Olympic Games

The Olympic Games, or Olympics, is an international multi-sport event taking place every two years and alternating between Summer and Winter Games. Originally held in ancient Greece, they were revived by a French nobleman, Pierre Frèdy, Baron de Coubertin in the late 19th century. The Games of the Olympiad, better known as the Summer Olympics, have been held every fourth year since 1896, with the exception of the years during the World Wars.

Olympic Movement

A number of organisations are involved in organising the Olympic Games. Together they form the Olympic Movement. The rules and guidelines by which these organisations operate are outlined in the Olympic Charter.

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At the heart of the Olympic Movement is the International Olympic Committee (IOC), currently headed by Jacques Rogge. It can be seen as the government of the Olympics, as it takes care of the daily problems and takes all important decisions, such as the host city of the Games and the programme of the Olympics.

Related Topics:
International Olympic Committee - Jacques Rogge

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Three groups of organisations operate on a more specialised level:

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• International Federations (IFs), the governing bodies of a sport (e.g. FIFA, the IF for football (soccer))
• National Olympic Committees (NOCs), which regulates the Olympic Movement within one country (e.g. USOC, the NOC of the United States)
• Organising Committees for the Olympic Games (OCOGs) which take care of the organisation of a specific celebration of the Olympics.

At present 202 NOCs and 35 IFs are part of the Olympic Movement. OCOGs are dissolved after the celebration of the Games, when all subsequent paperwork has been done.

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More broadly speaking, the term Olympic Movement is sometimes also meant to include everybody and everything involved in the Olympics, such as national sport governing bodies, athletes, media and sponsors of the Olympic Games.

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Criticism

In the past, the IOC has often been criticised for being a monolithic organisation, with several members remaining a member at old age, or even until their deaths. Especially the leadership of IOC president Juan Antonio Samaranch has been strongly criticised. Under his presidency, the Olympic Movement made great progress, but has been seen as autocratic and corrupt. Samaranch's ties with the former fascist government in Spain, and his long term as a president (21 years), until he was 81 years old, have also been points of critique.

Related Topics:
Juan Antonio Samaranch - Fascist - Spain

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In 1998, it became known that several IOC members had taken bribes from the organising committee for the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, in exchange for a vote on the city at the election of the host city. The IOC started an investigation, which led to four members resigning, and six being expelled.

Related Topics:
Taken bribes - 2002 Winter Olympics - Salt Lake City

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The scandal set off further reforms, changing the way in which host cities are elected to avoid further bribes. Also, more active and former athletes were allowed in the IOC, and the membership terms have been limited.

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A BBC documentary aired in August 2004 entitled Panorama: "Buying the Games" investigated the taking of bribes in the bidding process for the 2012 Summer Olympics. The documentary claimed it is possible to bribe IOC members into voting for a particular candidate city. In particular Bulgaria's member Ivan Slavkov and Muttaleb Ahmad from the Olympic Council of Asia were implicated. They denied the allegations.

Related Topics:
BBC - Panorama - 2012 Summer Olympics - Bulgaria

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