10 facts about the Olympics!
Are you excited for the next Olympic Games, gang?! Let’s celebrate this epic event with ten top facts about the Olympics…
Facts about the Olympics…
1. The first Olympic Games took place in 776BC
The original Olympics began as part of an Ancient Greek festival, which celebrated Zeus, the Greek God of sky and weather. The whole competition lasted for up to six months, and included games like wrestling, boxing, long jump, javelin, discus and chariot racing.
2. In 393 AD, the Olympic Games were cancelled and didn’t start up again for over 1,500 years!
Emperor Theodosius I, a Roman ruler, banned the Greek Olympics due to the religious element of the celebration. He considered the Olympics to be a pagan festival, which had no place in his Christian country.
So, that was the end of the Olympics until 1896, when a man named Baron Pierre de Coubertin started a revival of the Games. He called this new event the ‘modern Olympics’ – and it’s still going today!
3. The Olympic torch is a reminder of the Games’ Greek origins
In ancient times, a flame burned throughout the Games as a tribute to the goddess, Hestia. Since 1928, this tradition has continued in the modern Games, but instead of an altar, the flame burns in a special torch.
The torch flame is always lit by the sun in Olympia, Greece, as this is where the first Greek Games was held. Then, it’s passed from torch to torch in a massive international relay that ends in the host city – wow! New torches are designed for each Olympics, and several thousand copies are made. It’s a great honour to become a torchbearer, and lots of inspiring people get a turn each time.
DID YOU KNOW?
Lit Olympic torches have flown on planes, stayed alight underwater, and scaled Everest! Some unlit torches have even gone into space, too. Amazing!
4. The first Summer Olympic Games had just 14 participating countries
Teams from 11 European countries originally joined those of Australia, Chile, and the USA at the first host city, Athens. Now, more than 200 countries compete in the Olympics each year!
5. The Olympic symbol was designed to include everyone
The Olympic rings were first produced in 1913, from a design created by the Games’ modern founder – Baron Pierre de Coubertin! Their five colours (along with the white backdrop) reflect colours found on the flags of all participating nations, so everyone is represented. The overlaps also represent international cooperation, and the coming together of athletes from all over the world – cute!
6. Motor boat sailing, hot air ballooning, and tug of war all used to be Olympic sports!
Over time, different sports and events are voted into (or out of) the Olympic Games. Some disappear, then return (like golf, or rugby), while others (like running deer shooting, or duelling pistols) go out of fashion forever – thankfully!
DID YOU KNOW?
Olympic Games organisers can choose to include additional sports! Skateboarding, surfing, sport climbing, and breaking were all additions to the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
7. The first Winter Olympic Games were held in 1924, in a different city to the Summer Olympics.
At first, the Winter Olympics took place in the same year as the Summer ones, but organisers soon realised that it made more sense to hold them in different years! As a result, the Winter Olympics now occur two years after the Summer Olympics. Nice!
8. From 1921-1948, artists participated in the Olympics too
In these games, painters, sculptors, architects, writers, and musicians all took part! They competed for medals by creating works of art, that often celebrated the sporting successes going on at the same time. While artists stopped officially competing in 1948, many still design posters and other merchandise for the Games today!
9. Until 1912, first-place Olympic medals were made of solid gold!
Possibly one of our favourite facts about the Olympics! Sadly though, it’s no longer the case. Recent Games have given out around 5,000 bronze, silver, and gold medals in total – that’s a lot of metal! So instead of being created from solid gold, the heavy first-place medals are now covered in 6 grams of it.
DID YOU KNOW?
At the Paris 2024 Olympics, medals contained a piece of original iron from the Eiffel Tower – one of Paris’ most famous landmarks. How cool is that?!
10. The modern Olympic Games aren’t just about sporting glory – they’re about making friends, too!
While competitive spirit is important, the Games are also about international cooperation. They’re a great chance for people from countries around the world to meet up and get to know each other! For the 16 days of competition, athletes from all sports, religions, nationalities and cultures live and work together – and they often leave as good friends. Aww!
Did you enjoy our top ten facts about the Olympics? Let us know by leaving a comment!
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COMMENTS1
Jules
Awesome! Helped me with my class project
I'm making a quiz on the Olympics, so it was great help for my questions! I was looking for something just like this! Thanks!
Lora
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:D
this is super helpfull:D
Ryan
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I like this info
Lol
Thx love all the facts (also doing a presentation on this)
Evelyn
I LOVEED IT!
PreppyLemonGirl
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Wilson
So interesting
omelyafoenander
Great new and unknown facts! Helped our school Quiz team a lot :)
Natalia
I love learning new things.
Millie
This is so wonderful
Violet
My class loved every fact we learnt!! I will obviously be using this again.
