According to legend, the ancient Olympic Games were founded by Heracles (the Roman Hercules), a son of Zeus. Yet the first Olympic Games for which we still have written records were held in 776 BCE (though it is generally believed that the Games had been going on for many years already). At this Olympic Games, a naked runner, Coroebus (a cook from Elis), won the sole event at the Olympics, the stade - a run of approximately 192 meters (210 yards). This made Coroebus the very first Olympic champion in history.

The ancient Olympic Games grew and continued to be played every four years for nearly 1200 years. In 393 CE, the Roman emperor Theodosius I, a Christian, abolished the Games because of their pagan influences.

Approximately 1500 years later, a young Frenchmen named Pierre de Coubertin began their revival. Coubertin is now known as le Rénovateur. Coubertin was a French aristocrat born on January 1, He was only seven years old when France was overrun by the Germans during the Franco- Prussian War of Some believe that Coubertin attributed the defeat of France not to its military skills but rather to the French soldiers' lack of vigor.* After examining the education of the German, British, and American children, Coubertin decided that it was exercise, more specifically sports, that made a well-rounded and vigorous person.

Coubertin's attempt to get France interested in sports was not met with enthusiasm. Still, Coubertin persisted. In 1890, he organized and founded a sports organization, Union des Sociétés Francaises de Sports Athlétiques (USFSA). Two years later, Coubertin first pitched his idea to revive the Olympic Games. At a meeting of the Union des Sports Athlétiques in Paris on November 25, 1892, Coubertin stated,

Let us export our oarsmen, our runners, our fencers into other lands. That is the true Free Trade of the future; and the day it is introduced into Europe the cause of Peace will have received a new and strong ally. It inspires me to touch upon another step I now propose and in it I shall ask that the help you have given me hitherto you will extend again, so that together we may attempt to realise [sic], upon a basis suitable to the conditions of our modern life, the splendid and beneficent task of reviving the Olympic Games.**

His speech did not inspire action. Though Coubertin was not the first to propose the revival of the Olympic Games, he was certainly the most well-connected and persistent of those to do so. Two years later, Coubertin organized a meeting with 79 delegates who represented nine countries. He gathered these delegates in an auditorium that was decorated by neoclassical murals and similar additional points of ambiance. At this meeting, Coubertin eloquently spoke of the revival of the Olympic Games. This time, Coubertin aroused interest.

The delegates at the conference voted unanimously for the Olympic Games. The delegates also decided to have Coubertin construct an international committee to organize the Games. This committee became the International Olympic Committee (IOC; Comité Internationale Olympique) and Demetrious Vikelas from Greece was selected to be its first president. Athens was chosen as the location for the revival of the Olympic Games and the planning was begun.

Putting five colored interlocking rings on a white background was conceived by Pierre de Coubertin. Almost a century after the flag's creation, the six colors, those of the rings (blue, yellow, black, green, red) and that of the background (white), still maintain their symbolism today. The Olympic symbol, the five interlocking rings, represents the union of the five continents and the meeting of the athletes of the world at the Olympic Games.

The number of participating National Olympic Committees jumped from 29 to 44, signalling the advent of the Olympic Games as a major event with widespread appeal. This newfound popularity was confirmed by the presence of over 1,000 journalists.

These Games introduced the Closing Ceremony ritual as we know it today. This involves the raising of three flags: the flag of the International Olympic Committee, the flag of the host nation and the flag of the next host nation.

Finnish runner Paavo Nurmi won five gold medals to add to the three he had won in His most spectacular performance occurred on 10 July. First, he easily won the 1500m and then, a mere 55 minutes later, he returned to the track to win the 5,000m

American swimmer Johnny Weissmuller won two golds. He claimed two further golds at the 1928 Games and went on to become famous playing Tarzan of the Apes in 12 movies. The Paris Games themselves became immortalised in “Chariots of Fire”, the Oscar-winning film about principled British runner Eric Liddell

NOCs 44 Athletes 3,089 (135 women, 2,954 men) Events 126 Volunteers n/a Media 1,000 journalists

VANCOUVER 2010LONDON 2012  Quick Facts about the Vancouver 2010 Winter Games  - 17 days of Olympic Games events athletes - 82 participating countries - 10,000 media representatives - 3 billion television viewers worldwide  ancouver-2010-winter- olympics ancouver-2010-winter- olympics  26 sports, featuring 39 disciplines, will be contested during the Games across 34 venues The Olympic Park, which holds nine venues, was 2.5sq km in size – equivalent to 357 football pitches 8.8 million tickets were available for the London 2012 Olympic Games About 10,500 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees took part in the Games, with 302 medal events being held Over 21,000 accredited media communicated the Games to a potential worldwide audience of 4 billion people There were also 2,961 technical officials and 5,770 team officials A total workforce of around 200,000 people, including more than 6,000 staff, 70,000 volunteers and 100,000 contractors, were involved in the Games  olympics olympics

 1. Olympism is a philosophy of life, exalting and combining in a balanced whole the  qualities of body, will and mind. Blending sport with culture and education, Olympism  seeks to create a way of life based on the joy of effort, the educational value of good  example, social responsibility and respect for universal fundamental ethical principles.

2. The goal of Olympism is to place sport at the service of the harmonious development of humankind, with a view to promoting a peaceful society concerned with the preservation of human dignity. 3. The Olympic Movement is the concerted, organised, universal and permanent action, carried out under the supreme authority of the IOC, of all individuals and entities who are inspired by the values of Olympism. It covers the five continents. It reaches its peak with the bringing together of the world’s athletes at the great sports festival, the Olympic Games. Its symbol is five interlaced rings.

4. The practice of sport is a human right. Every individual must have the possibility of practising sport, without discrimination of any kind and in the Olympic spirit, which requires mutual understanding with a spirit of friendship, solidarity and fair play. 5. Recognising that sport occurs within the framework of society, sports organisations within the Olympic Movement shall have the rights and obligations of autonomy, which include freely establishing and controlling the rules of sport, determining the structure and governance of their organisations, enjoying the right of elections free from any outside influence and the responsibility for ensuring that principles of good governance be applied.

6. Any form of discrimination with regard to a country or a person on grounds of race, religion, politics, gender or otherwise is incompatible with belonging to the Olympic Movement. 7. Belonging to the Olympic Movement requires compliance with the Olympic Charter and recognition by the IOC.