When were the first Olympic Games in Greece? History of Olympic Games. Sanctuary of Ancient Greece

OLYMPIC GAMES(Summer Olympic Games, Olympics), the largest international complex sport competitions modernity. Principles, rules and regulations Olympic Games determined Olympic Charter. At the suggestion of P. de Coubertin the decision to organize the Olympic Games in the image of the ancient ones and to create International Olympic Committee(IOC) was adopted by the International Sports Congress in Paris in 1894. The Olympic Games are held in the first year of the Olympiad. The Olympic Games have been counted since 1896, when the first Olympic Games took place. The Olympiad also receives its number in cases where the games are not held (for example, the VI Olympiad in 1916, the XII in 1940, the XIII in 1944). Besides olympic sports, the organizing committee of the Olympic Games (the NOC of the country where the next Olympic Games will be held is created) has the right to choose to include in the program exhibition competitions in 1-2 sports not recognized by the IOC. The duration of the Olympic Games since 1932 has not been more than 15 days. The Olympic Games in Paris (1900) and St. Louis (1904) were timed to coincide with World Exhibitions .

The Olympic movement has its own symbol, emblem and flag, approved by the IOC in 1914 at the suggestion of Coubertin in 1913. The Olympic symbol is 5 intertwined rings of blue, black, red (top row), yellow and green (bottom row) colors, which symbolize the 5 combined in Olympic movement of parts of the world (respectively - Europe, Africa, America, Asia, Australia). The flag is a white cloth with the Olympic rings; it has been flown at all Olympic Games since 1920. Also in 1913, the motto was approved - Citius, Altius, Fortius (faster, higher, stronger), proposed by A. Dido, a friend and ally of Coubertin, and which became part of the Olympic emblem. Olympic symbol and the motto formed the official Olympic emblem(since 1920). The high prestige of the competition is evidenced by the list statesmen and the crowned heads who opened them: Athens, 1896 - George I (King of Greece); Paris, 1900 – there was no opening ceremony; St. Louis, 1904 – David Francis (president of the World's Fair); London, 1908 – Edward VII (King of Great Britain and Ireland); Stockholm, 1912 – Gustav V (King of Sweden); Antwerp, 1920 – Albert I (King of Belgium); Paris, 1924 – Gaston Doumergue (President of France); Amsterdam, 1928 – Heinrich of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (Prince Hendrik of the Netherlands); Los Angeles, 1932 – Charles Curtis (US Vice President); Berlin, 1936 – Adolf Hitler (Reich Chancellor of Germany); London, 1948 – George VI (King of Great Britain and Northern Ireland); Helsinki, 1952 – Juho Kusti Paasikivi (President of Finland); Melbourne, 1956 (equestrian competitions held in Stockholm) - Philip Mountbatten (Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh - Prince Consort of Great Britain) and Gustav VI Adolf (King of Sweden); Rome, 1960 – Giovanni Gronchi (President of Italy); Tokyo, 1964 – Hirohito (Emperor of Japan); Mexico City, 1968 – Gustavo Diaz Ordaz (President of Mexico); Munich, 1972 – Gustav Heinemann (Federal President of Germany); Montreal, 1976 – Elizabeth II (Queen of Great Britain and Northern Ireland); Moscow, 1980 – Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev (Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR); Los Angeles, 1984 – Ronald Reagan (US President); Seoul, 1988 – Ro Dae Woo (President of the Republic of Korea); Barcelona, ​​1992 – Juan Carlos I (King of Spain); Atlanta, 1996 – William (Bill) Jefferson Clinton (US President); Sydney, 2000 – William Patrick Dean (Governor General of Australia); Athens, 2004 – Konstantinos Stephanopoulos (President of Greece); Beijing, 2008 – Hu Jintao (General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee); London, 2012 – Elizabeth II (Queen of Great Britain and Northern Ireland); Rio de Janeiro, 2016 – Michel Temer (Vice President of Brazil). The only woman to open the Olympic Games is Queen Elizabeth II; As of January 1, 2020, she is the only statesman in the entire history of the Olympic Games who opened them twice (Melbourne, 1956; London, 2012).