Sanjita
Thankyou to preasent to me the olympics
JoJo
Wow! this really helped me on my report
Josh
I love olympics and Paralympic and I would love to see more.
Noah
I Learnt so much!
Wyatt
I love ❤️ the Olympics
Rosie-Mae
You have done an Amazing job
Cora Kirk
this was amazing for my school Olympic presintation
Sloane
I love the olympics
lncoln
that was great I learned allot about the Olympics
aria
This was amazing! Even my dad wanted to read along lol.
ISHI
fun to read
Skye
Yes I enjoyed ALL the AMAZING facts about the olympics
May
I love the Olympics
footy boy
all the facts here are really good and described clearly
Jimmy
It taught me and my friends all about olympics
Lohan
These are very important facts for me and I learned many more things!
milla
This has a lot of interesting and historical information that taught me lots!
Gurkin jenkins
Wow my class learnt so much
lola
this help me and I learned some very cool stuff
Deborah
I LOVE THIS!!
Aria
OH WOW!!!I did not know half of the facts! Thanks so much! (I'm doing a presentation on this so yeah:)
rex
thats super good info
isaac
this info is so good it makes my work so nice thanks for this and thanks
Saoirse
Super excited for Olympics 2024!!!!!!!
Auggie
i finally got a good grade in school because of this thank you :D
LumaWolf
I am very pleased with each and every one of these interesting facts! Thank you for the information!
Trinity
Cool!
Froggy
fun frogs
chrystelle
cool i want to be a gymnast
Avyaan
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Cool
notably me
I used this for a paragraph on the olympics and it was interesting.
LovelyLearner
I have learned so much from National Geographic!
ColdPenguins2734
Olympics are cool.
Me
I loved all these interesting facts!
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boyhacker
I love all the information in it.
Cool
Abbie
I love learning and doing research on so many things, I manly use National Geographic. I made one on this for my teacher.
name
awesome facts!!!!!!
susstina
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snowypanda
COOL!
Luke
This is so cool and fun thank you
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lucian
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case
awesome
Chelsea
Cant wait
Aniyah
I learned so much about the Olympics
inigo
wow wow
DJ
cool books
cwhq_reinak1
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Rose
I love the Olympics so I learned a lot.
:)
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Kylen
i learned a little bit cause i knew a lot already :l
Panda55678
I really wanted to learn about the olympics and this taught me so much.
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Maddy
I love to read about the Winter olympics.
COOL!
Troy
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Clara
Cool
Owen
Nice I learned alot
Ethan
Cool!! I love learning about the Olympics!!!
boy not saying <3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3
aww it's so cute that they can become friends.
AMAZING!! Keep up the good work!
Isaki
This is so cool I’m learning so much about the Olympics
Annabelle
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riangely
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wyatt
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Layla
Nice!! I love the Olymics!
Person
Cool!
aurora.<3
thx for teaching me!)
Soph
Thank you so much! This helps me with a lot of my school work!!!!
JAFF THE PIG
COOL!!!!
your mom
this is rlly intresting tbh (this is really intresting to be honest)
oliviabirkane
I liked the first fact
Basketball star
This is so cool!
GIRAFFE LOVER
COOL awesome help with research home work!!!
Kanishka
Very interesting and nice to know about the history
Alex
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Harsh Kumar sahu
Fabulous work
Sussy PRO
this website is very entertaining
Yandel
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I WASH DE CAR
i've Never Though Torches Can go to many places like Space! Mind Blowing! :o
lexi
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alivia
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Chicken nuGGet Violet-RaeW
i never thought the torches could go up into space! :)
Jeremiah
love this website
harry
cool
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helped me for my report
i‘m a dear
i never thought the torches could go in space!
PandasRulez
Thank you for this information about the Olympics. I really needed some facts for my school projiect. I also love your Nat Geo magazines and I learn alot from them! Thank you again for the information!
P4nda_pr1ncess
I just loved every part of it, especially the BMX bike tricks!
TillyTheKraken
the olympics are cool, the winner of BMX freestyle (bike tricks) did such an EPIC trick! he literally made his bike do a flip while he was just in the air! and then he caught the handlebars and landed back on the bike seat!
Ren
I knew some about the Olympics but not torchbearing, it's really cool! It's too bad that art isn't in the Olympics anymore. Is there a kids' Olympics? Does anybody know?
Noah .C.
AMAZING
Emery
This really helps, thank you National Geographic Kids!
Eric
Wow!
great
Emmalyn
You’re cool
Malachy
Thanks it helped a lot
Mithilesh
Superb
li-lou
The Olympics is my dream! Going for the Paris Olympics 2024!!!
blayden
cool
iDk bUt iTs nIcE fAcTs wHiCh i lIkE
This will definitely help with my project ☻
Gemma
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rtrusteer
good
Jessica
SO AMAZING FACTS
vaylana2
Micah
Cute!
