Table of Contents

• Origin Of Modern Olympic Games
• International Olympic Committee
• Rules Of Participation For Modern Olympics
• Organization Of The Olympics Game
  • Venue
  • Events
  • Opening Ceremony
  • Awards
  • Closing Ceremony
• Modern Olympic Games Flag
  • Olympic Flag
  • Ceremonial Olympic Flag
• Motto Of Modern Olympic Games
• Olympic Torch
• Winter Olympic Games
• Special Olympics
• Marathon Race
• List Of Modern Olympic Games Host Cities

Modern Olympic Games

Explain The Origin Of Modern Olympic Games

History Of Modern Olympics

For nearly 1500 years since 394 A.D., there were no Olympics.

• The first efforts towards the renaissance of the Olympics in modern times were made by the Greeks in 1859 and 1870.
• The Greeks and Evangelos Zappas a Greek living in Rumania, began working towards the revival of the Olympics long before Coubertin the Frenchman succeeded.
• Two Olympic games organized by the Greeks in 1859 and 1870 were unsuccessful in 1894 A.D.

Baron Pierre De Coubertin a Frechman revived the Olympic Games. He felt that international unity and brotherhood can be achieved through competitions in sport and games among the youth of the various countries at one place similar to the ancient Olympic Games.

• He visited various countries and put forth his ideas.
• His ideas were welcomed and it was decided to hold the first Olympics in Greece.
• As the ancient site at Olympia was not suitable to conduct the games, Athens in Greece was selected.

The sponsors of the Modern Olympics were hard-pressed for money.

• The Greek Government gave about 2 ½ lakhs of drachmae in addition to the money bequeathed by Zappas.
• Even this amount was not enough.
• Fortunately, one George Aver off a merchant of Alexandria gave a princely gift of million drachmae for restoring the Pan Athenian Stadium and conducting the games.

Modern Olympics is held once in four years but not during the times of world wars, the Olympic games (i.e VI, XII, and XIII Olympiads respectively in the years 1916, 1940, and 1944) were not held.

• In the days of Ancient Olympics, such sanctity was attached to the games that wars were stopped for the conduct of the Olympics,
• But, in the days of the Modern Olympics, we have witnessed that Olympic Games had to be stopped for the conduct of the wars.

Also Read: Difference Between Ancient And Modern Olympics

Governing Body For Modern Olympics (international Olympic Committee)

The International Olympic Committee is the controlling body for the Modern Olympic Games.

• The I.O.C. (International Olympic Committee) is a permanent and self-elected body that has at least one member from a country where there is a National Olympic Committee.
• The members shall elect a president for 8 years and he is eligible for re-election.
• Two Vice presidents shall also be elected for a period of 4 years who are also eligible for re-election.
• A small Executive board shall be formed which shall include the president, the two Vice presidents, and 4 other members elected for a period of 4 years who shall retire by rotation.

• The I.O.C (international Olympic Committee) fixes the

  • Venue for competition
  • Draws the rules for competition and
  • The general program for Olympics

General Rules Of Participation And Eligibility Criteria For Modern Olympics

• One who is a native or naturalized subject of a member country can alone participate.
• One who has competed already in the Olympic games for a nation cannot compete in future Olympic games for another nation even if he has become a naturalized subject of that nation except in the case of conquest or the creation of a new state ratified by a treaty.

• Every competitor must be an amateur.

  • This must be certified by the national body controlled and countersigned by the National Olympic Committee.
  • In addition, each competitor must give a personal declaration that he is an amateur.
• There is no age limit for a competitor.

Organization Of The Olympics Game

The Olympic Games should be held in the first years of the Olympiad. The games under no pretext can be adjourned to another year. The period of the games shall not exceed sixteen days.

Venue For Olympic

• The venue for the Olympic competitions will be fixed by a majority of votes among the members of the international Olympic committee, taking into consideration the claims made by the cities opting to stage the games.
• A committee from the I.O.C and the respective NOC’s (National Olympic Committees) along with the respective international sports federations visits the cities aspiring to hold the games to determine their suitability.
• After various committees submit their respective reports to the IOC it takes the final decision through a ballot at a session held in a country, no city of which was a candidate.
• The selection unless in exceptional circumstances, is made at least six years in advance.

When the venue is fixed, the mayor of that city will be informed about the decision of IOC. The mayor in turn will inform the National Olympic Committee and this committee will take up the responsibility of Organizing and conducting the games.

Events

The events are fixed by the organizing committee in consultation with the International Olympic Committee.

