THE OLYMPIC GAMES

The Olympic games are public international sporting competitions in many different disciplines and sports. Many athletes from around the world take part in Olympic games. The summer and winter Olympic games are held once every four years.

HISTORY

The ancient Olympic Games were the most important, largest and oldest of games. It is difficult to separate myth from reality, but it is thought the first Olympics were held in 776 B.C. From that point on, the games were held every four years at the summer solstice, and became such a regular event that people of the time used them to mark epochs in history. The original games finally came to an end in A.D. 393, when they were banned by EmperorTheodosius I. Theodosius was a Christian and disliked the games′ pagan origins. The programme of the games was: running disciplines, hammer throwing, ball games, fencing and wrestling events. Even women were allowed to compete in some disciplines.

In the modern times it took a war to bring about the beginnings of the modern Olympics.

A Frenchman, Baron Pierre de Coubertin, tried to find the reason his nation was defeated

in the Franco-Prussian War (1870 - 71). His conclusion was that the Prussian soldiers were in much better physical condition than the French. Coubertin thought a regular meeting of nations to compete in athletics would help prevent war, and, if another war did come, the games would also make his countrymen more fit to fight. Other Europeans liked the idea, and in 1896 the first modern Olympics were held in Athens, Greece. There were 250 athletes representing 14 countries.

The 1928 games in Amsterdam marked the first time women were allowed to compete (in the modern Olympic history).

OLYMPIC FLAG

The Olympic flag contains five interconnected rings coloured blue, yellow, black, green, and red on a white field.. The rings symbolise the five significant continents and are interconnected to symbolize the friendship to be gained from these international competitions. The flag was originally designed in 1912 by Baron Pierre de Coubertin, the founder of the modern Olympic Games. According to De Coubertin the ring colours with the white background stand for those colours that appeared on all the national flags of the world at that time. The Olympic flag was first used in 1920.

OLYMPIC FLAME

Months before the Games are held, the Olympic Flame is lit on a torch, with the rays of the Sun concentrated by a parabolic reflector, at the site of the Ancient Olympics in Olympia, Greece. The torch is then taken out of Greece, most often to be taken around the country or continent where the Games are held. The Olympic torch is carried by athletes, leaders, celebrities and ordinary people alike. On the final day of the torch relay, the day of the Opening Ceremony, the Flame reaches the main stadium and is used to light a cauldron situated in a prominent part of the venue to signify the beginning of the Games.

THE OLYMPIC MOTTO

The Olympic motto is CITIUS, ALTIUS, FORTIUS., which is Latin for "Faster, Higher, Stronger". The motto was introduced in 1924 at the Olympic Games in Paris. A more informal but well known motto, also introduced by De Coubertin, is "The most important thing is not to win but to take part!"

OPENING CEREMONY

The first opening ceremony was held during the 1908 in Olympic games in London. The procession of athletes is always led by the Greek team followed by all the other teams, in alphabetical order.

THE PARALYMPIC GAMES

The Paralympic games are for athletes with physical, mental and sensory disabilities. They are held every four years after the Olympic. As of 2012, the Summer Paralympics include 21 sports and about 500 events, and the Winter Paralympics include 5 sports and disciplines and about 64 events. The number and kinds of events may change from one Paralympiad to another. Examples of sports: archery, boccia, paratriathlon, wheelchair basketball, wheelchair fencing, wheelchair curling, para-snowboarding, ice sledge hockey etc.

THE OLYMPIC MASCOTS

Since the 1968 Winter Olympics in Grenoble, France, the Olympic Games have had a mascot, usually an animal native to the area or occasionally human figures representing the cultural heritage. The first major mascot in the Olympic Games was Misha in the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow.

Mascots have come in many shapes and sizes, though they all convey the theme of the Olympic Games, and showcase the distinctive geographical features, history and culture of the host city.

ANTHEM

The Olympic Hymn, also known informally as the Olympic Anthem, is played when the Olympic Flag is raised. It is a musical piece composed by Spyridon Samaras with words written from a poemof the Greek poet and writer Kostis Palamas. The anthem was performed for the first time for the ceremony of opening of the 1896 Olympic Games, but wasn′t declared the official hymn by the IOC until 1957.

THE OLYMPIC MEDALS

The Olympic medals awarded to winners are another symbol associated with the Olympic games. The medals are made of gold-plated silver (commonly described as gold medals), silver, or bronze, and awarded to the top 3 finishers in a particular event. Each medal for an Olympiad has a common design, decided upon by the organizers for the particular games. From 1928 until 2000, the obverse side of the medals contained an image of Nike, the traditional goddess of victory, holding a palm in her left hand and a winners crown in her right. This design was created by Giuseppe Cassioli. For each Olympic games, the reverse side as well as the labels for each Olympiad changed, reflecting the host of the games.

OLYMPIC SPORTS