356 Arts and Entertainment
Olympics
The Olympic Games are the world’s biggest sporting
spectacle. They are divided into a summer and winter
Games, held every four years by a single city. Athletes
with disabilities compete at the Paralympics. More than
10,000 athletes take part in the summer events alone.
Olympic torch was first used in
modern Games in 1936, carried
by runners from Greece to BerlinOlympic flame has an ancient
counterpart – a sacred flame lit
in honour of the goddess HeraANCIENT OLYMPICS
The Ancient Olympics celebrated the god Zeus and were held every four
years at Olympia, Greece. Winners received an olive wreath. The first
Olympic Games are believed to have been held in 776 BCE, and the
first Olympic champion was Koroibos, who won a sprint that year.WHO INVENTED THE MODERN OLYMPICS?
In the 19th century archaeological discoveries revived
interest in the. ANCIENT OLYMPICS. The Greeks
tried to re-create the Games in Athens in 1859 and- However, the major force behind the modern
Olympics was the French aristocrat Baron de Coubertin
(1863–1937). In 1894 he organized an international
conference in Paris to support a revival of the Games.
WHAT IS THE OLYMPIC IDEAL?
Baron de Coubertin saw the Olympics as a place in
which sporting excellence could be celebrated. The
ideal was to build international understanding and
co-operation. The Olympic code promotes amateurism- performance without payment – and professionals
are allowed to participate only under certain rules.
WHO RUNS THE OLYMPICS NOW?
De Coubertin’s 1894 conference created the
International Olympic Committee (IOC), which has run
the Games ever since. The IOC chooses the host cities
and sets the rules for competing. In recent years, its
reputation has been hurt by scandals over corruption
and bribery in the selection of the host cities.WHAT TOOK PLACE AT THE ANCIENT OLYMPICS?
The events at Olympia in 776 BCE were sprints and
horse races. Later, longer races were added, including
sprints wearing full armour. Chariot racing and combat
sports such as boxing and wrestling were soon regular
features. All events were held in a stadium. The open-
air track for horse racing was called a hippodrome.WHY DID THE ANCIENT OLYMPICS END?
The Romans conquered Greece in 146 BCE.
They continued the Olympic Games, but this was
disrupted by a Germanic invasion around 300 CE.
The Games became part of a pagan festival until
the Christian emperor Theodosius I ordered
the closure of all pagan events in 393.1 ATHLETES WRESTLING
This carving from Athens dates
from C. 510 BCE. Athletes mostly
competed naked. Women were
not allowed to take part or watch.4 BERLIN OLYMPICS, 1936
The 1936 Olympics is opened as
the runner lights the Olympic
flame. Organized by the Nazi
government, the Berlin Olympics
were the first to be openly linked
to political propaganda.1 OLYMPIC RINGS
Baron de Coubertin was said to have seen the five rings on an ancient
Greek artefact. The rings symbolize the unity of the world’s five
continents (Europe, Asia, Africa, Oceania, and the Americas). Every
national flag in the world contains at least one of the five colours.olympics