
Summer Olympic Games
Summer Olympic Games Overview
This Summer Olympic Games list details every host city and host nation along with the number of sportsmen and sportswomen who took part. The Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games will be held between 24th July and 9th August 2020. Five new sports make their Olympic debuts at Tokyo 2020; surfing, sport climbing, karate and skateboarding, a total of 33 sports, the largest number of sports in Olympic history.
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Country | Year | Games | Nations | Olympic Village | Athletes | Events | Sports |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Greece | 1896 | I (1st) | 14 | Athens | 245 | 43 | 9 |
France | 1900 | II (2nd) | 24 | Paris | 131 | 185 | 23 |
USA | 1904 | III (3rd) | 12 | St. Louis | 689 | 91 | 17 |
England | 1908 | IV (4th) | 22 | London | 2,035 | 109 | 21 |
Sweden | 1912 | V (5th) | 28 | Stockholm | 2,547 | 102 | 14 |
Germany | 1916 | VI (6th) | – | Berlin | cancelled | due to WWII | – |
Belgium | 1920 | VII (7th) | 29 | Antwerp | 2,669 | 154 | 20 |
France | 1924 | VIII (8th) | 44 | Paris (France) | 3,075 | 126 | 17 |
Netherlands | 1928 | IX (9th) | 46 | Amsterdam | 2,871 | 109 | 14 |
USA | 1932 | X (10th) | 37 | Los Angeles | 1,331 | 116 | 14 |
Germany | 1936 | XI (11th) | 49 | Berlin | 4,066 | 129 | 19 |
Finland / Japan | 1940 | XII (12th) | – | Helsinki / Tokyo | cancelled | due to WWII | – |
England | 1944 | XIII (13th) | – | London | cancelled | due to WWII | – |
England | 1948 | XIV (14th) | 59 | London | 4,106 | 136 | 17 |
Finland | 1952 | XV (15th) | 69 | Helsinki | 4,955 | 149 | 17 |
Australia | 1956 | XVI (16th) | 72* | Melbourne | 3,472 | 153 | 17 |
Italy | 1960 | XVII (17th) | 83 | Rome | 5,338 | 150 | 17 |
Japan | 1964 | XVIII (18th) | 93 | Tokyo | 514 | 163 | 19 |
Mexico | 1968 | XIX (19th) | 112 | Mexico City | 5,531 | 172 | 18 |
Germany | 1972 | XX (20th) | 121 | Munich | 7,147 | 195 | 21 |
Canada | 1976 | XXI (21st) | 92 | Montreal | 6,028 | 198 | 21 |
Russia | 1980 | XXII (22nd) | 80 | Moscow | 5,217 | 203 | 21 |
USA | 1984 | XXIII (23rd) | 140 | Los Angeles | 6,797 | 221 | 21 |
South Korea | 1988 | XXIV (24th) | 159 | Seoul | 8,381 | 237 | 23 |
Spain | 1992 | XXV (25th) | 169 | Barcelona | 9,967 | 257 | 25 |
USA | 1996 | XXVI (26th) | 197 | Atlanta | 1,032 | 271 | 26 |
Australia | 2000 | XXVII (27th) | 199 | Sydney | 10,651 | 300 | 28 |
Greece | 2004 | XXVIII (28th) | 201 | Athens | 11,099 | 301 | 28 |
China | 2008 | XXIX (29th) | 204 | Beijing | 11,129 | 302 | 28 |
England | 2012 | XXX (30th) | 204 | London | 10,768 | 302 | 26 |
Brazil | 2016 | XXXI (31st) | 207 | Rio de Janeiro | 11,303 | 306 | 28 |
Japan | 2020 | XXXII (32nd) | – | Tokyo | TBC | 339 | 33 |
Summer Olympic Games History
The first modern Summer Olympic Games took place in 1896 having been resurrected by Pierre de Frédy – a French Baron and historian – with the goal of promoting peace through sport. To what degree he succeeded is unclear – the games have been cancelled 3 times so far because of World Wars. Historians generally agree the first Olympic games took place in the summer of 776 BC. In ancient Greece an Olympiad was a group of four years. The first modern Olympiad 1896 is one year out of sync with the ancient Olympiad cycle, possibly because the Julian calendar skips from 1 BC to 1 AD.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) doesn’t publish Olympics medal tables because the Olympic Charter states the games are “competitions between athletes in individual or team events and not between countries” but nevertheless medal tables are widely published, including ADDucation’s All-time Summer Olympics medal table. Despite attempts to agree a more inclusive points system, which would give a rank to countries without any medals, none have become widely established.
More ADDucation Sports General Knowledge Lists…
ADDucation Olympics Related Lists
- All Time Medal List of the Winter Olympics…
- Winter Olympic Games History…
- This Summer Olympic Games overview was compiled by Robert Junker, last updated 19 Jan 2020.
- Spotted a mistake or suggestions to improve this summer Olympic games list? Please add your comments below…
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