The history of the Olympic Games

The Olympic Games are a worldwide celebration of sporting excellence that are celebrated every two years, with the winter and summer Games celebrated in alternating even-numbered years. They are global events now, but they started out as celebrations of the Greek ideals of fitness and discipline, as well as a way to honor Zeus, the king of the gods.

Learn all about the fascinating history of the Olympic Games leading up to London 2012, including the differences between the ancient and modern Olympic Games; the symbols, mascots and ceremonies associated with the Games; the Torch Relay and the Olympic Truce. There are also lots of amazing historical facts to discover and explore about the Games.

Inspire your students to find out more through History projects, assemblies, presentations and the fact files below. They are all designed to provide you with basic background information, which you may wish to use when planning a project. Older or more able/confident readers will be able to read the sheets themselves and use them as part of their project outcomes. You could also print the sheets and incorporate them into wall displays or presentations.

The Olympic Games video

Check out the International Olympic Committee’s latest video giving you a sneak peek behind the scenes of the Games:

The Olympic Games video

Ideas

Try out some of these ideas, using the fact sheets in the classroom, to get you started:

• How many differences can the pupils find about the ancient Olympic Games compared with the modern Games?
• Create an assembly about the Olympic Truce which the students could present to their peers.
• Make up a quiz about the history of the Olympic Games, and challenge another class to find the answers.
• London 2012 is now history. Write/draw/talk about the top 10 best things about it. Make your own ‘London 2012 – amazing facts’ sheet.

Fact sheet about Olympic Ceremonies
Amazing facts about the Olympic Games
Fact sheet about the history of the Olympic Games
Facts about Olympic sports
Fact sheet about Olympic symbols
Fact sheet about the Olympic Torch Relay
Fact sheet about the Olympic Truce