Traditional Olympic rituals: 1) lighting olympic flame at the opening ceremony (first lit from the sun's rays in Olympia in 1936 and delivered by a relay of torchbearers to Berlin - the organizer of the Olympic Games); 2) Taking the Olympic oaths. The Olympic oath of athletes (the text was written in 1913 by Coubertin, it was first pronounced in Antwerp in 1920 by the Belgian fencer V. Boin): “On behalf of all athletes, I promise that we will participate in these Games, respecting and observing the rules by which they are held, in a true sporting spirit, for the glory of sport and for the honor of their teams.” Olympic Oath of Judges (included in the opening ceremony at the proposal of the USSR Olympic Committee and carried out since the Olympic Games in Mexico City, 1968): “On behalf of all judges and officials, I promise that we will perform our duties at these Olympic Games with complete impartiality, respecting and observing the rules by which they are conducted, in a true sporting spirit.” At the Olympic Games in London (2012), the Olympic Coaches Oath was made for the first time: “On behalf of all coaches and other people around the athletes, I promise that we will behave in a manner that maintains the spirit of sportsmanship and fair play, in accordance with the basic principles Olympic movement». 3) Presentation of medals to the winners and prize-winners of the competition. For 1st place the athlete is awarded a gold medal, for 2nd place - a silver medal, for 3rd place– bronze. In the case where two athletes (teams) share 1st–2nd places, both are awarded a gold medal; if participants share 2nd–3rd or 2nd–4th places, everyone is awarded silver medals, but bronze ones are not awarded. In boxing competitions, bronze medals are awarded to two athletes who lose in the semi-finals. In 1928, the IOC approved the image on the front side of the medal of the ancient Greek goddess Nike with a laurel wreath in her hand, on the reverse side - the sport, the emblem of the Games and other symbols; 4) raising the state flag and singing the national anthem in honor of the winners. According to the charter, the Olympic Games are competitions between individual athletes and not between national teams. However, the so-called unofficial team standings - determining the place occupied by teams by the number of points received (points are awarded for the first 6 places according to the system: 1st place - 7 points, 2nd - 5 points, 3rd - 4 points, 4th - 3 points, 5th – 2 points, 6th – 1 point). Traditionally, a table is maintained medal count by country with priority for medals of the highest value. The athlete (or team) who won gold medal at the Olympic Games or Olympic Winter Games, is awarded the title Olympic champion. This title is not used with the prefix ex, such as ex-world champion. The largest number of medals in the entire history of the Summer Olympic Games (as of January 1, 2020) were won by athletes from national teams: USA (27 participations; 1022 gold, 794 silver, 704 bronze); Russia; Germany; Great Britain (28; 263, 295, 289); China (10; 227, 164, 152); France (28; 212, 241, 260).

The Olympic movement (as of January 1, 2016) involves 206 countries (including geographical areas), whose national Olympic committees are recognized by the IOC. In the period 1896–2016, 31 Olympic Games were held (three of them did not take place due to world wars); 4 were conducted in the USA; 3 – in Great Britain; 1 each in Sweden, Belgium, the Netherlands, Finland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Canada, USSR, Republic of Korea, Spain, China, Brazil. According to the Olympic Charter, the honor of hosting the Olympic Games is given to the city, not the country (or territory). The decision to elect an Olympic city (the capital of the Olympic Games) is made by the IOC no later than 6 years before the start of these Games at the IOC session. The application of a candidate city must be approved by the NOC of that country. The city that has put forward its candidacy is obliged to provide the IOC with written guarantees confirmed by the government and make a certain financial contribution (refundable to non-elected cities). Since 1932, the host city of the Olympic Games has been building olympic village– a complex of residential premises for game participants. Among the various obligations olympic city submits for approval to the IOC the program for the Olympic Games, and since 1968 the national cultural program. The tradition of combining physical and artistic culture dates back to the Olympic Games Ancient Greece, where sports competitions were accompanied by competitions in various forms of art. The forerunners of the modern cultural program were art competitions (1906–52) and fine arts exhibitions (1956–64). At the Olympic Games in 1968–72, the cultural program was international in nature; since 1976, according to the Olympic Charter, it has been national and covers all types of art, literature, photography, sports philately, etc. More often than other cities in the world, London was chosen as the capital of the Summer Olympic Games (3 times), Athens, Paris, Los Angeles (2 times each).

