The Olympics

The Olympics return this year to London, England for the 2012 Summer Olympics. It has been four years since the Summer Olympics in Beijing, China, or two years since the Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Canada. This is the third time London has hosted the Olympics let alone the third time to host the summer games.

The first Summer Olympic Games under the International Olympic Committee (IOC) started in Athens, Greece in 1896, bringing together 14 countries and 241 athletes in 43 events. The first Winter Olympic Games started in Chamonix, France, in 1924 to feature snow and ice sports that were impossible to be held during the Summer Games. The Winter Games were held the same year as the Summer Games until 1992 in Albertville, France, when they would be played every four years, starting in Lillehammer, Norway, for the 1994 games. This would put the Olympics in the place to be held every two years, alternating between the Summer and Winter games.

The Olympic symbol shows five rings intertwined. The colors are blue, yellow, black, green and red respectively. The rings, also known as the Olympic rings, represent the unity of the five inhabited continents: America, Africa, Asia, Australia and Europe. The colors were chosen because every nation had at least one color on its national flag. The flag was first flown at the 1920 Summer Games in Antwerp, Belgium, though the flag was adopted in 1914. The Olympic motto is Citius, Altius, Fortius which means "Faster, Higher, Stronger".

Since the games started in the late 1800s, countries have boycotted the Games at different points in time. In 1936, Ireland boycotted because the Olympic Council of Ireland was told they could only represent the Irish Free State rather than the entire island. In 1956, the Netherlands, Spain and Switzerland boycotted because of the repression of the Hungarian uprising by the Soviet Union. Cambodia, Egypt, Iraq and Lebanon also boycotted these games because of the Suez Crisis. Lastly, China boycotted these games because Taiwan, formerly the Republic of China, was allowed to compete in the games. In 1976, 20 African countries, Guyana and Iraq boycotted. For the 1980 games, 65 countries boycotted because of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. This left the participating countries to number 81, the lowest since 1956. The 1984 games were boycotted by the Soviet Union and 14 of its Eastern Bloc partners except for Romania, saying they could not guarantee their athletes would be safe. For the upcoming 2014 Winter Games that are to be held in Russia, Georgia's government called for a boycott back in August 2008 due to Russia's participation in the 2008 South Ossetia war. The only countries to have participated in every game since first started in 1896 are Australia, Great Britain and Switzerland.

In the Olympic Games, there are performances throughout the opening and closing ceremonies. In the opening ceremony, the national anthem of the hosting nation starts the program. Following the anthem, there are displays of music, singing, dance and theater representative of the country's culture. During the end of the closing ceremony, the mayor of the city hosting the next game will quickly introduce the country through displays of dance and theater as representatives of its culture.

When the gold, silver and bronze medals are finished being awarded to the top three winners after each of the sporting events, the national anthem of the gold medal winner's home country is played.

The 2014 Winter Olympic Games are hosted in Sochi, Russia. For Sochi's Presentation during the Closing Ceremony of the Vancouver, Canada Winter Olympics, click here.
The 2016 Summer Olympic Games will be held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
The 2018 Winter Olympic Games will be hosted by South Korea in Pyeongchang.