34 Facts About Summer Olympic Games

1.

Summer Olympic Games, known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years.

FactSnippet No. 1,888,857
2.

The inaugural Games took place in 1896 in Athens, Greece, and the most recent edition was held in 2021 in Tokyo, Japan.

FactSnippet No. 1,888,858
3.

The International Olympic Committee is responsible for organising the Games and for overseeing the host city's preparations.

FactSnippet No. 1,888,859
4.

The Winter Olympic Games were created out of the success of the Summer Olympic Games, which are regarded as the largest and most prestigious multi-sport international event in the world.

FactSnippet No. 1,888,860
5.

The Summer Olympic Games have been held in nineteen different countries over five continents: four times in the United States ; three times in Great Britain ; twice each in Greece, France, Germany, Australia, and Japan ; and once each in Sweden, Belgium, the Netherlands, Finland, Italy, Mexico, Canada, the Soviet Union, South Korea, Spain, China, and Brazil.

FactSnippet No. 1,888,861
6.

The other countries to have hosted the Summer Olympics are Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Finland, Italy, Mexico, Netherlands, South Korea, Soviet Union, Spain, and Sweden, with each of these countries having hosted the Summer Games on one occasion.

FactSnippet No. 1,888,862
7.

The only two countries in the Southern Hemisphere to have hosted the Summer Olympics have been Australia and Brazil, with Africa having yet to host any Summer Olympics.

FactSnippet No. 1,888,863
8.

Stockholm, Sweden, has hosted events at two Summer Olympics, having been sole host of the 1912 Games, and hosting the equestrian events at the 1956 Summer Olympics.

FactSnippet No. 1,888,864
9.

Amsterdam, Netherlands, has hosted events at two Summer Olympic Games, having been sole host of the 1928 Games and previously hosting two of the sailing races at the 1920 Summer Olympics.

FactSnippet No. 1,888,865
10.

International Summer Olympic Games Committee was founded in 1894 when Pierre de Coubertin, a French pedagogue and historian, sought to promote international understanding through sporting competition.

FactSnippet No. 1,888,866
11.

The first edition of The Olympic Games was held in Athens in 1896 and attracted just 245 competitors, of whom more than 200 were Greek, and only 14 countries were represented.

FactSnippet No. 1,888,867
12.

The Summer Olympic Games had the largest international participation of any sporting event to that date.

FactSnippet No. 1,888,868
13.

Summer Olympic Games won in 2 hours 58 minutes and 50 seconds, setting off wild celebrations at the stadium.

FactSnippet No. 1,888,869
14.

The IOC intended for subsequent Summer Olympic Games to be rotated to various host cities around the world.

FactSnippet No. 1,888,870
15.

The Summer Olympic Games were integrated with the Paris World's Fair and lasted over 5 months.

FactSnippet No. 1,888,871
16.

The Summer Olympic Games saw Great Britain winning 146 medals, 99 more than second-placed Americans, its best result to this day.

FactSnippet No. 1,888,872
17.

Summer Olympic Games was helped over the finish line by concerned race officials and later disqualified for that.

FactSnippet No. 1,888,873
18.

Summer Olympic Games continued to grow, attracting 2,504 competitors, to Stockholm in 1912, including the great all-rounder Jim Thorpe, who won both the decathlon and pentathlon.

FactSnippet No. 1,888,874
19.

The 1944 Summer Olympic Games were due to be held in London but were cancelled; instead, London hosted the first games after the end of the war, in 1948.

FactSnippet No. 1,888,875
20.

Summer Olympic Games was awarded a new medal 36 years later at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta.

FactSnippet No. 1,888,876
21.

Summer Olympic Games returned home as a heroine of the Czechoslovak people but was made an outcast by the Soviet-dominated government.

FactSnippet No. 1,888,877
22.

The 1976 Summer Olympic Games were boycotted by many African nations as a protest against a recent tour of apartheid-run South Africa by the New Zealand national rugby union team.

FactSnippet No. 1,888,878
23.

Summer Olympic Games won two other individual events, with two perfect scores in the balance beam and all perfect scores in the uneven bars.

FactSnippet No. 1,888,879
24.

The boycott contributed to the 1980 Summer Olympic Games being a less publicised and less competitive affair, which was dominated by the host country.

FactSnippet No. 1,888,880
25.

Summer Olympic Games nevertheless won the heat as both his opponents had been disqualified for false starts.

FactSnippet No. 1,888,881
26.

The Sydney Summer Olympic Games saw the first appearance of a joint North and South Korean contingent at the opening ceremonies, though they competed in all events as different teams.

FactSnippet No. 1,888,882
27.

In 2004, the Olympic Games returned to their birthplace in Athens, Greece.

FactSnippet No. 1,888,883
28.

London held the 2012 Summer Olympics, becoming the first city to host the Olympic Games three times.

FactSnippet No. 1,888,884
29.

Rio de Janeiro in Brazil hosted the 2016 Summer Olympics, becoming the first South American city to host the Olympics, the second Olympic host city in Latin America, after Mexico City in 1968, as well as the third city in the Southern Hemisphere to host the Olympics after Melbourne, Australia, in 1956 and Sydney, Australia, in 2000.

FactSnippet No. 1,888,885
30.

The preparation for these Summer Olympic Games was overshadowed by controversies, including political instability and an economic crisis in the host country, health and safety concerns surrounding the Zika virus, and significant pollution in the Guanabara Bay.

FactSnippet No. 1,888,886
31.

Unlike previous Olympics, these Games took place without spectators due to concerns over COVID-19 and a state of emergency imposed in the host city.

FactSnippet No. 1,888,887
32.

Nevertheless, the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games featured many memorable moments and feats of technical excellence.

FactSnippet No. 1,888,888
33.

Qualification rules for each of the Summer Olympic Games sports are set by the International Sports Federation that governs that sport's international competition.

FactSnippet No. 1,888,889
34.

The category of a sport determines the share of Summer Olympic Games revenue received by that sport's International Federation.

FactSnippet No. 1,888,890