In 1980 the capital of the Games XXII Olympiad there was Moscow; elected during the 75th IOC session on October 23, 1974 in Vienna. The main stadium of the Moscow Olympics became central Stadium them. V.I. Lenin (approx. 100 thousand seats, modern name “Luzhniki”), where the opening and closing ceremonies of the Games, competitions in athletics, the final match of a football tournament; a number of competitions were held in the area of ​​Leningradsky Prospekt in Moscow - at the Dynamo and Young Pioneers"and in the CSKA sports complex. Built especially for the Olympic Games: sports complex"Olympic" on Mira Avenue, including a multi-purpose indoor stadium(about 35 thousand places; 22 disciplines Olympic program) And swimming pool; cycle track "Krylatskoye" (with two stands for 3 thousand seats), near which there is a circular bicycle track and an archery field (here, in 1972–73, the rowing canal "Krylatskoye" was built for the European Rowing Championship; stands - approx. 2.5 thousand places); equestrian complex “Bitsa” (tribune for 5 thousand seats); sports palaces "Izmailovo" (temporary collapsible stand - up to 4 thousand seats; competitions in weightlifting) and Sokolniki (approx. 7 thousand seats; handball tournament games); shooting range "Dynamo" (about 3 thousand places) in the town of Mytishchi near Moscow; Olimpic village. Over 5 thousand athletes from 80 countries competed for 203 sets of medals in 21 sports. Athletes of the USSR national team won the largest number of medals in the history of the Olympic Games - 195 (including 80 gold, 69 silver and 46 bronze). Some competitions authorized by the IOC were held in other cities. Group football tournaments and quarterfinal matches took place in Kyiv, Leningrad and Minsk; sailing regatta took place in Tallinn. (Similar exceptions were allowed before. For example, in 1956, due to quarantine and a ban on the import of horses into Australia, equestrian competitions were held even in another country - in Sweden, in Stockholm.) For political reasons, the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow were boycotted by a number of countries, those who refused to participate. Four years later, the NOC of the USSR and a number of other socialist countries boycotted the Olympic Games in Los Angeles. In 1906, the Extraordinary Olympic Games were held in Athens (22.4–2.5) with the participation of 903 athletes from 20 countries. These competitions have not received official recognition from the IOC.

To uphold the Olympic ideals and noble principles of competition at the Olympic Games and Olympic Winter Games, in 1968 the IOC and international sports federations established a doping control procedure, which is carried out by special anti-doping commissions. Since 1976, Olympic medalists have undergone special doping tests; if the athlete is convicted of taking doping he is disqualified and loses his awards. To combat doping, on November 10, 1999, with the support of the IOC, it was established World Anti-Doping Agency(WADA). IN last years, without paying attention to the statute of limitations, WADA laboratories recheck the tests of athletes taken during previous Olympic Games (Beijing, 2008; London, 2012), which often leads to the revision of individual results, disqualification of prize-winners and changes in the results in the unofficial team medal standings(see table in article World Anti-Doping Agency). Before the start of the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro (2016), on the initiative of WADA, many were suspended from participation in competitions for various reasons Russian athletes, including all track and field athletes (with the exception of long jumper D.I. Klishina) and weightlifters, most swimmers and rowers, tennis player M. Yu. Sharapova. As a result, the composition of the Russian national team was reduced by almost 50%.

In 6 types of the Olympic program ( cycling, Athletics, swimming, shooting, archery, weightlifting) Olympic records are registered regardless of what stage of the competition (preliminary, qualifying or final) they were set. If the result exceeds the world record, then it is considered both a world and an Olympic record.

Since 1968, the organizers of the Olympic Games have used the Olympic mascot for propaganda and commercial purposes.

To reward particularly distinguished athletes, figures of the Olympic movement and major government figures in the mid-1970s. The Olympic Order was established (it had three degrees) - Gold, Silver and Bronze (now only the first two). The first recipient of the Olympic Golden Order was ex-IOC President E. Brundage. Olympic orders are not awarded to current IOC members.

For the dates and main results of the Summer Olympic Games, see Table 1. About the athletes who won the most Olympic awards at the Olympic Games, see Table 2. For athletes who took part in 6 or more Olympics, see Table 3.

Table 1. Main results of the Summer Olympic Games (Athens, 1896 – Rio de Janeiro, 2016).

* United German team.

** United team of the countries of the former USSR.

Table 2. Athletes with the most victories at the Olympic Games (Athens, 1896 – Rio de Janeiro, 2016).

