Many people around the world watch the Olympic Games, a huge sports competition. The Olympic Games began long ago in Greece, and there are Summer Olympics and Winter Olympics. The Summer Olympic Games happen every four years. The ancient Olympic Games were held in Olympia, in Greece. At first, the only event was one footrace. The ancient Games lasted for about 1,200 years. They are said to have ended in AD 393 or 394, on an order of the Roman emperor Theodosius I. In the ancient Games, athletes always competed at Olympia.

Then the Games came back. A Frenchman, Baron Pierre de Coubertin, led the effort to bring the Olympic Games back. The first modern Olympic Games were held in Athens, Greece, in 1896. They had 43 events, including swimming, cycling, fencing and tennis. Greek leaders wanted Athens to be the permanent host, but the IOC decided to rotate the host city. The 1908 Olympics were first awarded to Rome. They moved to London after Mount Vesuvius erupted in 1906. The first Olympic Winter Games were held in Chamonix, France, in 1924. Winter Olympic events include figure skating, ice hockey and bobsledding.

The Olympic symbol is five rings linked together. According to many accounts, the five rings represent five continents joined together. On the Olympic flag, the rings sit in two rows: blue, black and red on top, and yellow and green below. The background is plain white. These six colors were chosen so that every national flag has at least one of them. The flag was flown at the Olympic Games for the first time in Antwerp, Belgium, in 1920. At those Games, the Olympic Oath was first spoken, and homing pigeons were released at the opening ceremony as a symbol of peace.

At the 1896 Olympics, the winner got a silver medal and an olive branch. Gold, silver and bronze medals were first given at the 1904 Olympics in St. Louis. At the Olympics, first place wins a gold medal, second place a silver medal and third place a bronze medal. Olympic medals must be at least 60 mm across and 3 mm thick. The gold and silver medals are at least 92.5% silver. In 1932, winners first stood on a podium while flags were raised and the winner's anthem played. As of November 2026, Olympedia's all-time table lists the United States first, with 1,236 gold, 1,018 silver and 892 bronze medals (3,146 in all).

Paralympic Games are held right after the Olympic Games in the same host city. The word Paralympic comes from the Greek word para, meaning beside, because the Paralympics happen alongside the Olympics. In 1948, Dr. Ludwig Guttmann organized the first competition for wheelchair athletes, called the Stoke Mandeville Games. The first Paralympic Games were held in Rome in 1960, with 400 athletes from 23 countries. The current Paralympic symbol is called the Agitos. It has three parts in red, blue and green. Its name comes from the Latin for "I move." It was launched at the closing ceremony of the Athens 2004 Paralympic Games.

Words to know

• Paralympic: beside the Olympics
• Agitos: Paralympic symbol
• permanent: always staying
• continents: big land areas
• rotate: take turns