The Olympic Games

The Olympic Games have a very long history. They began in 776 BC, and took place for nearly 1200 years at Olympia, Greece. The original Greek games took place every four years. The citizens of all the Greek states were invited to take part in the games. The prizes were wreaths made of branches of olive trees. Ancient Olympic Games were a great athletic festival and included many different kinds of sports: running, boxing, discus throwing, wrestling, the pentathlon (five different sports) and others. In 394 A.D. the games were stopped by the Roman Emperor Theodosius.

Only fifteen hundred years later, in 1894, a Frenchman, Baron Pierre de Coubertin, managed to persuade people from fifteen countries to start the Olympic Games again. Baron de Coubertin had planned to organize the first modern Olympic Games in France, but the representatives from the nine countries that supported his idea decided that Greece was the right place to host the first Olympic Games. The nine countries were Belgium, England, France, Greece, Italy, Russia, Spain, Sweden and the United States. They agreed that every four years the Olympics would move to other great cities of the world. The International Olympic Committee was set up in 1894, and the first of the modern series of Games took place in Athens two years later, in 1896. The participants competed in nine sports: cycling, tennis, gymnastics, swimming athletics, weightlifting, rowing, wresting and shooting. All the nations of the world were invited to send their athletic teams. Despite the many problems that arose in Athens the Olympic Games had come to stay. Their motto was “Faster! Higher! Stronger!” Beginning in 1926 Winter Olympics were included. The Olympics are governed by the International Olympic Committee situated in Lausanne, Switzerland.

The Olympic movement continues to get wider and wider. Nowadays, major cities compete to host the Olympic Games, not just for the honour the Games bring, but for the vast amount of profit a host country can make.

The Games have also become politically important. During the Olympic Games for two weeks and a half any international conflicts must be stopped and replaced with friendly competitions. This is the noble idea on which the modern Olympic movement is based. Each country sends teams for as many different events as possible. The winners of each event are given a certain number of points. The International Olympic Committee decides where each Olympics will take place. They ask a city (not a country) to be the host.

The Olympic Games are attended by thousands and thousands of people every time they are held. They provide an opportunity for lovers of sports of all nations to meet together. In this way the Olympic Games contribute to international good will and understanding.

Дата добавления: 2015-07-10