Olympics

Introduction

The Olympic Games or the Olympics, are organised once every four years since 1994. These games comprise the most important international tournament in which athletes from several countries participate.

Several games are a part of the Olympics, and different countries compete against each other to showcase their mettle. For every tournament, the Olympic Committee decides on a host country, and the host country becomes responsible for hosting the entire event. The Olympic Games go back 3,000 years and were organized in Olympia every four years.

Later, these games adopted the name ‘Olympic Games’ and became the world's most important international sporting event. These games alternate between Summer and Winter Olympics every two years. The International Olympic Committee is the guardian body of the Olympics. They act as a catalyst and bring all the games' stakeholders, like the athletes, international federations, etc., together. The IOC aims to bring the world closer together with the help of sports.

Table Of Contents

• Details
• History
• Significance Of The IOC
• Theme 
• Objectives
• Conclusion

Details

Currently, 206 nations are a part of the Olympics.

All these countries have a National Olympic Committee. From these 206 nations, the host country is selected for every Olympics.

History

The Olympic Games have a very rich history. Over 3,000 years ago, in the Peloponnese of ancient Greece, the Games first began. Olympia hosted sporting events at the interval of four years. These games then took the name ‘Olympic Games’.

Although the exact year of their beginning is unknown, 776 BC is frequently mentioned in literary sources. As history and legend have been entwined, precisely why the Olympic Games were created is still being determined. At the time, time was measured in Olympiads rather than years, and the four years between the Ancient Games editions were referred to as an "Olympiad." The first Games of the modern period were held in 1896 after Pierre de Coubertin's concept to resurrect the Olympic Games was introduced in 1894.

Significance Of The IOC 

The International Olympic Commission governs the Olympic Games, and the Olympic Charter defines the structure and the line of command of the people who manage the games. The IOC, along with the important stakeholders, chooses the host country for each edition of the event Olympics and then arranges the funds so that the event can be organised seamlessly in the host country.

The IOC also decides on the games that will be a part of the Olympics. The IOC has decided on the rituals and symbols that will showcase the values of the Olympics. Some of these symbols include the Olympic flag, the opening, and closing ceremonies, etc. Since the inception of the Olympic Games, it has gone through a series of evolution.

The Winter Olympics is one such intervention that was done to include sports that are played on ice and snow. The IOC also created the Paralympic Games for disabled athletes to make the event more inclusive. Several economic, political, and technological advancements have required the IOC to adapt. The IOC decided to let professional athletes compete in the Games instead of the pure amateurism that Coubertin had envisioned due to the Eastern Bloc countries' violation of amateur regulations. The issue of corporate sponsorship and the broader commercialisation of the Games has arisen due to the mass media's increasing significance.

The Olympic Movement

The Olympic Movement promoted sports for all, and several important stakeholders, like the international sports federations, National Olympic Committees, etc., have been an active part of the movement.

However, it did run into some snags, such as:

• The Olympics in 1916, 1940, and 1944 were postponed due to world wars

• Participation in the 1980 and 1984 Olympics was severely restricted due to the Cold War

• The 2020 Olympics were delayed until 2021 because of the COVID-19 epidemic

A total of 14,000 athletes participated in the 2020 Summer and 2022 Winter Olympics, and more than 40 sports events and 448 other events were a part of it. Post the sporting event, a gold, silver, and bronze medal is given to the athletes who secure the first, second and third position in the game.

Theme

PlayJune 23 is celebrated as International Olympic Day. The day's theme defines the direction of international sports for that particular year. The theme changes every year. In 2022, the theme was ‘Together, For a Peaceful World’. The theme came into the picture considering people's losses during the COVID period. The theme for the year 2021 was ‘Faster, Higher, Stronger – Together.’

While the International Olympic Day has a theme, the host countries also decide on the theme for the event that takes place every four years. The theme for the 2024 Paris Olympics is ‘Live together, play together.’ The theme celebrates the union of athletes from different countries and combines the sports and cultural events that will be a part of the games.

Objectives

Like every other international tournament, the Olympic Games' primary aim was to give countries a platform where they can compete against each other in a healthy set-up, and sportsmanship gets promoted in the process.

Some other motives for the Olympics Games are as follows:

• To bring athletes from all countries and give them a platform to compete against each other and promote the spirit of sportsmanship.

• To unite the viewers and give them a good sporting event to watch.

• To unite the countries and the continents with the help of sports.

• To promote people to develop motor and physical fitness by building strength and endurance.

• To make people realise the importance of sports and encourage them to participate in different sporting events at different levels.

Conclusion

The Olympics are the most important international sporting event, given its scale and frequency. The countries participating in it see the prestige associated with the Olympics. Hence, athletes from different countries put their best foot forward and participated in the events. Apart from the sporting events, the Olympics also have an opening and a closing ceremony.

The host countries bring their flavor to these events and are celebrated with great pomp and show. Before the closing ceremony, the winners of the Olympics are declared, and the trophy goes to the country with the maximum number of gold, silver, and bronze medals.