How Often Are The Summer Olympics Held?

The Summer Olympics are one of the grandest events on the international sporting stage. They are open to all countries that can field teams in events like track and field, swimming and various team sports. More than 200 countries participated in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. The average attendance at the last three Summer Olympics was more than 6 million.

Every Four Years

The first modern Summer Olympics was held in Athens, Greece in 1896. Since that time, the event has been scheduled every four years. The Summer Olympics lasts 16 days. The Summer Olympics is usually held in June, July or August. However, the 1956 Olympics, held in Melbourne, Australia, took place in November and December. The 2000 Olympics were held in Sydney, Australia during September and October.

Cancelled Olympics

The Summer Olympics were not held in 1916, 1940 and 1944. The event was not held in 1916 because of World War I and in 1940 and 1944 because of World War II. Those are the only years the Olympics have not been held as scheduled.

Olympic Sites

Since the modern Olympics began in 1896, the Summer Olympics has been awarded to 29 cities. The 2012 Olympics are scheduled for London and the 2016 Olympics have been awarded to Rio de Janeiro. The International Olympic Committee asks Olympic host candidates to go through elaborate evaluations when their city is considered as hosts for the international event. The IOC announces the host city seven years before the event is held.

Rebirth of the Games

The modern Olympic movement came to fruition in 1894. Frenchman Barron Pierre de Coubertin was the general secretary of the Union of French Societies of Athletic Sports. It was his dream to revive the Olympics. The first session of the International Olympic Committee was held in June, 1894. The city of Athens, Greece was selected to host the first Olympics in 1896. The event was bankrolled by wealthy Greek architect George Averoff. Approximately 175 athletes from 14 countries participated in the 1896 Games. Those Games consisted of nine sports and 43 events held over a 10-day period.