Origin of the Olympic Games at Olympia
The first Olympic Games are held in the sacred district of Olympia, dedicated to Zeus.
Heyday of the ancient Games
The Games grow into the most important sporting and religious event in the Greek world.
End of the ancient Olympic Games
Emperor Theodosius I bans the Games as part of the Christianisation of the Roman Empire.
Founding of the International Olympic Committee
The French baron Pierre de Coubertin brings the modern Olympic movement to life.
First modern Olympic Games in Athens
After fifteen centuries the Olympic Games return, now as an international sporting event.
1900 Paris Olympic Games
The second edition of the modern Games, held as part of the World's Fair in Paris, in which women were allowed to compete for the first time.
1904 St. Louis Olympics
The first Olympic Games held outside Europe, dominated by American athletes due to limited international participation.
1908 London Olympic Games
The 1908 Summer Games in London marked a turning point in the professionalization of the Olympic organization, with the first extensive regulations and official results books.
1912 Stockholm Olympics
The first Games with participants from Japan and South African African athletes, and the stage for the legendary versatility of Jim Thorpe.
Cancellation of the 1916 Berlin Olympic Games
With the outbreak of the First World War, the planned 1916 Olympic Games in Berlin are cancelled.
1920 Antwerp Olympics
The first Games after the First World War, with the introduction of the Olympic flag and the Olympic oath.
1924 Paris Olympics
Paris hosts the Olympic Games for the second time, with the well-known slogan 'Citius, Altius, Fortius' and the Olympic Village as a novelty.
1928 Amsterdam Olympics
The Games at which the Olympic flame was lit for the first time and at which women were allowed to compete in athletics events.
1932 Los Angeles Olympics
The Summer Games return to the United States, with Los Angeles as host during the worldwide economic crisis.
1936 Berlin Olympics
Nazi Germany uses the Games as a propaganda tool, but American athlete Jesse Owens disrupts this image with four gold medals.
Cancellation of the 1940 Olympic Games
Due to the outbreak of the Second World War, the planned Games of Tokyo and later Helsinki are definitively cancelled.
The 1944 Games are also cancelled due to the war
For the second time in a row, the Olympic Games, this time planned in London, are cancelled due to the ongoing Second World War.
1948 London Olympics - the 'Austerity Games'
After twelve years without Games, London returns as host, in a post-war Europe still very much struggling with scarcity and reconstruction.
1952 Helsinki Olympic Games
Finland hosts the Games, with a historic encounter between Emil Zátopek and the Soviet Union, which takes part for the first time.
1956 Melbourne Olympics
The first Olympic Games held in the southern hemisphere are overshadowed by international tensions, including the Hungarian Uprising and the Suez Crisis.
Abebe Bikila wins the marathon in Rome barefoot
Ethiopian runner Abebe Bikila wins the marathon barefoot during the Olympic Games in Rome, becoming the first black African to win Olympic gold.
first Olympic Games in Asia
Tokyo becomes the first Asian city to host the Olympic Games.
First Olympic Games in Latin America
Mexico City hosts the Games of the XIX Olympiad, the first Olympic Games on the Latin American continent.
boycott games of Moscow
The Soviet Union hosts the Olympic Games in Moscow, which are overshadowed by a massive boycott over the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.
Los Angeles 1984: the counter-boycott response
Four years after Moscow, the Soviet Union and fourteen other Eastern Bloc countries boycott the Los Angeles Games in retaliation.
Seoul 1988 unites a divided world
For the first time in twelve years, both the United States and the Soviet Union take part in the same Games, in a newly democratised South Korea.
Barcelona 1992: unity after the Cold War
The Barcelona Games celebrate the end of the Cold War with a unified German team and the return of South Africa after apartheid.
Atlanta 1996: one hundred years of the modern Games
The Atlanta Games celebrate the centenary of the modern Olympic Games, overshadowed by a terrorist attack.
Sydney 2000: the Games of reconciliation
Sydney organises spectacular Games in which Aboriginal athlete Cathy Freeman symbolises reconciliation in Australia.
Athens 2004: the Games return to their origin
The Olympic Games return to Athens, the cradle of the modern Games, for the first time since 1896.
China rises as an Olympic superpower
Beijing hosts the Olympic Games, a symbolic turning point in which China presents itself to the international community as an emerging world power.
first Olympic Games in South America
Rio de Janeiro hosts the first Games on the South American continent.
Tokyo Olympics, postponed by a year
Due to the global coronavirus pandemic, the Tokyo Games are postponed by a year and ultimately held without spectators.
Olympic Games of Paris
A hundred years after the previous Paris edition, France celebrates a groundbreaking Olympic Games with open-air ceremonies along the Seine.
Los Angeles Olympic Games
Los Angeles hosts the Summer Olympic Games for the third time.
Brisbane Olympic Games
Brisbane becomes the third Australian city to host the Olympic Games.
Olympic Games in a distant future
Speculative vision of the Games of the future, in which technology and sport merge.
1904 St. Louis Olympics
Because of the long and costly voyage from Europe, most participants were Americans and Canadians, resulting in an unusually one-sided medal distribution. The Games were also marked by the controversial 'Anthropology Days', in which indigenous peoples were subjected to sporting contests as curiosities, an episode now regarded as a shameful part of Olympic history.