Why Are The Olympic Games Held After Every Four Years?

Vishwajeet Jaiswal — Sat, 20 Jul 2024 15:18:20 +0000

With the active participation of over 200 countries and over 400 events, the Olympic Games are often hailed as the world’s oldest and truly global athletic competition that features multiple sports.

The inaugural Olympic Games were held in Athens, Greece in 1896 and the upcoming edition of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games will commence from 26 July 2024 and continue till 11 August 2024, with active participation from a total of 206 nations and 10,714 athletes. Since its inception in 1896, the Olympic Games have been played at an interval of four years. Do you know why?

In this article, we will take a look at the major reasons why the Olympic Games are held after four years.

The Ancient History of the Olympic Games

Since the Olympic Games originated in “Olympia”, a city in Ancient Greece, the format of the tournament has been greatly inspired by their traditions. The ancient Olympic Games that took place in Olympia from the 8th century BC to the 4th century AD were considered as a festival to honor the king of the Greek gods, Zeus. These ancient Olympic Games took place every four years. That’s how the tradition of the “Olympiad” came into existence.

“Olympiad” and the Modern-Day Olympics

French educator and historian Pierre de Coubertin established the International Olympic Committee (IOC), 130 years ago, on 23 June 1894, and successfully revived the ancient concept of “Olympic Games” with the inaugural 1896 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece.

Since the idea of the Olympic Games was inspired by the ancient tradition, the co-founder of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Pierre de Coubertin, honored the Ancient Greek schedule and took the decision to continue the centuries-old ancient tradition of the “Olympiad” and therefore the “four-year” cycle continued even in the modern-day Olympic Games.

Summer Olympic Games

An anecdote of the Summer Olympic Games as of July 2024 is provided below:

Year	Host City	Dates
1896	Athens, Greece	April 6 – April 15
1900	Paris, France	May 14 – October 28
1904	St. Louis, USA	July 1 – November 23
1908	London, UK	April 27 – October 31
1912	Stockholm, Sweden	May 5 – July 22
1920	Antwerp, Belgium	April 20 – September 12
1924	Paris, France	May 4 – July 27
1928	Amsterdam, Netherlands	May 17 – August 12
1932	Los Angeles, USA	July 30 – August 14
1936	Berlin, Germany	August 1 – August 16
1948	London, UK	July 29 – August 14
1952	Helsinki, Finland	July 19 – August 3
1956	Melbourne, Australia	November 22 – December 8
1960	Rome, Italy	August 25 – September 11
1964	Tokyo, Japan	October 10 – October 24
1968	Mexico City, Mexico	October 12 – October 27
1972	Munich, Germany	August 26 – September 11
1976	Montreal, Canada	July 17 – August 1
1980	Moscow, Soviet Union	July 19 – August 3
1984	Los Angeles, USA	July 28 – August 12
1988	Seoul, South Korea	September 17 – October 2
1992	Barcelona, Spain	July 25 – August 9
1996	Atlanta, USA	July 19 – August 4
2000	Sydney, Australia	September 15 – October 1
2004	Athens, Greece	August 13 – August 29
2008	Beijing, China	August 8 – August 24
2012	London, UK	July 27 – August 12
2016	Rio de Janeiro, Brazil	August 5 – August 21
2021	Tokyo, Japan	July 23 – August 8
2024	Paris, France	July 26 – August 11

Winter Olympic Games

An anecdote of the Winter Olympic Games as of July 2024 is provided below:

Year	Host City	Dates
1924	Chamonix, France	January 25 – February 5
1928	St. Moritz, Switzerland	February 11 – February 19
1932	Lake Placid, USA	February 4 – February 15
1936	Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany	February 6 – February 16
1948	St. Moritz, Switzerland	January 30 – February 8
1952	Oslo, Norway	February 14 – February 25
1956	Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy	January 26 – February 5
1960	Squaw Valley, USA	February 18 – February 28
1964	Innsbruck, Austria	January 29 – February 9
1968	Grenoble, France	February 6 – February 18
1972	Sapporo, Japan	February 3 – February 13
1976	Innsbruck, Austria	February 4 – February 15
1980	Lake Placid, USA	February 13 – February 24
1984	Sarajevo, Yugoslavia	February 8 – February 19
1988	Calgary, Canada	February 13 – February 28
1992	Albertville, France	February 8 – February 23
1994	Lillehammer, Norway	February 12 – February 27
1998	Nagano, Japan	February 7 – February 22
2002	Salt Lake City, USA	February 8 – February 24
2006	Turin, Italy	February 10 – February 26
2010	Vancouver, Canada	February 12 – February 28
2014	Sochi, Russia	February 7 – February 23
2018	Pyeongchang, South Korea	February 9 – February 25
2022	Beijing, China	February 4 – February 20

Additionally, the ancient tradition of the “four-year” Olympiad has also played a major role in maintaining the credo of the world’s oldest multi-sport tournament, as it allows adequate time for the athletes to train hard to represent their countries at the highest level of international competition and clinch the most coveted Olympic medals.