Summer Olympic Games (French: Jeux olympiques d'été), often known as the Olympiad Games, are a significant international multi-sport event held every four years. The Games were originally held in Athens, Greece, in 1896, and were most recently held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 2016. In between these two events, the games have been held in Paris, France (1900), London, England (1908), Amsterdam, the Netherlands (1920), Berlin, Germany (1936), Tokyo, Japan (1964), and finally in 1972 and 1976 when South Korea and Mexico City hosted their first games, respectively.
The modern Olympics began with an official ceremony on 6 August 1896 in Athens' new Hippodrome. More than 50 nations participated in these inaugural Games. The second Olympiad was not held until more than 10 years later in Paris, where athletes from nearly all countries attended. The 1904 Games were cancelled due to political turmoil in many countries involved. The 1908 Games were also held in London, but only 14 countries sent athletes. Amsterdam's 1920 Games were the first to include women's sports. The 1936 Games were cancelled due to the Nazi regime in Germany imposing their own rules on sport. World War II ended before the next edition could be held. The 1948 Games were held in Philadelphia for reasons related to the needs of the United States government. These Games were not recognized by most countries, including Canada, China, India, and Pakistan.
The Summer Olympics of 1900, officially known as the Games of the Second Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Paris, France in 1900. At the 1900 Games, no gold medals were awarded. A silver medal was awarded for first place, while a bronze medal was awarded for second place. These changes were made to avoid conflicts with the German awards system which at that time used only gold and silver medals.
The games were the first to use equal numbers of men's and women's events, and they are regarded as a major step forward in the evolution of the modern Olympic Games. Previously, most events were open only to men or only to women. The new policy of gender equality was established so that more athletes from less developed countries could compete against athletes from more developed countries. Women's events included track and field events such as running, jumping, throwing, and swimming; tennis; and fencing. Men's events included track and field events such as riding, walking, and throwing; tennis; and boxing. For the first time, equestrians were allowed to enter both the men's and women's events.
Ninety-two nations participated in the 1900 Games, with Germany leading the way with 21 athletes. Belgium followed with 10 athletes, and France had the most competitors with 834 people registered. China was the only country to send a team of equestrians to compete in the men's event.
Part of a series on The 2016 Summer Olympics (Portuguese: Jogos Olimpicos de Verao de 2016), officially known as the Games of the XXXI Olympiad and colloquially known as Rio 2016, was an international multi-sport event held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 5 to 21 August 2016, with preliminary events in some sports beginning on 3 August. It was the largest sporting event ever held in Brazil or Latin America.
The opening ceremony was held at the Maracanã Stadium on 5 August, with Brazilian athletes competing in various events including swimming, tennis, basketball, football (soccer), athletics and rowing. The closing ceremony will be held two weeks later on 21 August.
Rio de Janeiro was selected as the host city for the 2016 Summer Olympics on 6 December 2005. The games will be the first Olympic tournament to be held in South America. Rio de Janeiro previously hosted the World Cup Finals in 1922 and again in 1950. The city has also hosted several major events during the Paralympics season including the Paraíba Valley International and the Paraiba Open.
Rio de Janeiro is located in the state of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. The city is the largest in Brazil (pop. 9 million) and the second most populous in Brazil after São Paulo (pop. 208 million).
The city's name comes from the Portuguese word "rio", which means "river" and the French word "jaar", meaning "sea".
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