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History of the Olympic Games
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The Ancient Olympic Games were held in Olympia, Greece thousands of years ago. Back then, the Games were held in honour of the God Zeus. The aim of the Games was to show the physical qualities of the athletes who competed and to encourage good relations between cities across Greece.
At first, the Ancient Olympic Games lasted just one day, and had just one event – a running race. Over time, the Games were extended and lasted up to five days. Only men were allowed to compete and only unmarried women were allowed in the stadium to watch. Some women were so keen to watch the competition that they dressed up as men and sneaked into the stadium!
Winners at the Ancient Games had two victory ceremonies. In the first ceremony they received a palm branch and had red ribbons tied around their hands and head. At the second ceremony, an olive tree wreath was placed on the winner’s head.
According to history books, the Ancient Games were banned by Emperor Theodosius in 393AD because he didn’t think they were fitting for a Christian empire.
The Modern Olympic GamesEdit
How did they start?Edit
More than 1500 years later, a young Frenchman called Baron Pierre de Coubertin decided to create the modern Olympic Games. He thought that the Olympic Games should be about bringing together sport, culture and education.
In 1894, he founded the International Olympic Committee and together they started to organise the first Olympic Games of modern times.
It took them just two years, and in 1896, the first modern Olympic Games were held in Athens, Greece. A total of 241 athletes from 14 countries took part and the winners received a silver medal and an olive branch.
When did women first take part?Edit
At the first modern Olympic Games there were still no female competitors – in fact women didn’t compete until the next Olympic Games, which happened four years later in Paris.
The Olympic Games todayEdit
The International Olympic Committee still oversee the organisation of the Olympic Games, but now the the summer Games are held in a different city every four years. The last Olympic Games were in Beijing, China, in August 2008.
The Games today are much larger than they used to be, and they last much longer – in Beijing they lasted 16 days and athletes competed in 28 different sports!
In Ancient Greece, the Government and wealthy and famous Greek citizens paid for the Games. Today, the Games cost much more money and they have got larger sponsors, or companies that pay to be involved. These companies help to fund the cost of the Games.
Since 1968, each Summer Olympic Games has been followed by a Paralympic Games for athletes with a disability.
Development and preparation
The London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games (LOCOG) was created to oversee the staging of the Games after the success of the bid, and held their first board meeting on 3 October 2005. The committee, chaired by Lord Coe, is in charge of implementing and staging the games, while the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) is in charge of the construction of the venues and infrastructure. In April 2006, the Olympic Delivery Authority board was established.
The Government Olympic Executive (GOE), a unit within the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), is the lead government body for coordinating the London 2012 Olympics. The GOE reports through the DCMS Permanent Secretary to the Minister for Sports and the Olympics. It focuses on oversight of the Games, cross-programme programme management and the London 2012 Olympic Legacy before and after the Games that will benefit London and the UK. The organisation is also responsible for the supervision of the £9.3 billion of public sector funding.
In August 2011, security concerns arose surrounding the hosting of the Olympic Games in London due to the 2011 England riots, with a few countries expressing fear over the safety of the Games, in spite of the International Olympic Committee's assurance that the riots will not affect the Games.
The IOC's Coordination Commission for the 2012 Games completed their tenth and final visit to London in March 2012. They concluded that "London is ready to host the world this summer".
Venues and infrastructureEdit
The 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games will use a mixture of new venues, existing and historic facilities, and temporary facilities, some of them in well-known locations such as Hyde Park and Horse Guards Parade. Some of the new facilities will be reused in their Olympic form, while others will be resized or relocated.
The majority of venues have been divided into three zones within Greater London: the Olympic Zone, the River Zone and the Central Zone. In addition to these are those venues that, by necessity, are outside the boundaries of Greater London, such as the Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy on the Isle of Portland in Dorset, which will host the sailing events, some 125 miles (200 km) southwest of London. The football tournament will be staged at several grounds around the UK. Work began on the Park in Dec
ember 2006, when a sports hall in Eton Manor was pulled down. The athletes' village in Portland was completed in September 2011.
In November 2004 the 500-acre Olympic Park plans were revealed. The plans for the site were approved in September 2004 by Tower Hamlets, Newham, Hackney and Waltham Forest. The redevelopment of the area to build the Olympic Park required compulsory purchase orders of property. The London Development Agency was in dispute with London and Continental Railways about the orders in November 2005. The LCR accused the LDA of killing off development in the area. The LDA planned to buy land alongside the Olympic Park for the Stratford City development project, bringing the 180-acre site of the former Stratford Rail Lands into a mixed-use development, including 4,500 new homes, office space, hotels and shops. This resulted in 2011 with the completion of the largest urban shopping centre in Europe being operated by Westfield. By May 2006, 86% of the land had been bought as businesses fought eviction; this led to an enquiry being set up. 206 companies had to relocate by July 2007. In addition, residents who opposed the eviction tried to find way to stop it by setting up campaigns. However they had to leave as 94% of land was bought and the other 6% bought as a £9 billion regeneration project started
However, there were some issues with the original venues not being challenging enough or being financially unviable. For example, the road racing at the Olympic Games was originally scheduled to take place in Regent's Park and on Hampstead Heath. Instead the Olympic road races will start and finish on The Mall in central London, extend into Surrey to the south and include loops around Box Hill. The Olympic mountain bike event will take place at Hadleigh Farm after the event was moved from Weald Country Park, after the UCI labelled the course at the park "too easy" in July 2008. A location in Kent was also considered.
The Olympic marathon course, which was set to finish in the Olympic stadium, was moved to The Mall. The idea angered some members of the local community, who said they had been left out of the Olympics as no events would take place in the boroughs. The change was made as closing Tower Bridge would cause gridlock in central London. North Greenwich Arena 2 was scrapped in a cost-cutting exercise, Wembley Arena being used for badminton and rhythmic gymnastics events instead.
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