Paris will host the Olympic Games from July 26 to August 11. This is an opportunity to look back at the history of this competition with some key moments.
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1 – It was in Olympia around the year 776 BC, hence the name Olympic Gamesthat this event took its roots. The first competitions were planned every four years. The four-year period between the editions was called the “Olympiad”. In 393 AD, the Roman Emperor Theodore I banned the celebration of the Olympic Games for religious reasons, and in 1894, the French baron Pierre de Coubertin decided to revive the Olympic Games by founding the International Olympic Committee (IOC), which organized the first summer games in 1896, in Athens.
2 – The Olympic Charter made French the official language of the Games in memory of its founder Pierre de Coubertin. English and the official language of the host country were later added to this.
3 – Designed from an original drawing by Pierre de Coubertin, the Olympic rings remain today a global representation of the Olympic movement and its activity. The Olympic symbol and Olympic properties may only be used with the written consent of the IOC.
4 – The Olympic torch relay is today a symbol of peace and brotherhood. The flame first appeared at the Amsterdam Games in 1928, and the relay appeared at the Berlin Games in 1936.
5 – The Paris 2024 Games will be the first ever Games to be fully gender-balanced, with as many female and male athletes.
6 – Four additional sports are proposed by Paris 2024: breaking, climbing, skateboarding and surfing. Since 2014, the International Olympic Committee has encouraged the organizing committees of host countries to propose new sports to add to the traditional Olympic disciplines.
7- The American Michael Phelps is the most decorated athlete at the Olympic Games, all sports combined. The swimmer has a total of 28 medals, including 23 gold.
8- With 28 participations, the United States dominates the awards table, with 2,635 medals including 1,061 gold.
9- Thanks to Alessandra Perilli’s bronze medal in shooting at the Tokyo 2021 Olympics, the first in San Marino’s history, this state of 34,000 inhabitants has become the smallest Olympic medal-winning country in the history of the Games.
10- Sky Brown (born 7 July 2008) is a British-Japanese skateboarder who competes for Great Britain. She won a bronze medal in the park skateboarding event at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, making her the youngest Olympic medallist in history.