How have the Olympics change over the years?

The Olympics have changed quite a bit over the years. Stadiums and arenas have evolved into more modern complexes using state of the art facilities for the athletes to compete at there highest level.

Many more events have been introduced into the Olympic competition and more countries are now included.

The prizes of winning are extremely different, winners use to win a wreath, they now can win gold, silver or bronze medals, and have the opportunity to earn themselves big contracts with companies such as, Uncle Toby's, Holden and Nike, and they can get big sponsorship money, which helps them obtain higher levels of training facilities and coaches and be able to train longer hours without having to worry about working.

The Olympics are now held at different countries and stadiums every 4 years instead of in the one place and everyone is able to buy tickets and go and support there country, instead of just the men being able to attend.

All athletes now compete fully clothed and these are provided by there country.

Questions.

Go through our information to find the answers to these 6 Questions.



* What is the name of the main stadium of the Beijing Olympics ?

*In what year could women compete in the Olympic games?

*What was the first Olympic event called?

*What are the five colours of the Olympic rings and what do they reapresent?

*In what year did the Olympics begin?

*What did the ancient athletes wear when they competed?

Interesting facts over the years.

* In Ancient Olympic times there where no prizes awarded to the winners, instead they were given a wreath cut with a golden knife from the sacred olive tree and where treated as a hero when they returned to their home city.

* The first Olympic games happened over two thousand years ago.

* During the 1900 Olympics (the second modern games) women were able to compete.

*During the 1972 Olympic games in Munich, Israeli's athletes were held hostage in their dormitory's where they were staying.

* The Olympic games is the largest single broadcast in the world, broadcasted in 220 countries to over 3.5 billion people.

The Beijing Olympics 2008.

Beijing will host the 2008 Olympic Games .

The Opening Ceremony will be on Friday the 8th of August, held in the National Stadium, which is to be the main stadium of the Beijing Olympic and the following day will be the start of the first events, which are the men's cycling road race, fencing, weight lifting, judo and shooting.

The games will go for 16 days and the last events will be on Sunday the 24th of August which will then be followed by the Closing Ceremony.

The Games will include the 28 summer sports currently on the Olympic program and approximately 10,500 athletes are expected to compete in these Games.

Every emblem of the Olympics tells a story. The Beijing 2008 Olympic Games emblem is the "Chinese Seal, Dancing Beijing" it is filled with Beijing hospitality and hopes, and carries the city's commitment to the world. It is a symbol of trust and an expression of self confidence. The form of a running human being stands for the beauty and magnificence of life. Its graceful curves are like the body of a wriggling dragon, relating the past and future of one civilization.

The slogan for the 2008 Olympics is "One World, One Dream" The slogan calls upon the whole world to join in the Olympic spirit and build a better future for humanity.

The 2008 Olympic Mascots are the five Fuwa good luck dolls. The Fuwa consist of five members that include a fish, panda,Tibetan antelope, swallow and the Olympic flame, The Fuwa are each coloured to represent the colours of the five Olympic rings. The five Fuwa are named Beibei, Jingjing, Huanhuan, Yingying, and Nini. When the first syllable of each of the five names are said together, Bei Jing Huan Ying Ni they means "Beijing welcomes you."

