Will The London 2012 Olympic Games Be The Best Ever?

The Olympic Games are a sporting occasion played once every two years at international level. Every four years, you get Summer Olympic Games and two years later, the Winter Olympics.

A variety of competitions are organized in which thousands of athletes from around the world take part. The history of this great sporting competition dates back to the 5th Century AD.

The Olympic Movement categorizes the Olympic Games into the Winter Olympic Games, the Summer Olympic Games, the Paralympic Games and the Youth Olympic Games now in the 20th and 21st Century.

The Paralympic Games are organized for after the Olympic Games and these are for disabled athletes. The Youth Olympic Games are for adolescents and were first held in 2010.

The Olympic Charter specifies the structure of the International Olympic Committee i.e. the governing body of the Olympic Games.

The Olympic flag carries five interlocking circles of red, blue, yellow, green and black and was introduced in 1920. The Olympic motto says “Swifter, Higher, and Stronger”.

Some of the games held in the Summer Olympics are volley ball, badminton, basketball, cycling, boxing, diving, soccer, sailing, rowing, hockey, water polo, wrestling, swimming, weightlifting, tennis etc.

Games held during the Winter Olympics are skiing, ice hockey, skating, ski jumping, curling, free style skiing, cross country skiing, down hill skiing,

A gold medal is presented to each first winner whilst silver and bronze medals are presented to the second and third winners respectively.

Victory Diplomas are the certificates which are awarded to some top winners of each sport. The Olympic Flame is lit according to a tradition allied with these games.

A new flame is lit for every Olympic Games in the Ancient Olympic Stadium in Olympia, Greece. This flame is carried to the host country where the games are to be held.

The flame is carried around the whole host country by individuals walking, running, scuba diving, riding, and using other types of transport. Actually, a number of torches are carried around the country where the games are to be held.

The large Olympic torch is lit by the last runner bearing the torch. This large torch keeps burning throughout the games. The flame is extinguished at the end of the games during the closing ceremony. A new torch is designed for each Olympics.

Nearly all the nations of the world are present at these games. National and international media coverage provides a opportunity to unknown athletes to be famous. The host city and country gets a chance to showcase its country to the rest of the world.

The host country organizes and funds the whole event. Over 13,000 athletes compete in the Summer and Winter Olympics in over 400 activities.

Many challenges are faced while organizing this mammoth event. Some of the major challenges are terrorism, bribery of officials, boycotts and drugs.

The host city is normally picked seven years in advance of the Olympic Games.

The United States has had the opportunity to present four Summer and four Winter Olympics. No other nation has hosted so many Olympic games.

The next Summer Olympics are scheduled to be staged in London in 2012. Women are being particularly promoted to take part in these games.

Women athletes will be able to take part in all the men’s sports in the coming Olympics for the first time ever. Women’s boxing has also been introduced thus eliminating gender discrimination in that sport.

Owen Jones, the writer of this article, writes on many topics, but is currently involved with Sports Current Events, or click this link if you are interested in the 2012 London Olympics Volunteers.

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