3 Olympic gold medals were won at the Olympic Games in approx. 200 athletes (as of January 1, 2020), including representatives of Russia (including the USSR): A. V. Azaryan, D. V. Bilozerchev, S. L. Boginskaya, O. A. Brusnikina, O. A. Bryzgina , G. E. Gorokhova , A. N. Dityatin , V. V. Ekimov , V. F. Zhdanovich , A. I. Zabelina , V. N. Ivanov, T. V. Kazankina, A. A. Karelin, M. A. Kiseleva, A. I. Lavrov, V. G. Mankin, A. V. Medved, V. I. Morozov, V. A. Nazlymov, V. V. Parfenovich, T. N. Press, V. D. Saneev, E. V. Sadovyi, B. Kh. Saitiev, L. I. Khvedosyuk-Pinaeva, S. A. Chukhrai .

Table 3. Athletes who took part in 6 or more Olympics (as of January 1, 2020).

*The athlete also competed at the Olympic Winter Games.

First Games

It is a little secret that the first Olympic Games were held in Greece back in 776 BC. The small village of Olympia was chosen as the location for the competition. At that time, competitions were held in only one discipline, which was running over a distance of 189 meters. Interesting feature, which distinguished the first Olympic Games in Greece, was that only men could take part in them. At the same time, they competed without shoes or any clothing on themselves. Among other things, only one woman, whose name was Demeter, received the right to observe the competition.

History of the Olympics

The first Olympic Games were a great success, so the tradition of holding them continued for another 1168 years. Already at that time it was decided to hold such competitions every four years. Confirmation of their great authority is the fact that during the competition between states that were at war, a temporary peace treaty was always concluded. Each new Olympics received many changes compared to what the first Olympic Games were like. First of all, we are talking about adding disciplines. At first it was running over other distances, and then long jumping, fist running, pentathlon, discus throwing, javelin throwing, dart throwing and many others were added to it. The winners were so highly respected that monuments were even erected to them in Greece. There were also difficulties. The most serious of them was the ban on the Games by Emperor Theodosius the First in 394 AD. The fact is that he considered this kind of competition to be pagan entertainment. And 128 years later, a very strong earthquake occurred in Greece, because of which the Games were forgotten for a long time.

Renaissance

In the mid-eighteenth century, the first attempts to revive the Olympics began. They began to become a reality about a hundred years later thanks to the French scientist Pierre de Coubertin. With the help of his compatriot, archaeologist Ernst Curtius, he, in fact, wrote new rules for conducting such competitions. The first Olympic Games of modern times began on April 6, 1896 in the Greek capital. Representatives of 13 countries from all over the planet took part in them. Russia, due to financial problems, did not send its athletes. The competitions took place in nine disciplines, among which were the following: gymnastics, bullet shooting, athletics and weightlifting, wrestling, fencing, tennis, swimming and bicycle racing. Public interest in the Games was colossal, a clear confirmation of which is the presence at them, according to official data, of more than 90 thousand spectators. In 1924, it was decided to divide the Olympics into winter and summer.

Failed competitions

It happened that competitions were not held, despite the fact that they were planned. We are talking about the Berlin Games of 1916, the Helsinki Olympics of 1940, as well as the London competitions of 1944. The reason for this is one and the same - world wars. Now all Russians are looking forward to the first Olympic Games, which will be held on Russian territory. This will happen in Sochi in 2014.

The Olympic Games are the largest sport's event, loved by many. Millions of people watch them on TV, thousands come to the cities where the competition is held to see the strongest, most dexterous and fastest athletes in person. Every professional sportsman dreams of not only winning, but at least getting into the Olympic arena. However, not many people know how they were created games, when they first took place and what the original concept of this competition was.

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Legends about the origin

Many legends and myths have come down to us about the origin of these competitions, which have different plots and histories. However, one thing is certain: their homeland is Ancient Greece.

How the first competitions were held

The beginning of the first of them dates back to 776 BC. This date is very ancient, and it might not have survived to this day if not for the tradition of the Greeks: they engraved the names of the winners of the competition on columns specially erected for this. Thanks to these buildings we know not only the time when the games began, but also the name of the first winner. This man's name was Korab, and he was a resident of Ellida. It is interesting that the concept of the first thirteen games was very different from the subsequent ones, because initially there was only one competition - running a distance of one hundred and ninety-two meters.

At first, only the indigenous residents of the city of Pisa and Elis had the right to take part. However, the popularity of the competition soon grew so much that other large policies began to contribute to its development.

