ABOUT OLYMPICS

The Olympic Games are an international sports festival, held every four years. The ultimate goals are to cultivate human beings, through sport, and contribute to world peace. Summer Games and Winter Games are held separately.

THE ANCIENT OLYMPICS GAMES

The history of the Olympics began some 2,300 years ago. Their origin lays in the Olympian Games, which were held in the Olympia area of ancient Greece. Although there are some theories on its initial purposes, the Games have been said to have started as a festival of art and sport, to worship gods. The ancient Olympic Games, however, ended in 393 because of the outbreaks of wars in the region in which they were held.

ABOUT THE MODERN OLYMPICS

After a 1,500 year absence of the ancient Olympic Games, the event was resumed in the late nineteenth century, thanks to the efforts of Baron Pierre de Coubertin, a French educator. In 1894, his proposal to revive the Olympic Games was unanimously approved at the International Congress in Paris, and the first Olympic Games were held in Athens, Greece, two years later. He also devised the five-ring emblem that is familiar to most people as the Games’ symbol, which represents the unity of the five continents.

IOC OLYMPIC HISTORY

The founder of the International Olympic Committee was Baron Pierre de Coubertin, a French educator who reformed education and sports in France. His dream of revitalizing ancient Olympics in the modern-day had its roots back in the Paris Universal Exposition of 1889 where he organized the first-ever Congress on Physical Education and Scholar Competition. The very next year, he met the founder of Wenlock Games, Dr. William Penny Brooks. Wenlock Games also known as British Olympics started in 1866 was a huge success and Coubertin’s idea of reviving the Olympics was seconded by Brooks. Coubertin had great hopes on his idea and he set the big date on November 25, 1892, to announce his dream of having the international sporting festival. He delivered a speech proposing the return of the Olympic Games at the Union des Sports Athletiques in Paris but the audience wasn’t convinced. But he didn’t give up. On June 23, 1984, Coubertin invited 79 sports delegates from 49 organizations across nine countries to a Congress at Sorbonne and created the International Olympic Committee. The first two Olympic Games were also announced that day, the 1896 Olympics at Paris and the 1900 Olympics at Greece. Demetrius Vikelas of Greece was selected as the first IOC president.

HISTORY OF THE RINGS

The interlocking rings of the Olympic flag was created by Baron Pierre de Coubertin, the co-founder of the modern Olympic games. The five rings represented the five participating continents of the time: Africa, Asia, America, Europe, and Oceania. While the colors of the five rings, blue, yellow, black, green, and red together with the white background of the flag could compose the colors of every nation’s flag at the time of its inception as the official Olympic symbol in 1915. This is what the inventor, Baron Pierre de Coubertin, had to say about his Olympic symbol in 1931.Going from left to right, the five colors for the Olympic rings are blue, yellow, black, green and red. Contrary to popular belief, the five colors of the Olympic rings do not directly correspond to given continents. Instead, the five colors (along with white, which is the background color of the Olympic flag) were chosen because at least one of those colors appeared on the national flag of each country participating at the time Coubertin came up with the design.

IOC PRINCIPLES

The IOC is at the center of the world sporting arena. It supports every Olympic Movement stakeholder, promoting the spirit of Olympism globally, and monitors the regular celebration & organization of the Olympic Games. The IOC is also committed to encouraging the sport in society, strengthening the integrity of sport, and supporting sportspersons and organizations associated with them.These include: 1.1 Respect for the Olympic spirit, which requires mutual understanding with a spirit of friendship, solidarity and fair play; 1.2 Respect of the principle of the universality and political neutrality of the Olympic Movement; 1.3 Maintaining harmonious relations with state authorities, while respecting the principle of autonomy as set out in the Olympic Charter; 1.4 Respect for international conventions on protecting human rights insofar as they apply to the Olympic Games’ activities and which ensure in particular: – respect for human dignity; – rejection of discrimination of any kind on whatever grounds, be it race, colour, sex, sexual orientation, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status; – rejection of all forms of harassment and abuse, be it physical, professional or sexual, and any physical or mental injuries;

INTERNATIONAL OLYMPIC COMMITTEE VALUES

The three fundamental values of Olympism are excellence, friendship, and respect. They constitute the foundation on which the Olympic Movement builds its activities to promote sport, culture, and education with a view to building a better world. The original values of Olympism as expressed in the Olympic Charter were to “encourage effort”, “preserve human dignity” and “develop harmony”. Over time, they have evolved and are now expressed in more contemporary terms as: Striving for excellence and encouraging people to be the best they can be. Celebrating friendship, which is quite unique to the Olympic Games – an event that brings people together every few years. Demonstrating respect in many different manners: respect towards yourself, the rules, your opponents, the environment, the public, etc.

OLYMPISIM

Olympism, the spirit of the Olympic Games advocated by Coubertin, is “The elevation of the mind and soul, overcoming differences between nationalities and cultures, embracing friendship, a sense of solidarity, and fair play; ultimately leading to the contribution towards world peace and the betterment of the world. “ This philosophy has been passed down, unchanged, to this day, so Coubertin is considered to be the “Father of the modern Olympics”. Since the word “environment” was recently added to “sports” and “culture” as a theme of the Games, the Olympics have also provided an opportunity for people to consider the global environment. In these Games, the excitement and emotions generated by the athletes, together with the environmental themes, will unite people across the world.