The usual events are

• Track and field sports,
• Wresting,
• Shooting,
• Gymnastics,
• Football,
• Water polo,
• Boxing,
• Fencing,
• Weightlifting,
• Yachting (sailing, ship racing),
• Rowing,
• Swimming and diving,
• Equestrian sports (horse riding),
• Basketball,
• Hockey,
• Cycling,
• Volleyball etc.

Modern Olympic Games Opening Ceremony

For the opening of the games, usually, the President, King, or any other head of the State will be asked to preside and declare the games open.

• The president will then mount up the Tribune of Honour and the National Anthem of the host country will be played.
• The march past of the athletes and the officials will take place according to the alphabetical order of the countries.
• In the march past, the Greek contingent will always take the lead while the host country will be at the end.
• The president of the games will declare open the Olympiad of the modern era.

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Hoisting of the Olympic flag with a fanfare of trumpets followed by a salute of gunfire and pigeon’s release.

• The Olympic torch will be brought into the stadium and the Olympic flames will be lit in the bowl constructed for this purpose.
• The flames will be burning throughout the period of the Olympic Games.
• All the bearers will move forward to the Rostrum and stand in a semi-circular fashion facing the Tribune of Honour.

The Olympic oath will be taken by a representative of the athletes, usually, an athlete of the host country who will take the following oath.

• We swear that we will take part in the Olympic games in loyal competition respecting the regulations which govern them and desirous of participating in them in the true spirit of sportsmanship for the honor of our country and for the glory of sports.
• Presently this oath has been revised a sunder and given effect from Sydney Olympics 2002.

In the name of all competitors, I promise that we shall take part in this Olympic game respecting and abiding by the rules which govern them without the use of doping and drugs in the true spirit of sportsmanship for the glory of sports and the honor of our teams.

After the Oath,

• the National Anthem of the host country will be played.
• The athletes and the Officials shall march out of the stadium.
• The games shall then begin.

Awards

Those who get the first 3 places will mount the Victory stand.

• The first-place winner will be at the center at a higher level.
• The second-place winners will be on his right and
• The third-place winners on his left.

As soon as they have mounted the victory stand,

• The national flags of the winners will go up the masts.
• The National Anthem of the winner will be briefly played.
• The victors will be crowned with Olive Wreaths.

The President of the International Olympic Committee or his representatives will give away medals and diplomas

Gold Medal for 1st place,

Silver Medal for 2nd place and

Bronze medal for 3rd place

• The banes of the victors will be inscribed on the walls of the stadium where the Olympics games are conducted.
• In addition, a Roll of honor is kept with the International Olympic Committee in which the names of the first six competitions are entered.
• Competitors who have secured 4^th, 5th, and 6th places in each event are awarded only Diplomas.
• Souvenir medals are given to all participants.

Closing of the Modern Olympics Games

• The closing of the games will take place in a solemn manner.
• The president of the International Olympic Committee will express his gratitude to the organizers.
• He will then declare the games closed and will call upon the youth of the various countries to assemble again after 4 years at the next venue of the games.
• Immediately after his declaration, the ceremonial Olympic flag will be handed over to the mayor of the city, so that he can keep the flag safely till the next Olympic Games.
• Then trumpets will be sounded, the Olympic flames will be extinguished and the Olympic flag will be lowered.
• Thus, the games come to a close.

Modern Olympic Games Flag

There are two kinds of flags used by the International Olympics Committee

1. Olympic flag for hoisting purpose during Olympic
2. Ceremonial Olympic flag

Olympic Flag

• This Olympic flag is based on a model design by Braon de Coubertin in 1914.
• It was first hoisted in 1920 at Antwerp (Belgium) Olympics.
• The Olympic flag is made of white silk without any borders.

• In the center, there are five interacted rings in the colors of Blue, Yellow, Black, Green, and Red representing the five continents viz.

  • America,
  • Asia,
  • Africa,
  • Europe and
  • Australia.
• The five rings are arranged in the shape of a W.
• The blue ring shall be high on the left nearer the flag pole.
• Below the rings appears the Olympic Motto Citius Altius, Fortius which means ever faster, higher, stronger.

Those rings together with the motto constitute the Olympic emblem which is the exclusive property of the International Olympic Committee. Only the flag is hoisted during the Olympic Games.

Ceremonial Olympic Flag

• This flag is made of silk and this is bordered with the colors of the rings (blue, yellow, black, green, and red)
• This flag is not intended for hoisting purposes.
• The flag is handed over to the mayor of the city conducting the concerned Olympics by the president of I.O.C at the time of the closing ceremony.
• This shall be under the custody of the mayor of the city till the next Olympics.