Countries involved in the Olympics

The countries involved in the Olympics now are...
Afghanistan
Albania
Andorra
Antigua and Barbuda
Angola
Algeria
Argentina
Armenia
Aruba
Australia
Austria
Azerbaijan
Bahamas
Bangladesh
Barbados
Burundi
Belgium
Belize
Benin
Bermuda
Bhutan
Bolivia
Bosnia-Herzegovina
Bahrain
Botswana
Belarus
Brazil
British Virgin Islands
Brunei Darussalam
Bulgaria
Burkina Faso
Cameroon
Cambodia
Canada
Cayman Islands
Central Africa
Chad
Chile
China Republic
Chinese Taipei
Colombia
Comoros
Cape Verde
Congo
Cook Islands
Costa Rica
Cote-d´lvoire
Croatia
Cuba
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Denmark
Djibouti
Dominica
Dominican Republic
Ecuador
Arab Rep. of Egypt
El Salvador
Equatorial Guinea
Eritrea
Estonia
Ethiopia
Fiji
Finland
France
Gabon
The Gambia
Germany
Ghana
Great Britain
Guinea-Bissau
Georgia
Greece
Grenada
Guam
Guatemala
Guinea
Guyana
Haiti
Honduras
Hong Kong
Hungary
Iceland
India
Indonesia
Iran
Iraq
Ireland
Italy
Israel
Ivory Coast
Jamaica
Japan
Jordon
Kazakhstan
Kyrgyzstan
Kenya
Korea people Republic
Korea Democratic People Republic
Kuwait
Laos
Latvia
Saint Lucia
Lebanon
Lesotho
Libya
Lichtenstein
Luxembourg
Rep. of Macedonia
Madagascar
Malawi
Malaysia
Rep. of Moldova
Marshall Islands
Maldives
Malta
Mali
Mauritania
Mauritius
Mexico
Micronesia
Monaco
Montenegro
Mongolia
Morocco
Mozambique
Myanmar
Namibia
Nauru
Nepal
Netherlands
Netherlands Antilles
New Zealand
Nicaragua
Niger
Niger
Norway
Oman
Pakistan
Palau
Panama
Papua New Guinea
Palestine
Paraguay
Peru
Philippines
Poland
Portugal
Puerto Rico
Qatar
Rhodesia
Romania
Rwanda
Saint Lucia
St. Vincent & Gr.
Saint Kitts and Nevis
American Samoa
Western Samoa
San Marino
Sao Tome and Principe
Saudi Arabia
Seychelles
Sierra Leone
Senegal
Slovenia
Solomon Islands
South Africa
Sri Lanka
Slovakia
Swaziland
Serbia
Singapore
Spain
Sudan
Surinam
Syria
Sweden
Switzerland
Tanzania
Tonga
Thailand
Togo
Trinidad & Tobago
Tajikistan
Timor-Leste
Turkmenistan
Tunisia
Turkey
Tuvalu
Uganda
Ukraine
Unified Team
United Arab Emirates
U.S.S.R.
U.S.A.
US Virgin Islands
Uruguay
Uzbekistan
Vanuatu
Venezuela
Vietnam
Yemen
Yugoslavia
and
Zambia.

But in the Ancient Olympics the only countries involved were...
Greeks from the mainland
Asia (minor)
Italy
Africa
and
Macedonia

Flags and Symbols

The Olympic flag is 5 coloured rings that represent 5 main continents. The colours blue, yellow, black, green and red were chosen because at least one of these colours appears on the flag of every country in the world.

Pierre De Coubertin created this flag in 1914 and the flag was first flown in the 1920 summer Olympics this was the 7Th Olympic year.

The Olympic flag has not changed since the day it was created.

Another Olympic symbol is the Olympic Torch Began in 1934, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) introduced the Olympic flame with the impression that it would enrich the games. The Torch relay is held and lit in Olympia and the relay makes it was around the world to the country that is hosting the games that specific year.

History of the Olympic Games.

The Olympic games begun in Olympia, Greece in 776BC. The Greek calender was based on the Olympiad which is the four year period between games. The games were held in a wooded valley in Olympia. Here Greeks built a statue and temples in a grove dedicated to the god Zeus. It was considered as one of the seven wonders of the world.

All athletes competed naked because they believed that the gods liked to see them this way, and women could not compete or watch any of the games and if they got caught doing any of these they would be sentenced to death. At first the only Olympic event was the 200 metre run called a stade. Then in 724BC the two stade race (400 metres) was added. Four years later the 24 stadia event began and in 708BC Pentathlon which is a five event match which consists of sprinting, wrestling, long jump, javelin throw and discuss throw was introduced and later boxing and chariot races and other events were included.

The winners of the games were crowned with wreaths from the sacred olive tree that grew behind Zeus' temple. Greeks believed that the tree was planted by the founder of the games Hercules. The winners paraded around the grove to the sound of a flute while admirers chanted songs written by a poet.