The Greek capital is all geared up for the grandest of sporting spectacles
Come August 13, the Greek metropolis of Athens will be the centre of attention for billions around the world. And with hundreds of countries and thousands of athletes vying for Olympic glory, it would be a shame if you aren’t one of them.
Spread over a period of sixteen days (August 13 to August 29) the 28th Summer Olympic Games, the greatest sporting spectacle is finally returning to its roots, where it all began in 1896.
The commonly acknowledged founder of the modern Olympic Games is Frenchman Pierre de Fredi, Baron de Coubertin. In 1889, a French government commission to study physical culture methods led him to work towards the proposal of the revival of the Olympics. He first propounded the idea in a lecture at Sorbonne, Paris on 25 November 1892. The enthusiastic reception accorded to him there gave him an impetus. In June 1894 he conveyed an international conference, also at Sorbonne at which 12 countries were represented and another 21 sent messages of support. The outcome was a resolution on 23 June calling for sports competitions along the lines of the ancient Games to be held every year. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) was inaugurated under the presidency of Demetrius Vikelas of Greece with de Coubertin as secretary general. The Frenchman had hoped to herald the new century by staging the first Games in Paris in 1900, but the delegates were impatient. Budapest in Hungry was strongly mooted at first, but at the instigation of Vikelas, Athens was finally selected and the date set as 1896.
Thereafter, Athens had to wait for more than a century to stage the games again. It finally won the rights in September 5, 1997 at the 106th IOC session in Lausanne, defeating Rome in the final round of voting by 66 to 41.
Buenos Aries, Cape Town and Stockholm fell short in earlier stages, while Istanbul, Rio de Janeiro, San Juan, Seville and St Petersburg were those that did not even make the shortlist.
Some 28 sports will be contested in 38 venues. A total of 301 medal ceremonies will take place over a period of 16 days. More than 10,500 athletes and 3,000 team officials from 199 countries will participate. Around 21,500 members of the world’s media are expected to cover the Olympics from Greece.
The Olympic village will house 16,000 athletes and team officials during the Olympic Games and 6000 during the following Paralympic Games. Some 45,000 security personnel are due to work at the Olympics, with 60,000 trained volunteers from around the world.
The Athens Games’ officials mascots are siblings Phevos (bother) and Athena (sister). Their creation was inspired by an ancient Greek doll.
1896: Athens, Greece 6-15 April: Attended by representatives of 13 countries, 311 competitors. 43 events, nine sports.
1900: Paris, France 20 May - 28 October: Attended by representatives of 22 countries, comprising 1330 competitors of which 12 were women. 85 events, 17 sports.
1904: St Louis, USA 1 July - 23 November: Attended by representatives of 13 countries, comprises 625 competitors, of which eight were women. 96 events, 14 sports.
1908: London, Great Britain 27 April-31 October: Attended by representatives of 22 countries, comprising 2056 competitors, of which 36 were women. 110 events, 21 sports.
1912: Stockholm, Sweden 5 May-22 July 26: Attended by representatives of 28 countries, comprising 2546 competitors, of which 55 were women. 102 events, 13 sports.
1920: Antwerp, Belgium 20 April-12 September: Attended by representatives of 29 countries, comprises 2692 competitors, of which 64 were women. 152 events, 21 sports.
1924: Paris, France 4 May-27 July: Attended by representatives of 44 countries, comprising 3092 competitors, of which 136 were women. 126 events, 17 sports.
1928: Amsterdam, Netherlands 17 May-12 August: Attended by representatives of 46 countries, comprising 3014 competitors, of which 209 were women. 109 events, 14 sports.
1932: Los Angeles, USA 30 July-14 August: Attended by representatives of 37 countries, comprising 1408 competitors, of which 127 were women. 117 events, 14 sports.
1936: Berlin, Germany 1-16 August: Attended by representative of 49 countries, comprises 4066 competitors, of which 328 were women. 129 events, 19 sports.
1948: London, Great Britain 29 July-14 August: Attended by representatives of 59 countries, comprising 4099 competitors, of which 385 women. 136 events, 17 sports.
1952: Helsinki, Finland 19 July-3 August: Attended by representatives of 69 countries, comprising 4925 competitors, of which 518 were women. 149 events, 17 sports.
1956: Stockholm, Sweden 10-17 June-Melbourne, Australia 22 November-8 December: Stockholm was attended by representatives of 29 countries, comprising 158 competitors, of which 13 were women; 6 events, one sports.
Melbourne by representatives of 67 countries, comprising 3184 competitors, of which 371 were women. 145 events, 16 sports.
1960: Rome, Italy 5 August-11 September: Attended by representatives of 83 countries, comprising 5346 competitors, of which 610 were women. 150 events, 17 sports.
1964: Tokyo, Japan 10-24 October: Attended by representatives of 93 countries, comprising 5140 competitors, of which 683 were women. 163 events, 19 sports.
1968: Mexico City, Mexico 12-27 October: Attended by representatives of 112 countries, comprising 5530 competitors. Of which were 781 were women. 172 events, 18 sports.
1972: Munich, Federal Republic of Germany 26 August-10 September: Attended by representatives of 112 countries, comprising 7156 competitors, of which 1070 were women. 195 events, 21 sports.
1976: Montreal, Canada 17 July-1 August: Attended by representatives of 92 countries, comprising 6085 competitors, of which 1251 were women. 198 events, 21 sports.
1980: Moscow, USSR 19 July-1 August: Attended by representatives of 81 counties, comprising 5326 competitors, of which 1088 were women. 203 events, 21 sports.
1984: Los Angles, USA 28 July-12 August: Attended by representatives of 140 counties, comprising 7078 competitors, of which 1620 were women. 221 events, 21 sports.
1988: Seoul, South Korea 17 September-2 October: Attended by representatives of 159 counties, comprising 8465 competitors, of which 2186 were women. 237 events, 23 sports.
1992: Barcelona, Spain 25 July-August 9: Attended by representatives of 171 counties, comprising 10563 competitors, of which were 3008 women. 257 events, 25 sports.
1996: Atlanta, USA 19 July-4August: Attended by representatives of 197 counties, comprising of 10,744 competitors, of which were 3684 women. 271 events, 26 sports.
2000: Sydney, Australia: Attended by representatives of 200 counties, comprising 10200 competitors. 300 events, 28 sports.