There were laws according to which not every person could take part in the Olympic Games. Women did not have this right, slaves and foreign inhabitants called barbarians. And anyone who wanted to become a full participant had to submit an application to the meeting of judges a whole year before the start of the competition. Moreover, before the actual start of the competition, potential candidates were required to provide proof that they had been working hard on their skills since registration. physical training, performing various types of exercises, training for long-distance running and maintaining athletic shape.

Ancient games concept

Starting from the fourteenth, they began to actively introduce different kinds sports

The winners of the Olympics got literally everything they wanted. Their names were immortalized in history for centuries, and during their lifetime they were honored as demigods until old age. Moreover, after his death, each Olympiad participant was ranked among the minor gods.

For a long time, these competitions, without which it was previously impossible to imagine life, were forgotten. The thing is that after Emperor Theodosius came to power and the strengthening of the Christian faith, games began to be considered one of the manifestations of paganism, for which they were abolished in three hundred and ninety-four BC.

Renaissance

Fortunately, the games have not sunk into oblivion. We owe their revival to the famous writer and public figure, Baron Pierre de Coubertin, the creator of the modern concept of the Olympic Games. It happened in 1894, when, on the initiative of Coubertin, an international athletic congress was convened. During it, a decision was made to revive the games according to the standard of antiquity, as well as to establish the work of the IOC, that is, the International Olympic Committee.

The IOC began its existence on June 23 of the same year, and Demetrius Vikelas was appointed its first head, and Pierre Coubertin, already familiar to us, was its secretary. At the same time, Congress developed the rules and regulations under which the games would exist.

The first modern Olympic Games

It is not surprising that Athens was chosen to host the first modern games, since Greece is the origin of these competitions. It's interesting to note that Greece is a country, in which they were carried out in three centuries.

The first major competitions of modern times were opened on April 6, 1896. More than three hundred athletes took part in them, and the number of sets of awards exceeded four dozen. At the first games competitions were held in the following sports disciplines:

The games ended by the fifteenth of April. The awards were distributed as follows:

• The overall winner, collecting the largest number of medals, namely forty-six, of which ten were gold, was Greece.
• The USA took second place with a decent margin from the winner, collecting twenty awards.
• Germany collected thirteen medals and finished in third place.
• But Bulgaria, Chile and Sweden left the competition with nothing.

The success of the competition was so enormous that the rulers of Athens immediately offered to hold the games on their territory. However, according to the rules established by the IOC, the venue must change every four years.

Unexpectedly, the next two terms were quite difficult for the Olympics, because the venues where they were held hosted world exhibitions, which made it difficult to receive guests. Due to the combination of these events, the organizers were afraid that the popularity of the games would quickly decline, however, everything was quite the opposite. People fell in love with such large competitions, and then, on the initiative of the same Coubertin, traditions began to form, their flag and emblem were created.

Traditions of the Games and their symbols

The most famous symbol looks like five rings of the same size and intertwined with each other. They come in the following sequence: blue, yellow, black, green and red. Such a simple emblem carries a deep meaning, showing the union of five continents and the meeting of people from all over the world. It is interesting that each Olympic committee has developed its own emblem, however, the five rings are certainly its main part.

The games flag appeared in 1894 and was approved by the IOC. The white flag features the five traditional rings. And the motto of the competition is: faster, higher, stronger.

Another symbol of the Olympics is fire. The lighting of the Olympic flame became traditional ritual before the start of any games. It is lit in the city where the competition is held and remains there until it ends. This was done back in ancient times, however, the custom did not return to us immediately, but only in 1928.

An integral part of the symbolism of these large-scale competitions is the Olympic mascot. Each country has its own. The issue of the appearance of mascots arose at the next IOC meeting in 1972. By committee decision it could be any person, animal or any mythical creature that would not only fully reflect the identity of the country, but also speak about modern Olympic values.

The emergence of winter games

In 1924, it was decided to establish winter competitions. Initially, they were held in the same year as the summer ones, however, later it was decided to move them two years relative to the summer ones. France became the host of the first Winter Games. Surprisingly, only half as many spectators were interested in them as expected, and not all tickets were sold out. Despite previous failures, the Winter Olympics became more and more popular with the fans, and they soon gained the same popularity as the summer ones.

