The 1912 Summer Olympics (Swedish: Olympiska sommarspelen 1912), also known as the Games of the V Olympiad, were a multi-sport international event held in Stockholm, Sweden, between May 5 and July 22, 1912. The opening ceremony was on May 5 and the closing ceremony was on July 23.
These were the first Olympic Games to be held in Europe since the 1908 Summer Olympics in London, England. They were also the first time that Sweden had hosted the games. Around 10,000 people from 50 countries participated in the events with athletes coming from America, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, and Wales.
The main stadium used for the events was Stockholms Olympiastadion, which can currently be seen at Mässan vid Järnvägen in Stockholm. The building is now used for various purposes including music concerts, industrial exhibitions, and academic conferences. A museum dedicated to the history of the games has been opened in its former site along with an outdoor museum called Olympiska församlingen ("the Olympic Village").
An important part of the games was the introduction of new sports such as association football (then known as soccer) and handball.
The 1916 Summer Olympics (German: Olympische Sommerspiele 1916), formally known as the Games of the VI Olympiad, were intended to be held in Berlin, German Empire, but were cancelled for the first time in its 20-year existence owing to World War I. The IOC did not vote on the issue, but rather deferred to the judgment of the German government and military who decided that it was not safe to hold games during a war.
Berlin had been selected as the host city in May 1900, after a bid by Hamburg failed due to security concerns about being near the French border. However, political turmoil within Germany caused by the First World War led to multiple changes of government and defense budgets being cut back or canceled. In 1915, with the state of war still ongoing, a new government headed by Prince Maximilian of Wied-Neuwied refused to pay any money toward holding the games. International protests against this decision followed, but without success. In April 1916, Prince Maximilian's government was replaced by one led by David Lloyd George, who continued to refuse to pay anything toward holding the games. This prompted the German government to withdraw their support for the project, leaving nothing to stop them from canceling it at any time. The last games were held in Munich instead.
Germany's defeat in the war forced Berlin to cancel the games.
The Summer Olympics of 1896, officially known as the Games of the I Olympiad, were the first international Olympic Games in modern history. It was organized by the International Olympic Committee, which was founded by French nobleman Pierre de Coubertin, and took place from April 6 to 15, 1896, in Athens, Greece. The games included 14 nations and 241 competitors. With the exception of the United States squad, all participants were European or lived in Europe. The winners received a silver medal. Other medals were also awarded: gold for first place, bronze for second, and palladium for third.
Modern Olympics date back to 1908, when they were held in London for the first time. There have been 24 summer Olympics since then, including the current one in Beijing. China became the fastest developing country in terms of athletics in 2008 when it hosted the event.
At the time of its founding, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) had no governing body for sports other than swimming and fencing, which were considered to be part of martial arts. These two events would become the only sports open to both men and women at the 1912 Stockholm Olympics. Since then, several more sports have been added to the program, most recently wrestling in 1996 and soccer in 2004.
There are currently 206 members of the IOC, with each member nation having one vote. The organization is based in Switzerland and its president is Thomas Bach. He has been president since 2009. The previous president, Jacques Rogge, served from 2001 to 2009. Before that position, he had been vice-president since 1995.
The 1940 Summer Olympics The 1940 Summer Olympics, formally known as the Games of the XII Olympiad, were initially slated to take place in Tokyo, Japan, from September 21 to October 6, 1940. They were rescheduled for Helsinki, Finland, from July 20 to August 4, 1940, but were ultimately canceled owing to World War II's onset.
Heiko Huizinga is credited with proposing that the games be moved to Helsinki because he believed it would help promote peace after World War I. The president of Finland at the time, Risto Ryti, agreed and announced in March 1939 that the games would be held in summer of that year. However, the beginning of World War II less than a month later forced an early cancellation of the games.
Finland. Concerns over security caused by World War II prevented the Finnish government from agreeing to host the games.
Tokyo. Tokyo was selected to hold the next Olympic Games on November 10, 1940. A total of 48 countries participated in the opening ceremony.
Rome was selected to host the 1960 Olympic Games but had to withdraw due to financial difficulties. It was replaced by Tokyo who also had to cancel their games due to World War II.
Olympic Games in Los Angeles, 1932 Los Angeles (California) The 1932 Olympic Games were a sports event held in Los Angeles from July 30 to August 14, 1932. The modern Olympic Games were held for the ninth time in Los Angeles. They were created by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 1894 as an annual sporting event open to all nations regardless of their size or type of economy. However, during the first two Olympiads (1896 and 1900), no country could be considered fully independent since both events were dominated by the major powers: France in Paris and England in London. For this reason, these early games are not regarded as true Olympics but rather Asiatic Games - which is accurate since they were organized by royal decree of the Chinese emperor.
The United States had been invited to host the 1932 Olympic Games by the IOC, who wanted to reward our country for its recent economic boom by holding the event on American soil for the first time. A large number of international athletes came to Los Angeles to compete in various sports; the city's reputation as "the world's playland" helped make up for its lack of previous Olympic experience. The opening ceremony was held on July 30 at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) stadium with Queen Christina of Sweden presiding over the event. This was the first Olympic opening ceremony to be broadcast live throughout North America on the NBC radio network.
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