Portal:Olympic Games

The Olympic Games Portal

The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; French: Jeux olympiques) are a series of international multi-sport events. Considered among the biggest sporting events in the world, the Olympics are organised into distinct Summer and Winter Games, each featuring different sports. The Olympic Games, open to both amateur and professional athletes, involve thousands of athletes and more than 200 teams, each team representing a sovereign state or territory. The Games often, but not always, substitute for any world championships during the year in which they take place. The Summer and Winter Olympics are each held every four years, and themselves occur two years apart within the four-year Olympiad. This arrangement has been in place since the 1994 Winter Olympics, prior to which the Summer and Winter Games were held in the same year.

Their creation was inspired by the ancient Olympic Games, 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, leading to the first modern Games in Athens in 1896. The IOC is the governing body of the Olympic Movement, which encompasses all entities and individuals involved in the Olympic Games. The Olympic Charter defines their structure and authority.

The evolution of the Olympic Movement during the 20th and 21st centuries has resulted in numerous 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 adapted to a variety of economic, political, and technological advancements. The abuse of amateur rules 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 I and II 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 because of the COVID-19 restrictions.

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London 2012 banner at The Monument.
London 2012 was the successful bid to host the 2012 Summer Olympics, held in London with most events taking place in Stratford in the borough of Newham. The British Olympic Association had been working on the bid since 1997, and presented its report to government ministers in December 2000.

Following three consecutive unsuccessful UK bids to host summer Olympic Games (Birmingham for 1992 and Manchester for 1996 and 2000), the decision was made to bid with London, given the clear indication that it was the only UK city that had a chance of being selected by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) when put up against other world cities in a competitive bidding process. On 6 July 2005 at its 117th Session in Singapore, the IOC awarded London the right to host the Games of the XXX Olympiad. The city beat the favourite Paris 54 to 50 on the fourth and final ballot. London was the first city to host the Games three times.

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The Olympic flag
The Olympic flag

The five Olympic rings represent the five continents and were designed in 1913, adopted in 1914 and debuted at the Games at Antwerp, 1920.

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Robert George Windle (born 7 November 1944) is an Australian freestyle swimmer of the 1960s, who won four Olympic medals, including an individual gold medal. Windle won the 1500 m freestyle and took bronze in the 4 × 100 m freestyle relay at the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, and silver and bronze in the 4 × 200 m and 4 × 100 m freestyle relays respectively at the 1968 Summer Olympics. Known for his versatility, he is the only male swimmer to represent Australia at the Olympics in all freestyle distances from 100 m to 1500 m. During his career, Windle set six world records and won six Commonwealth Games gold medals. He won 19 Australian championships in all distances from 220 yd to 1650 yd.

Current Events

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29 August 2026 – 2026 Women's NORCECA Volleyball Championship
Canada at the 2028 Summer Olympics, Volleyball at the 2028 Summer Olympics
In volleyball, the Canadian women’s national team qualifies for the upcoming Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, California, U.S., their first qualification since 1996 following a victory against the Dominican Republic in the Women's NORCECA Volleyball Continental Championship. (CBC)
16 August 2026 – 2026 IFAF Women's Flag Football World Championship, Canada at the 2028 Summer Olympics
In flag football, Canada's women's team defeats the defending champion United States to win its third IFAF Flag Football World Championship title. Additionally, the men's football team qualifies for the upcoming Summer Olympics. (Global News)
15 August 2026 – 2026 European Aquatics Championships
In swimming, Johannes Liebmann sets a men's 1,500-metre freestyle world record of 14:26.79 at the European Championships, improving Bobby Finke's 2024 Olympic record by nearly four seconds. (AFP via RFI)
7 July 2026 – 2028 Summer Olympics
Doping in Russia, Russia at the Summer Olympics, International sporting sanctions during the Russian invasion of Ukraine
The International Olympic Committee lifts its ban on Russian athletes, allowing them to take part in the upcoming Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, United States, after previously being banned from competing under its own flag for doping and the 2022 invasion of Ukraine. (The Guardian)

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Upcoming Olympic Games

2028 Summer Olympics

The 2028 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXXIV Olympiad and commonly known as Los Angeles 2028 or LA28, is an upcoming international multi-sport event scheduled to take place from July 14 to 30, 2028, in the United States. Los Angeles will be the host city, with various events also scheduled to be held at other cities spread across the Greater Los Angeles area, plus two subsites in Oklahoma City.

Los Angeles had originally bid for the 2024 Summer Olympics. Following multiple withdrawals, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) approved a process to concurrently award the 2024 and 2028 Games to Los Angeles and Paris as the two remaining candidates; Paris was preferred as host for 2024, while Los Angeles agreed to host in 2028. Los Angeles was formally awarded the Games at the 131st IOC Session in Lima, Peru, on September 13, 2017. They will mark the fifth Summer Olympics, and ninth Olympics overall to be hosted by the United States. Los Angeles has previously hosted the Summer Olympics in 1932 and 1984, and will become the third three-time host city after London (1908, 1948, 2012) and Paris (1900, 1924, 2024), and the first non-European city to do so. These will be the first Summer Olympics held under the IOC presidency of Kirsty Coventry.

After debuting in 2020 as optional events, skateboarding, sport climbing, and surfing have been promoted to the Summer Olympics' core event program. The Games will feature the debut of flag football and squash as optional sports, joined by the return of baseball/softball, cricket (for the first time since 1900) and lacrosse (for the first time as a medal event since 1908).

All-time Combined Olympic Games Medal Table

Separate current and precursor NOCs (records not combined):

No.NationGoldSilverBronzeTotal
1  United States1,2321,0138923,137
2  Soviet Union4733763551,204
3  China330262227819
4  Germany327326327980
5  Great Britain3183463611,025
6  France293329363985
7  Italy281250298829
8  Norway229199188616
9  Sweden224238247709
10  Japan211198233642

2030 Winter Olympics

The 2030 Winter Olympics (French: Jeux olympiques d'hiver de 2030), officially known as the XXVI Olympic Winter Games (French: XXVIes Jeux Olympiques d'hiver) and branded as Alpes 2030, is an upcoming international winter multi-sport event scheduled to take place from 1 to 17 February 2030 in the French Alps region as main hosts.

As part of the new Olympic bid process, the Future Host Commission of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) nominated the French Alps as its preferred candidate on 29 November 2023. The French Alps' bid was approved during the 142nd IOC Session in Paris, France on 24 July 2024. These will be the first Olympic Games to be officially hosted by a region rather than a host city.

The events will take place in two French regions, mainly in the Metropolis of Lyon and in the departments of Savoie and Haute-Savoie in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, as well as in the Hautes-Alpes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Speed skating is scheduled to be held in Heerenveen, Netherlands. These will be the fourth Winter Olympics, and the seventh Olympic Games overall, to be hosted by France.

Olympic Sports

Summer sports
Winter sports
Discontinued sports

Olympic Games Countdown

Olympic Games
Los Angeles
683 days left
2028
Summer
French Alps
1253 days left
2030
Winter
Brisbane
2153 days left
2032
Summer
Utah
2720 days left
2034
Winter
Paralympic Games
Los Angeles
722 days left
2028
Summer
French Alps
1281 days left
2030
Winter
Brisbane
2185 days left
2032
Summer
Utah
2748 days left
2034
Winter
Youth Olympic Games
Dakar
61 days left
2026
Summer
Dolomites & Valtellina
506 days left
2028
Winter

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