SM+Art&Entertainment+Olympics

=The Olympics =

The Ancient Olympics
The Olympics originated from the Greeks. The first record of the games dated back to 776 B.C. in Olympia, Greece. There are some arguments that the Olympics did not begin in 776 B.C. and instead was the first "organised" Olympics as a proof of the peace treaty between Elis and Pisa.

According to Hippias of Elis, the first and only Olympic event was a 200-yard dash, called a stadia. During the year 724 B.C, a two-stadia race was added. About two years later, the 24 stadia event began and in the year 708 B.C, the pentathlon and wrestling was added to the game. The pentathlon consists of five sports events, namely running, wrestling, leaping, throwing a discus (something comparable to a frisbee) and throwing the javelin. Later on, boxing, chariot racing were included.

In the ancient Olympic games, victors were crowned with a wreath made from the olive trees planted by Heracles (Roman: Hercules) at the back of the Temple of Zeus. The Olympic games were held four years once and was never disturbed until abolished by the Christian Byzantine Emperor Theodosius l. The ancient Olympic games lasted for 1170 years, from 776 B.C. to 393 A.D.

The Modern Olympics
The Modern Olympics begun when a French man by the name Pierre de Coubertin started rallying around about the revival of the Olympics in the early 1800's. By 1896, Athens hosted the first Modern Olympics.

1896 Athens, Greece

 * 13 countries took part in the first modern Olympics with around 300 athletes.
 * Track and field, cycling, fencing, gymnastics, shooting, swimming, tennis, weightlifting and wrestling were divided into 43 events.
 * Only men participated and silver medals were awarded to each event winner.

1900 Paris, France

 * 19 countries participated.
 * The Olympics were dragged on for five months as there was another event going on in Paris at the same time.
 * Women were allowed to participate this time round.
 * It wasn't very successful.

1904 St. Louis, USA

 * It made the same mistake as the previous Olympics, which is combining it with another important event.
 * Not successful as well.
 * First time gold, silver and bronze medals were awarded to athletes.

1906 Athens, Greece

 * Not official. It was done to regain international support for the Olympic movement.
 * 20 nations participated.

1908 London, England

 * It was a havoc.
 * Used as an international platform for protest. Irish athletes refused to compete under British crown and Finnish protested against Russian Control of Finland.

1912 Stockholm, Sweden

 * 28 nations competed in the Games.
 * Unofficial electrical timing equipment was introduced.
 * Boxing events were not held as Sweden took a moral stand.

1920 Antwerp, Belgium

 * Unveiling of the Olympic flag
 * Introduction of the Athletes' Oath
 * Few countries were excluded due to the politics of World War 1.

1924 Paris, France

 * Pierre de Coubertin retires from managing the Olympics and hence, the Olympics was held in France
 * 44 nations competed.

1928 Amsterdam, Holland

 * 46 nations competed.
 * Women participated in track events.
 * Greek athletes entered first and the host nation, Dutch, last, in the opening ceremony.
 * Doves were released to symbolise peace.
 * Olympic cauldron was ignited for the entire duration of the Games.

1932 Los Angeles, USA

 * Held during the Great Depression times.
 * Completed in 14 days.

1936 Berlin, Germany

 * Most politically clouded Olympics. Nazi flags and swastika were displayed everywhere.
 * Introduction of the Torch Relay.
 * Olympic event was broadcasted on televisions in Berlin.

1948 London, England

 * Hungary, Yugoslavia and Poland competed for the first time.
 * Broadcasted into homes of many people.

1952 Helsinki, Finland

 * Japan, Germany and the Soviet Union took part.
 * Soviet Union's women's team won the gymnastics and remained unbeatable for 40 years.

1956 Melbourne, Australia

 * First Olympics held in the Southern Hemisphere.
 * Equestrian events were held in Stockholm due to strict quarantine laws.
 * All athletes entered the stadium together at the closing ceremony.
 * Symbol of international unity was the suggestion of an Australian schoolboy named John Wing.

1960 Rome, Italy

 * Used ancient landmarks as venues for competition.

1964 Tokyo, Japan

 * First Olympics held in an Asian country.
 * South Africa was banned from participation due to apartheid.
 * Computers were used for the first time to organise statistics.

1968 Mexico City, Mexico

 * South Africa was again excluded from the Olympics.
 * East and West Germany competed separately.
 * Athletes suffered severely in endurance sports due to the fact that the air in Mexico City contained 30% less oxygen than at sea level.
 * Full of new Olympic records.
 * Introduction of drug testing and sex testing for women.

1972 Munich, Germany

 * Palestinian terrorists took advantage of the limited security and took 11 Israeli athletes hostage. All 11 died and so did 5 of the terrorists and a West German policeman.
 * All competitions were suspended for 34 hours and after a memorial service, the Games continued.
 * Officials took the Olympic Oath for the 1st time.
 * 121 nations competed.

1976 Montreal, Canada

 * African countries boycotted the competition due to New Zealand's Olympic presence.
 * Taiwan boycotted as well as it was not acknowledged as part of the Republic of China.

1980 Moscow, Soviet Union

 * First Games held in a socialist country.
 * Many nations boycotted the games due to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.

1984 Los Angeles, USA

 * China participated for the first time since 1952.
 * 140 countries competed.
 * 10,000 media attended the Games

1988 Seoul, South Korea

 * First Olympics to allow professional athletes to compete in certain events.
 * 159 countries participated.
 * A few countries boycotted in support of Korea.
 * The biggest upset at these Games was the disqualification of sprinter Ben Johnson due to steroid use.

1992 Barcelona, Spain

 * Olympic Truce was recited for the 1st time.
 * 169 countries competed alongside each other.

1996 Atlanta, USA

 * Celebrates 100 years of the Modern Olympic Games.
 * Grew from 13 to 197 participating nations, and 43 to 271 events in 100 years.
 * A terrorist bomb at a concert killed one person and injured more than 100 people.

2000 Sydney, Australia

 * 199 nations participated.
 * IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch announced that the Games of the XXII Olympiad were the best Olympics ever held.

2004 Athens, Greece

 * 201 nations participated.

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2008 Beijing Olympics

 * 204 nations took part in the Beijing Olympics.
 * There was a total of 302 events held.
 * 43 new records were made and 132 Olympics records.
 * Usain Bolt became the "World Fastest Man" by setting records in 100m and 200m sprints.
 * The Beijing National Stadium, Beijing National Indoor Stadium, Beijing National Aquatics Center, Olympic Green Convention Center, Olympic Green, and Beijing Wukesong Culture & Sports Center were built especially for the Games.