History of Modern Olympics

More than 1500 years later, a young Frenchmen named Pierre de Coubertin began the beginning of what we know as the modern day Olympics. Creating the Olympics was no easy task for Pierre de Coubertin he tried a couple times and failed but his final attempt was obviously a success. In 1894, he assembled 79 delegates from 12 countries to attend a meeting in order to reestablish the ancient Olympic games. From the meeting they formed the IOC (International Olympic Committee) and selected Demetrious Vikelas from Greece to be the first president. With a unanimous voting system, everyone was in favor of the new games. Athens was chosen as the new location and the Olympic games and the planning finally began. The first modern Olympic games were in Athens, Greece in 1896 honoring the origins of the ancient Olympic games.


With over 60,000 spectators, the first Olympics in 1896 were a tremendous success. The first winner of the Olympics was from the United States, James Connolly. He won the triple jump with a jump soaring 13.71 meters. Initially, the winners received silver metals when they won. It was not until 1908, when the Olympics implemented bronze, silver and gold metals.


In 1921, the games established a official motto for the Olympics which is still being used today “Faster-Higher-Stronger”. Originally, this phrase was from the Latin words, Citius, Altius, Fortius. 
The Olympic flame is a tradition from the ancient Olympic games. In Olympia, the flame originally was started by the sun and then kept burning until the Olympic games were finished. The flame first appeared in the modern Olympics at the 1928 Olympic Games in Amsterdam.

The opening ceremony happens in a specific order. The procession of athletes is always started by the Greek team. The other teams proceed after in a alphabetical order, which depends on the language of the hosting country. Although, the final team to enter is always the hosting team. 


Sites of the Modern Olympic Games

Summer Games

Year    Site
1896    Athens, Greece
1900    Paris, France
1904    St. Louis, Mo.
1908    London, England
1912    Stockholm, Sweden
1920    Antwerp, Belgium
1924    Paris, France
1928    Amsterdam, the Netherlands
1932    Los Angeles, Calif.
1936    Berlin, Germany
1948    London, England
1952    Helsinki, Finland
1956    Melbourne, Australia
1960    Rome, Italy
1964    Tokyo, Japan
1968    Mexico City, Mexico
1972    Munich, West Germany
1976    Montreal, Canada
1980    Moscow, USSR
1984    Los Angeles, Calif.
1988    Seoul, South Korea
1992    Barcelona, Spain
1996    Atlanta, Ga.
2000    Sydney, Australia
2004    Athens, Greece
2008    Beijing, China
2012    London, England
2016    Rio de Janeiro, Brazil


Winter Games

Year   Site
1924    Chamonix, France
1928    St. Moritz, Switzerland
1932    Lake Placid, N.Y.
1936    Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany
1948    St. Moritz, Switzerland
1952    Oslo, Norway
1956    Cortina, Italy
1960    Squaw Valley, Calif.
1964    Innsbruck, Austria
1968    Grenoble, France
1972    Sapporo, Japan
1976    Innsbruck, Austria
1980    Lake Placid, N.Y.
1984    Sarajevo, Yugoslavia
1988    Calgary, Canada
1992    Albertville, France
1994    Lillehammer, Norway
1998    Nagano, Japan
2002    Salt Lake City, Utah
2006    Turin, Italy
2010    Vancouver, Canada
2014    Sochi, Russia


When each of these places was selected they were selected in honor the specific city. Not the country. 
A good example of this is the opening ceremony in Barcelona. The ceremony clearly takes pride in where they come from, and it is pretty obvious it isn't honoring Spain. 

Citation: Sites of the Modern Olympic Games (table). (2011). Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th Edition, 1.