Summer Olympic Games

The Summer Olympic Games or the Games of the Olympiad are an international sporting event which are held every four years by the International Olympic Committee. The "Games", as they are often called, are held in a different city each time. It is a great honour for a city to be "awarded" (given) the right to hold the Olymic Games. Two years after the Summer Olympics, the Winter Olympic Games are held. These are always in a cold, mountainous place because the sports are all snow and ice sports such as skiing. Many more countries send athletes to the Summer Olympics than to the Winter Olympics.

The Olympic Games were first held in Ancient Greece more than two thousand years ago. The first modern Summer Olympic Games where held in Athens in 1896. There were 200 athletes from Greece and 45 athletes from 13 other countries. From 1904, medals are given to the three best athletes or teams in each sport.

The earliest Games consisted of 42 events only, but it is expected that 10,500 athletes compete in the 302 events on the program for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.

List of modern Summer Olympic Games

Games in italics were cancelled or have not yet been held.

1896 - Games of the I Olympiad - Athens, Greece

1900 - Games of the II Olympiad - Paris, France

1904 - Games of the III Olympiad - St. Louis, Missouri, United States

1906 - Intercalated Games - Athens, Greece

1908 - Games of the IV Olympiad - London, United Kingdom

1912 - Games of the V Olympiad - Stockholm, Sweden

1916 - Games of the VI Olympiad - Berlin, Germany - Cancelled due to World War I

1920 - Games of the VII Olympiad - Antwerp, Belgium

1924 - Games of the VIII Olympiad - Paris, France

1928 - Games of the IX Olympiad - Amsterdam, Netherlands

1932 - Games of the X Olympiad - Los Angeles, California, United States

1936 - Games of the XI Olympiad - Berlin, Germany

1940 - Games of the XII Olympiad - Helsinki, Finland - Cancelled due to World War II

1944 - Games of the XIII Olympiad - London, United Kingdom- Cancelled due to World War II

1948 - Games of the XIV Olympiad - London, United Kingdom

1952 - Games of the XV Olympiad - Helsinki, Finland

1956 - Games of the XVI Olympiad - Melbourne, Australia / Stockholm, Sweden (Equestrian events)

1960 - Games of the XVII Olympiad - Rome, Italy

1964 - Games of the XVIII Olympiad - Tokyo, Japan

1968 - Games of the XIX Olympiad - Mexico City, Mexico

1972 - Games of the XX Olympiad - Munich, West Germany (now Munich, Germany)

1976 - Games of the XXI Olympiad - Montréal, Quebec, Canada

1980 - Games of the XXII Olympiad - Moscow, Soviet Union (now Moscow, Russia)

1984 - Games of the XXIII Olympiad - Los Angeles, California, United States

1988 - Games of the XXIV Olympiad - Seoul, South Korea

1992 - Games of the XXV Olympiad - Barcelona, Spain

1996 - Games of the XXVI Olympiad - Atlanta, Georgia, United States

2000 - Games of the XXVII Olympiad - Sydney, Australia

2004 - Games of the XXVIII Olympiad - Athens, Greece

2008 - Games of the XXIX Olympiad - Beijing, China / Hong Kong, China (Equestrian events)

2012 - Games of the XXX Olympiad - London, United Kingdom

Cancelled Games

The 1906 Summer Olympics or 1906 Intercalated Games were discounted ex post facto by the IOC. All medals awarded during these games have not since been counted officially on total medal counts.

These games were cancelled due to the World Wars. The 1916 Summer Olympics were cancelled due to the onset of WWI; both the Summer and Winter Olympics of 1940 and 1944 were cancelled due to WWII.

Some summer events were held by the IOC in celebration of its Jubilee in Lausanne, despite the war that cancelled the 1944 Summer Olympics, at the Jubilee Celebrations of the IOC.