How did the modern Olympic Games begin?

The modern Olympics began with a congress in Paris in June 1894, organised by the French aristocrat Baron Pierre de Coubertin. Delegates voted unanimously to revive the ancient Games, and the first modern edition was held in Athens, Greece, in April 1896. The congress also produced the International Olympic Committee. [1] [2]

The ancient Games were held at the sanctuary of Olympia in the Peloponnese, every four years for nearly 12 centuries, between 776 BC and AD 393. They were part of a religious festival honouring Zeus, and only men took part. The date of 776 BC is often cited in written sources, but the IOC notes that we do not know exactly when they started, and that history has become mixed up with mythology, so the reasons for their birth remain unknown. [2] [3]

Coubertin's original invitation, sent as secretary general of the Union of French Sports Associations, was titled "Reflections on and Propagation of the Principles of Amateurism". By the time the official cards went out, the meeting was called a congress on the revival of the Olympic Games. It opened on 16 June 1894 in the auditorium of the Sorbonne. There were 58 French delegates and 20 more from Belgium, Great Britain and Ireland, Greece, Italy, Russia, Spain, Sweden and the USA. [1]

On 23 June the congress adopted a resolution to revive the Games. It led to the founding of the IOC, with Coubertin as general secretary and later president. Delegates proposed Athens for 1896 and agreed a definition of amateurism. The National Endowment for the Humanities adds that the Games were set for every four years and open only to amateurs. The Australian Olympic Committee gives a different delegate count, 79 delegates from 12 countries, so sources differ on the figures. [1] [4] [5]

The Games opened on 6 April 1896 at the Panathenaic Stadium and ran until 15 April. King George of Greece opened them, and the date coincided with the 75th anniversary of Greek independence. About 241 men from 14 nations competed in 43 events across nine sports. Greece, Germany, France and Great Britain fielded the largest teams. Women were not permitted to compete; they first did so in Paris in 1900. [5] [2] [4]

Reported crowd sizes vary: 60,000 in some accounts of the opening ceremony and 80,000 in others. The first event was a 100m heat won by the American Francis Lane. James Connolly of the USA won the triple jump and became the first Olympic champion in more than 1,500 years. Cricket and football were cancelled because no teams arrived, and organisers had worried that too few athletes would take part. [6] [2] [4]