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Motto Of The Modern Olympic Games

• The Olympic Games had come to stay in 1897. The international Olympic games committee adopted a Dominican monks world.
• Citius Aitius, Fortius Ever (fastest, highest, strongest) as the Olympic motto to embody the spirit of the games.
• The most important thing in the game 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.

Olympic Torch

The ritual flame lighting ceremony takes place at the temples of Hera, near the stadium where the ancient Olympics were held.

• An actress from the Greek national theatre, portraying a priestess, uses a concave mirror to catch the sun’s rays to ignite the torch which is then handed over to young athletes who carry it for one kilometer each (if it has to be flown, the flame is kept in specially made lanterns while it is being transported to the host nation).
• This torch shall then be relayed on foot (as for as possible) by runners until it is finally taken to the city where the games are to be conducted.

On its way as it passes through various countries the particular country through which it passes shall arrange for the relay of runners to bear the torch.

• The last runner shall be an athlete from the host country and his arrival with the torch will be synchronized with the opening of the games.
• This was first initiated by the Germans while they organized the Berlin Olympic Games in the year 1936.
• From Berlin Olympics onwards this practice is continued.
• Now a day’s torch is also carried in airplanes from one country to another where it is not possible to carry it by a relay of runners.

Winter Olympic Games

• The Winter Olympic Games were first introduced in the year 1924.
• These are also held once in 4 years in the same year of the Olympics but not at the same time.
• This Olympics is held at the places where the geographical and climatic conditions will be conducive to the conduct of these games.

Special Olympics

Special Olympics is an international organization dedicated to empowering individuals with mental retardation to become physically fit, productive and respected members of society through

• Sports,
• Training and
• Competition.

Special Olympics offers children and adults with mental retardation, year-round training, and competition in 26 Olympic type summer and winter sports. The Special Olympics world summer games are held every four years and the special Olympics world winter games also are held every four years.

The Marathon Race

The Marathon Race was first introduced in 1876 at the first modern Olympic Games in Athens.

• The inclusion of this great dramatic and spectacular event in the modern Olympics was mainly due to the initiative and efforts taken by a Frenchman by the name of Michael Breal who was one of the delegates of the congress which initiated the Modern Olympics.
• He also instituted a trophy for this race.

History of  Marathon Race

• In 490 B.C the Persians invaded Greece and fought with the Greeks at the battlefield of Marathon.
• In that battle, the Persians were defeated and the Greek commander Miltiades wanted to convey that glad news to Athens.
• He, therefore, called for Pheidippides, the famous Athenian runner, and asked him to run all the way to Athens and communicate the news to the anxious city fathers.
• Pheidippides had fought in the battle that day as a soldier. Although he was tired, he obeyed the orders of his commander and ran all the way from the marathon to Athens a distance of about 18 leagues (i.e about 27 miles). He was fell down dead.
• To perpetuate his memory the Marathon race was introduced in the Modern Olympics.
• The distance for the marathon race was fixed finally in 1908 at the London Olympic games. The distance is 26 miles and 385 yards (42.195 meters)

List Of Modern Olympic Games Host Cities

Olympiad	Year	City	Country
1.	1896	Athens	Greece
2.	1900	Paris	France
3.	1904	St. Louis	USA
4.	1908	London	England
5.	1912	Stockholm	Sweden
6.	1916	Berlin	Germany (canceled)
7.	1920	Antwerp	Belgium
8.	1924	Paris	France
9.	1928	Amsterdam	Holland
10.	1932	Los Angeles	USA
11.	1936	Berlin	Germany
12.	1940	Tokyo	Japan (canceled)
13.	1944	London	England (canceled)
14.	1948	London	England
15.	1952	Helsinki	Finland
16.	1956	Melbourne	Australia
17.	1960	Rome	Italy
18.	1964	Tokyo	Japan
19.	1968	Mexico city	Mexico
20.	1972	Munich	Germany
21.	1976	Montreal	Canada
22.	1980	Moscow	USSR
23.	1984	Los Angels	USA
24.	1988	Seoul	South Korea
25.	1992	Barcelona	Spain
26.	1996	Atlanta	USA
27.	2000	Sydney	Australia
28.	2004	Athens	Greece
29.	2008	Beijing	China
30.	2012	London	England
31.	2016	Rio de Janeiro	Brazil
32.	2020	Tokyo	Japan (postponed to 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic)
33.	2024	Paris	France
34.	2028	Los Angeles	United States
35.	2032	Brisbane	Australia

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