The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (French: Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events 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 the world's foremost sports competition with more than 200 teams, representing sovereign states and territories participating; by default the Games generally substitute for any World Championships the year in which they take place (however, each class usually maintains their own records). The Olympic Games are normally held every four years, and since 1994, have alternated between the Summer and Winter Olympics every two years during the four-year period.
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 snow and ice sports, the Paralympic Games for athletes with disabilities, the Youth Olympic Games for athletes aged 14 to 18, the five Continental games (Pan American, African, Asian, European, and Pacific), and the World Games for sports that are not contested in the Olympic Games. The IOC also endorses the Deaflympics and the Special Olympics. The IOC has needed to adapt to a variety of economic, political, and technological advancements. The abuse of amateur rules by the Eastern Bloc nations prompted the IOC to shift away from pure amateurism, as envisioned by Coubertin, to the acceptance of professional athletes participating at the Games. The growing importance of mass media has created the issue of corporate sponsorship and general commercialisation of the Games. World wars led to the cancellation of the 1916, 1940, and 1944 Olympics; large-scale boycotts during the Cold War limited participation in the 1980 and 1984 Olympics; and the 2020 Olympics were postponed until 2021 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Nine cities submitting bids to host the 2012 Summer Olympics and 2012 Summer Paralympics[a] were recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). The Committee shortlisted five of them—London, Madrid, Moscow, New York City, and Paris—from which London eventually prevailed; thus becoming the first city to host the Olympic Games for a third time. The bidding process for the 2012 Olympics was considered one of the most hotly contested in the history of the IOC. Paris was seen by some as the front-runner for much of the campaign, but skillful lobbying by London's supporters and an inspirational final presentation by Sebastian Coe led to the success of its bid.
The Closing Ceremony of the 2000 Summer Olympics commenced with Christine Anu singing a stirring rendition of her hit song, Island Home. The ceremony concluded with a huge fireworks display on Sydney Harbour.
The Olympic Games must not be an end in itself, they must be a means of creating a vast program of physical education and sports competitions for all young people.
... that "Everyone", the official theme song of the 2010 Summer Youth Olympics held in Singapore, was sung by five different artistes each representing his or her continent?
Paris was awarded the Games at the 131st IOC Session in Lima, Peru, on 13 September 2017. Due to multiple withdrawals that left only Paris and Los Angeles in contention, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) approved a process to concurrently award the 2024 and 2028 Summer Olympics to the two cities. Having previously hosted in 1900 and 1924, Paris will become the second city (after London) to host the Summer Olympics three times. Paris 2024 will mark the centenary of Paris 1924, be the sixth Olympic games hosted by France (three in summer and three in winter), and the first Olympic Games in France since the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville. The Games will return to its traditional 4-year Olympiad cycle, as the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo was delayed to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The 2026 Winter Olympics (Italian: 2026 Olimpiadi invernali), officially the XXV Olympic Winter Games (Italian: XXV Giochi olimpici invernali) and also known as Milano-Cortina 2026 (Ladin: Milano-Anpezo 2026 or Milano-Ampëz 2026), is an upcoming international multi-sport event scheduled to take place from 6 to 22 February 2026 in Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo. The joint bid from the two cities beat another joint bid from Swedish cities Stockholm–Åre by 47–34 votes at the 134th Session of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in Lausanne, Switzerland, on 24 June 2019.
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