Olympic Games

The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (French: Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting event featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games are considered to be the world's foremost sports competition with more than 200 nations participating. The Olympic Games are held every four years, with the Summer and Winter Games alternating by occurring every four years but two years apart.

Their creation was inspired by the ancient Olympic Games, which were held in Olympia, Greece, from the 8th century BC to the 4th century AD. Baron Pierre de Coubertin founded the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 1894. The IOC is the governing body of the Olympic Movement, with the Olympic Charter defining its structure and authority.

The evolution of the Olympic Movement during the 20th and 21st centuries has resulted in several changes to the Olympic Games. Some of these adjustments include the creation of the Winter Olympic Games for ice and winter sports, the Paralympic Games for athletes with a disability, and the Youth Olympic Games for teenage athletes. The IOC has had to adapt to a variety of economic, political, and technological advancements. As a result, the Olympics has shifted away from pure amateurism, as envisioned by Coubertin, to allowing participation of professional athletes. The growing importance of mass media created the issue of corporate sponsorship and commercialization of the Games. World wars led to the cancellation of the 1916, 1940, and 1944 Games. Large boycotts during the Cold War limited participation in the 1980 and 1984 Games.

Youth Olympic Games

The Youth Olympic Games (YOG) is an international multi-sport event organized by the International Olympic Committee. The games are held every four years in staggered summer and winter events consistent with the current Olympic Games format. The first summer version was held in Singapore from 14 to 26 August 2010 while the first winter version was held in Innsbruck, Austria from 13 to 22 January 2012. The age limitation of the athletes is 14 to 18. The idea of such an event was introduced by Johann Rosenzopf from Austria in 1998. On 6 July 2007, International Olympic Committee (IOC) members at the 119th IOC session in Guatemala City approved the creation of a youth version of the Olympic Games, with the intention of sharing the costs of hosting the event between the IOC and the host city, whereas the traveling costs of athletes and coaches were to be paid by the IOC. These Games will also feature cultural exchange programs and opportunities for participants to meet Olympic athletes.

2016 Winter Youth Olympics

The 2016 Winter Youth Olympics (Norwegian: Vinter-OL for ungdom 2016), officially known as the II Winter Youth Olympic Games, are taking place in and around Lillehammer, Norway, between 12 February and 21 February 2016. It will be the fourth Youth Olympic Games and the second winter edition. Lillehammer was awarded the games on 7 December 2011 as the only candidate. The games will reuse venues from the 1994 Winter Olympics. In addition to Lillehammer, sports will be contested in Hamar, Gjøvik and Øyer.

Host selection

Lillehammer was the only city to bid for the games. The Norwegian Olympic Committee talked with Norwegian and regional authorities to investigate a bid and ultimately submitted a bid to the IOC. Upon the deadline for bidding, they were the only city to bid. Lillehammer hosted the 1994 Winter Olympics. They bid for the 2012 Winter Youth Olympics, but failed to become a candidate. Lake Placid, Lucerne, Zaragoza and Sofia all expressed interest in bidding but ultimately failed to submit any bids. On December 7, 2011, the International Olympic Committee selected Lillehammer as the host city of the 2016 Winter Youth Olympics.

2014 Summer Youth Olympics

The 2014 Summer Youth Olympic Games (officially known as II Summer Youth Olympic Games; Chinese: 第二届夏季青年奥林匹克运动会) was the second Summer Youth Olympic Games, an international sports, education and cultural festival for teenagers, held from 16 to 28 August 2014 in Nanjing, China.

Bidding process

The International Olympic Committee established the Youth Olympic Games in July 2007. The 2014 host city was elected on 10 February 2010, during the 2010 IOC Session in Vancouver. This was the first election of a Youth Olympic Games host city held in an IOC Session. The elections for the host cities of the 2010 Summer Youth Olympics and 2012 Winter Youth Olympics were done through postal votes by IOC members.

Olympic

Olympic or Olympics may refer to:

In sports

Events

Clubs and teams