The Olympics – A timeline

776 BC

First written Olympics, hosted in Olympia. The time between Olympics were measured in Olympiads, a new unit of time that the Greeks had recently invented.

 

393 BC

The Roman Emperor Theodosius II bans the Olympics.

 

16-23 June 1894

The Olympic Congress is hosted for 7 days at the Sorbonne University. Organised by Baron Pierre de Coubertin, Two thousand people attended the event, with 78 delegates from all over Europe.

At the end of the event, the Modern Olympic Games was created and the International Olympic Committee was formed.

 

6-15 April 1896

The first Summer Olympics is hosted in Athens. 14 nations and 241 athletes competed in the events, of which were:

• Athletics (Multiple Events)

• Cycling (Road and Track)

• Gymnastics (Multiple Events)

• Shooting

• Swimming (Multiple Events)

• Tennis (Singles and Duos)

• Weightlifting

• Wrestling

 

14 May-28 October 1900

The second Summer Olympics is hosted in Paris. This is the first olympics event to include women. More sports are added to the Olympics, of which include golf and equestrian events.

 

1 July-23 November 1904

St Louis hosts the third Summer Olympics, which is the first to distribute gold, silver and bronze medals. It is also noted for being the first Olympics to have George Eyser, a disabled athlete compete in it.

 

6 – 22 July 1912

Sweden becomes the first country to host an Olympics with athletes from all the continents competing at the 1912 Stockholm Olympics. Women make their debut in the swimming events.

 

1912 – 1948

Rather strangely, all the Olympics in these years include competitions for architecture, literature, painting, music and sculpture.

 

14 August – 12 September 1920

The Olympics in Antwerp, Belgium were the last to have tug-of-war, an event in the Olympics. The Olympic Oath and flag are revealed, too.

 

25 January – 5 February 1924

The first Winter Olympics are held in Chamonix, France. Sonja Henie, who was eleven years old, took part in the ladies’ figure skating competition. Even though she finished last, she became very popular and went on to take gold at the next three Winter Olympics.

 

5 – 27 July 1924

The 1924 Paris Olympics are the first to have an Olympic village. Harold Osborn won multiple gold medals and set Olympic records in both the high jump and the decathlon at the 1924 Olympics.

 

14 – 25 February 1952

The Winter Olympics in Oslo, Norway, are the first to be opened by a woman, Princess Ragnhild.

 

18 – 25 September 1960

The First Paralympic Games are held in Rome. The 1960 Paralympics was essentially the 9th Annual International Stoke Mandeville Games, but rebranded as the Paralympics.

 

21 – 28 February 1972

Sweden hosts the first Winter Paralympics in Örnsköldsvik, with 196 athletes representing 16 different nations.

 

12 – 27 February 1994

The XVII Winter Games are held in Lillehammer, two years after the last Winter Games in Albertville, in 1992. This was because of logistic problems, and as there would be a four-year gap between olympics.

 

Singapore 2010 and Innsbruck 2012 Youth Olympics

The first summer version of the Youth Olympic Games took place in 2010, and the first winter Youth Olympics took place in 2012.

 

23 July – 8 August 2021

The Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics are held in 2021, due to COVID-19. New events were introduced, of which included 3×3 basketball, freestyle BMX, surfing, skateboarding, sport climbing and karate. Surfing, skateboarding and sport climbing will stay on the olympic program, with breakdancing featuring in the 2024 Paris Olympics.