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The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (French: Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and
winter sports competitions in which thousands of
athletes from around the world participate in a
variety of competitions. The Olympic Games are considered the world's foremost sports competition with more than 200 teams, representing sovereign states and territories participating; by default the Games generally substitute for any World Championships the year in which they take place (however, each class usually maintains their own records). The Olympic Games are held every
four years; since
1994, they have been alternated between the
Summer and
Winter Olympics every two years during the four-year period.
The evolution of the Olympic Movement during the 20th and 21st centuries has resulted in numerous changes to the Olympic Games. Some of these adjustments include the creation of the Winter Olympic Games for snow and ice sports, the
Paralympic Games for athletes with disabilities, the
Youth Olympic Games for athletes aged 14 to 18, the five Continental games (
Pan American,
African,
Asian,
European, and
Pacific), and the
World Games for sports that are not contested in the Olympic Games. The IOC also endorses the
Deaflympics and the
Special Olympics. The
IOC has needed to adapt to a variety of economic, political, and technological advancements. The
abuse of amateur rules by the
Eastern Bloc nations prompted the IOC to shift away from pure
amateurism, as envisioned by Coubertin, to the acceptance of
professional athletes participating at the Games. The growing importance of mass media has created the issue of
corporate sponsorship and general commercialisation of the Games. World Wars
I and
II led to the cancellation of the
1916,
1940, and
1944 Olympics; large-scale boycotts during the
Cold War limited participation in the
1980 and
1984 Olympics; and the
2020 Olympics were postponed until 2021 as a result of the
COVID-19 pandemic.
The 1924
Winter Olympics, officially known as the I Olympic Winter Games, were held in 1924 in
Chamonix,
France. Originally called Semaine Internationale des Sports d'Hiver ("International Winter Sports Week") and held in association with the
1924 Summer Olympics, the sports competitions held at the foot of
Mont Blanc in
Chamonix,
Haute-Savoie,
France between 25 January and 5 February 1924, organised by the French Olympic Committee, were in retrospect designated by the
International Olympic Committee (IOC) as the I Olympic Winter Games.
The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win but to take part, just as the most important thing in life is not the triumph but the struggle. The essential thing is not to have conquered but to have fought well.
Paris 2024 will feature the debut of
breakdancing as an Olympic event, and it will be the final Olympic Games held during the presidency of IOC President
Thomas Bach. The Games will be the first to feature an identical number of men and women athletes. The Games are expected to cost €8.3 billion.
The 2026 Winter Olympics (
Italian: Olimpiadi invernali del 2026), officially the XXV Olympic Winter Games (Italian: XXV Giochi olimpici invernali) and also known as Milano Cortina 2026, is an upcoming international
multi-sport event scheduled to take place from 6 to 22 February 2026 in the Italian cities of
Milan and
Cortina d'Ampezzo. The joint bid from the two cities beat another joint bid from Swedish cities
Stockholm–
Åre by 47–34 votes at the
134th Session of the
International Olympic Committee (IOC) in
Lausanne, Switzerland, on 24 June 2019.
This will be the
fourth Olympic Games hosted in Italy, which previously hosted the
2006 Winter Olympics in
Turin, the
1956 Winter Olympics in Cortina d'Ampezzo and the
1960 Summer Olympics in
Rome. It will be the first Olympic Games officially featuring multiple host cities and will be the first
Winter Olympics since
Sarajevo 1984 where the opening and closing ceremonies will be held in different venues. Events will also take place in seven other north-northeastern Italian cities. The games will mark the 20th anniversary of the Winter Olympics in
Turin, the 70th anniversary of the Winter Olympics in Cortina d'Ampezzo and the first time that Milan will host an Olympic Games.