting events, 2028 is the earliest option available for Australia to enter a legitimate and worthwhile bid. Oldest | Newest | Most Recent

Question: In what year where the Summer Olympic Games hosted in Melbourne?
Answer: 1956