The Olympics

The Olympic Games began in 776 B.C. in the the valley of Olympia in Greece. The games were held every four years for nearly 1200 years. The table below describes the year and location for the modern games. Beginning in 1994, the Winter games take place two years from the Summer games, thus, every two years will be an Olympic year.

Year		Summer Games		Winter Games
1896	I	Athens, Greece
1900	II	Paris, France
1904	III	Saint-Louis, USA
1908	IV	London, England
1912	V	Stockholm, Sweden
1916	VI	canceled W.W.I
1920	VII	Antwerp, Belgium
1924	VIII	Paris, France	I	Chamonix, France
1928	IX	Amsterdam, Holland	II	St. Moritz, Switzerland
1932	X	Los Angeles, USA	III	Lake Placid, USA
1936	XI	Berlin, Germany	IV	Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany
1940	XII	canceled W.W.II		canceled W.W.II
1944	XIII	canceled W.W.II		canceled W.W.II
1948	XIV	London, England	V	St. Moritz, Switzerland
1952	XV	Helsinki, Finland	VI	Oslo, Norway
1956	XVI	Melbourne, Australia	VII	Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy
1960	XVII	Rome, Italy	VIII	Squaw Valley, USA
1964	XVIII	Tokyo, Japan	IX	Innsbruck, Austria
1968	XIX	Mexico City, Mexico	X	Grenoble, France
1972	XX	Munich, W. Germany	XI	Sapporo, Japan
1976	XXI	Montreal, Canada	XII	Innsbruck, Austria
1980	XXII	Moscow, USSR	XIII	Lake Placid, USA
1984	XXIII	Los Angeles, USA	XIV	Sarajevo, Yugoslavia
1988	XXIV	Seoul, S. Korea	XV	Calgary, Canada
1992	XXV	Barcelona, Spain	XVI	Albertville, France
1994			XVII	Lillehammer, Norway
1996	XXVI	Atlanta, USA
1998			XVIII	Nagano, Japan
2000	XXVII	Sydney, Australia
2002			XIX	Salt Lake City, USA
2004	XXVIII	Athens, Greece
2006			XX	Turin, Italy
2008	XXIX	Beijing, People's Republic of China
2010			XXI	Vancouver, Canada
2012	XXX	London, United Kingdon

Olympic Facts

• The team from Greece always enters first in honor of the origin of the games.
• The hosting country always enters last.
• The Olympic torch is carried to the hosting country from Greece by a series of runners.
• The five interlocking rings represent Africa, the Americas, Asia, Australia, and Europe.
• The gold and silver metals are actually plated.