Interesting facts from history

The history of the Olympic Games goes back more than 2 thousand years. They originated in Ancient Greece. At first, the games were part of festivals in honor of the god Zeus. The first Olympics took place in ancient Greece. Once every four years, athletes gathered in the city of Olympia in the Peloponnese, a peninsula in the south of the country. Only running competitions were held over a distance of one stadium (from the Greek stade = 192 m). Gradually the number of sports increased and the games became an important event for the entire Greek world. It was religious and sports festival, during which a mandatory “sacred peace” was declared and any military actions were prohibited.

History of the first Olympics

The period of truce lasted a month and was called ekeheiriya. It is believed that the first Olympics took place in 776 BC. e. But in 393 AD. e. Roman Emperor Theodosius I banned the Olympic Games. By that time, Greece lived under the rule of Rome, and the Romans, having converted to Christianity, believed that the Olympic Games, with their worship of pagan gods and the cult of beauty, were incompatible with the Christian faith.

The Olympic Games were remembered at the end of the 19th century, after excavations began in ancient Olympia and discovered the ruins of sports and temple buildings. In 1894, at the International Sports Congress in Paris, the French public figure Baron Pierre de Coubertin (1863-1937) proposed organizing the Olympic Games on the model of the ancient ones. He also came up with the Olympians’ motto: “The main thing is not victory, but participation.” De Coubertin wanted only male athletes to compete in these competitions, as in Ancient Greece, but already in the second Games women also participated. The emblem of the Games was five multi-colored rings; We chose the colors that are most often found on the flags of various countries around the world.

The first modern Olympic Games took place in 1896 in Athens. In the 20th century The number of countries and athletes participating in these competitions grew steadily, and the number of Olympic sports also increased. Today it is difficult to find a country that does not send at least one or two athletes to the Games. Since 1924, in addition to the Olympic Games, which take place in the summer, they began to organize winter Games so that skiers, skaters and other athletes who engage in winter sports can compete. And since 1994, the Winter Olympic Games are held not in the same year as the Summer Olympics, but two years later.

Sometimes the Olympic Games are called the Olympics, which is incorrect: the Olympics is a four-year period between successive Olympic Games. When, for example, they say that the 2008 Games are the 29th Olympics, they mean that from 1896 to 2008, 29 periods of four years each passed. But there were only 26 Games: in 1916, 1940 and 1944. There were no Olympic Games - world wars interfered.

The first modern Olympic Games were held in the Greek city of Athens from April 6 to April 15, 1896.

The decision to hold the First Olympic Games

June 23, 1894, Paris, Sorbonne University - 1st Congress of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) was held. initiated an event to announce a project to revive the Ancient Greek Olympic Games. At the suggestion of the writer and translator Demetrius Vikelas (who later became the First President of the IOC), a decision was made to hold new Olympic Games in the city of Athens (Greece). According to the organizers of the Olympics, such a decision would indicate the continuity of the Olympic Games with the modern traditions of Ancient Greece and, moreover, the city had the only large stadium in all of Europe. Unfortunately, the idea of ​​holding the Games in Olympia had to be abandoned due to the enormous costs of reconstructing the stadium.

Opening ceremony of the First Olympic Games

On Easter Monday of Christianity (Catholicism, Orthodoxy and Protestantism) and, moreover, on Greek Independence Day, April 6, 1896, the opening ceremony of the First Summer Olympic Games of our time took place. On the day of the ceremonial start of the competition, more than 80 thousand spectators were present at the stadium in Athens. The ceremony was also attended by the Greek royal family. King George I from the rostrum solemnly declared the First International Olympic Games in the city of Athens open.

From this day the first olympic traditions: The head of state where the competition is taking place opens the Games, and the Olympic anthem is played at the Games ceremony. True, such Olympic traditions as the fire lighting ceremony, the parade of participating countries, and the recitation of the oath have not yet been established.

Participants of the First Olympic Games

Firstly Olympic competitions More than two hundred and forty male athletes took part. Forty-three sets were drawn Olympic medals such Olympic sports sports: wrestling, athletics, cycling, swimming, shooting, gymnastics, tennis, fencing, weightlifting.

According to the IOC, representatives of fourteen countries participated in the First Olympics of our time, their athletes were delegated by: Australia, Bulgaria, Austria, Great Britain, Germany, Hungary, Greece, Cyprus, Egypt, Izmir, Italy, Denmark, USA, Chile, France, Sweden and Switzerland .