Portal:Olympic Games
The Olympic Games Portal
The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; French: Jeux olympiques) are the world's leading international sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games are considered the world's foremost sports competition, with more than 200 teams, representing sovereign states and territories, participating. By default, the Games generally substitute for any world championships during the year in which they take place (however, each class usually maintains its own records). The Olympics are staged every four years. Since 1994, they have alternated between the Summer and Winter Olympics every two years during the four-year Olympiad.
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.
Selected Article -
Discussions about Oslo hosting the Winter Olympic Games began as early as 1935; the city was keen to host the 1948 Winter Olympics, but that was made impossible by World War II. Instead, Oslo won the right to host the 1952 Games in a contest that included Cortina d'Ampezzo in Italy and Lake Placid in the United States. All of the Olympic venues were in Oslo's metropolitan area, except for the alpine skiing events, which were held at Norefjell, 113 km (70 mi) from the capital. A new hotel was built for the press and dignitaries, along with three dormitories to house athletes and coaches, creating the first modern athlete's village. Oslo bore the financial burden of hosting the Games in return for the revenue they generated. The 1952 Winter Olympics was the first of the two consecutive Olympics to be held in Northern Europe, preceding the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, Finland.
Selected Picture -
 |
The 1920 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the VII Olympiad, were celebrated in 1920 in Antwerp, Belgium. The 1920 Games were awarded to Antwerp to honor the suffering that had been inflicted on the Belgian people during the war.
Selected Quote -
| “ | The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win but to take part, just as the most important thing in life is not the triumph but the struggle. The essential thing is not to have conquered but to have fought well. | ” |
| — Pierre de Coubertin, reviver of the Olympic Games | ||
Selected Athlete -
Current Events
- 9 April 2025 – 2028 Summer Olympics
- The International Olympic Committee announces the program for the upcoming Olympic Games in Los Angeles with new events in multiple sports and mixed gender events. (USA Today)
- 20 March 2025 – 144th IOC Session
- The International Olympic Committee votes unanimously to include boxing in the 2028 Summer Olympics. (BBC News)
Did You Know...-
- ... that German swimmer Lisa Höpink won two medals at the 2019 Summer Universiade and qualified for two events at the 2020 Summer Olympics?
- ... that after the 2020 Summer Olympics were postponed, South African artistic gymnast Caitlin Rooskrantz livestreamed the routine she was going to perform?
- ... that British sailor Eilidh McIntyre, who has qualified for the 2020 Summer Olympics, is the daughter of a former Olympic gold medallist?
- ... that Canadian cyclist Bernie Willock, who missed out on competing at the Olympics due to the 1980 Summer Olympics boycott, later owned furniture stores?
- ... that George Dudley threatened to withdraw Canada from ice hockey at the Olympic Games over the definition of an amateur?
Upcoming Olympic Games
2026 Winter Olympics
_evening.jpg)
The 2026 Winter Olympics (Italian: Olimpiadi invernali del 2026), officially the XXV Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Milano Cortina 2026, is an upcoming international multi-sport event scheduled to take place from 6 to 22 February 2026 at sites across Lombardy and Northeast Italy.
A joint bid by Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo was awarded the 2026 Winter Olympics at the 134th IOC Session on 24 June 2019, beating a bid by Stockholm and Åre, Sweden; they will be the first Olympic Games to officially be co-hosted by multiple cities, with Milan primarily hosting ice events, and the remaining events being hosted in clusters around Cortina, and the Valtellina and Fiemme valleys. They will mark the third Winter Olympics, and fourth overall, to be hosted by Italy; Cortina d'Ampezzo had previously hosted the 1956 Winter Olympics.
The Games will feature the debut of ski mountaineering as an Olympic event, and will be the first Olympic Games under the IOC presidency of Kirsty Coventry.
All-time Combined Olympic Games Medal Table
Separate current and precursor NOCs (records not combined):
| No. | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  United States (USA) |
1,219 | 1,000 | 876 | 3,095 |
| 2 |  Soviet Union (URS) |
473 | 376 | 355 | 1,204 |
| 3 |  China (CHN) |
325 | 258 | 221 | 804 |
| 4 |  Germany (GER) |
322 | 318 | 320 | 960 |
| 5 |  Great Britain (GBR) |
310 | 344 | 360 | 1,014 |
| 6 |  France (FRA) |
281 | 320 | 360 | 961 |
| 7 |  Italy (ITA) |
271 | 244 | 284 | 799 |
| 8 |  Sweden (SWE) |
216 | 232 | 242 | 690 |
| 9 |  Norway (NOR) |
213 | 187 | 176 | 576 |
| 10 |  Japan (JPN) |
206 | 191 | 221 | 618 |
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 14–30, 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. However, after multiple withdrawals that left only Los Angeles and Paris in contention, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) approved a process to concurrently award the 2024 and 2028 Summer Olympics to the two remaining candidates; Paris displayed a preference for the 2024 Games, and Los Angeles agreed to host in 2028. Both of the bids were praised for highly technical plans and innovative ways to use a record-breaking number of existing and temporary facilities. 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 (first since Atlanta 1996), and ninth Olympics overall (first since Salt Lake 2002), to be hosted by the United States. Having previously hosted the Summer Olympics in 1932 and 1984, Los Angeles becomes 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.
After debuting in 2020 as optional events, skateboarding, sport climbing, and surfing have been promoted to the Summer Olympics' core event program. Boxing, modern pentathlon, and weightlifting had been provisionally removed due to governance issues; all three sports were later reinstated following reform efforts, with modern pentathlon expected to employ an updated format replacing show jumping with obstacle course racing. The 2028 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), and will also be the first Summer Olympic Games under the IOC presidency of Kirsty Coventry, as well as the first to have more female than male athletes.
Olympic Sports
- Archery
- Artistic swimming
- Athletics
- Badminton
- Baseball
- Basketball
- Beach volleyball
- Boxing
- Canoeing
- Cricket
- Cycling
- Diving
- Equestrian
- Fencing
- Football
- Golf
- Gymnastics
- Handball
- Field hockey
- Judo
- Lacrosse
- Modern pentathlon
- Rowing
- Rugby
- Sailing
- Shooting
- Skateboarding
- Softball
- Sport climbing
- Squash
- Surfing
- Swimming
- Table tennis
- Taekwondo
- Tennis
- Triathlon
- Volleyball
- Water polo
- Weightlifting
- Wrestling
Olympic Games Countdown
| Olympic Games | |||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|
| ||||||||||||||||||||
| Paralympic Games | |||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|
| ||||||||||||||||||||
| Youth Olympic Games | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| ||||||||||
.JPG)
Topics
| Summer sports |
|
|---|---|
| Winter sports | |
| 2026 optional | |
| 2028 additions | |
| Past sports | |
| Demonstration sports | |
| Unofficial sports | |
National Olympic Committees that have competed at the Olympic Games | |
|---|---|
| Africa |
|
| Americas |
|
| Asia |
|
| Europe |
|
| Oceania | |
| Other | |
| Historical | |
Categories
Try browsing through any of the main categories below:
Things you can do
 |
Here are some tasks awaiting attention:
|
Related portals
Associated Wikimedia
The following Wikimedia Foundation sister projects provide more on this subject:
-
Commons
Free media repository -
Wikibooks
Free textbooks and manuals -
Wikidata
Free knowledge base -
Wikinews
Free-content news -
Wikiquote
Collection of quotations -
Wikisource
Free-content library -
Wikispecies
Directory of species -
Wikiversity
Free learning tools -
Wikivoyage
Free travel guide -
Wiktionary
Dictionary and thesaurus