Kk
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locksniff
cool
Fathima Sayana
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Never safe from waluigi
Nice
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Really helpful for my 11 year old students
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Plany
Bow wow great stuff over there.
Mrbeast
Wow
ben
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ian
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Mr Penguin
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Mr Shark
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ivy
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RAINBOW STAR
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snazzy
the olimpics are so awesome!
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husseinjw
Cute facts.. Loafs i dint know.... Its perfect for kids
maousen2
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MrRomeoPlays
Wish the medals were still made of solid gold! But now its just 6 grams of gold :(.
Flossy
so cool wish i was in the Olympics nice
thanks for this i needed it for public speaking! totally usisng the gold medal fact to start it off!
jeffery bazos
UwU
i love the olimpics i watch them every night when there on
xXC00KIEZXx
Cool
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bca
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COOLDUDE
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sawani
omg l didnt see!
ryden
not bad
DevoonaBanana
Yea its cool! I wonder why they stopped making medals out of gold tho :/
jess
nice
ethan
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liam
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PlasmaFanMonkeyClub
Awesome Thanks National Geographic kids for this really helped my work and the fact are amazing so again thank you for this post.
Kingsley
:/ artists stopped competing Cool!
maia
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Knowledge
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epic
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Ok
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Zanzooni
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Jayden
I love the Olympics
CRETURE
This Was an amazing website 10/10
The big man
PEPPY PINK PUPPY
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Shakeel Naicker
Love the info!
ted
Bob
I didn't know that!
Old man
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Love It Amazing!!!!!
Sus
I thought the first Olympics was 1896?
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Bayswater
F5A64DB
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cool
that_poopy123
I really liked your facts! I will recommend them to my friends!
Zane
Aaaah
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JP25785
cool
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Koda
zeebisk1t
I absolutely LOVE the Olympics! What interesting facts! My favourite sport is the high jump and my favourite athlete is Tatjana Schoenmaker.
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Jojo
They were all very interesting!
Bandi and Tilly
I Loved the Olympics
Inaayah Altaf
I love the Olympic Games
Gylf
Really interesting and good! Highly reccomended.
the.one.and.only
go Australia I watched every second of the Tokyo Olympics
Hi
Hi
JZ
Secret too
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Something
INTERESTING
Luca Blakeborough
Woah go NZ
oscarx1fe
great
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Ryan
That was great.
Arnavv Ghate
Hello everyone, I love Olympics alot !!!I am in The sport shooting...I always practice and have a dream about participating in Olympics...Now I have passed my state matches..!..
Zaara
Zaara
Zaara
Zaara
Zaara
Aryaman Gupta
These Were Some Amazing Facts!! Never new that the olympics torch had even been is Space!
Olympics
The Olympics is Bomb and I support my nationalities!!!
Labhya
Great facts thanks
lola
super
Super
Indy.Conwell
Go AUSSIES!! and thanks for the informal texts about the Olympics. I love the Olympics, Question which team does everyone go for me AUSSIE!!
secret
i love the olympics i love watching people running th4x100 metre race its so exciting
cinamon sugar cream
hey yall
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I really liked reading the info about the olympics and I really enjoyed it! Great Job.
KAI
VERY COOL
Jamie Mcnab
I loved this
YaQi
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I love the olympics
I love the olympics
Jeremiah
I love watching the olympics, it is so awesome!!!
Wolf girls
Wolf girls
mando
cool facts! it' sad though that hot air ballon isn't an Olympic sport anymore. that was sounds awesome
drchin02
Karla
Thanks
Yuvi
Amazing
Liam
Awesome!!!!!
Maccas
Wowwwwwww
Secret
It was very fun learning about the Olympics! Thank you!!!
UnicornLol
Cool
Elise
It was very informal with lots of detailed facts
Sasha
I love the olympics
Yeetamus
GO AUSSIES!
Wooww
COOL
sarah
ella
cool
herobrine
so cool! cant wait for your next one
Helen
I did not know there were Winter Olympics
Shriya
I loved it so much and i a'm interest ed
Leban_Shibu
LOVED IT!!
something
interesting
Cool
Harrison, Lakyn
shark
COOL!!!
Evie
Good
Evieg
Wicked
noah
great facts
Cooper
Very helpful information
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Pro
Wow so cool
georgia!
wow
Luna
Very cool! I love national geographic, its my fav!
cool
Ivy
These were all interesting facts. Thanks!
wow wow wow wow so interesting
Steve smith
Why can't I be in the Olympics doesn't anyone agree like cricket should be in the Olympics
tim
aimee
Steve smith
bob
cool
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amazing
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Bob
Raymond
So intresting!
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Omyra
wow wow wow
leo
wow
Ninja
This was very helpful for me thank you
cool
Awesome facts
Imogen
Ryan
Cool
parth
I can't wait to watch sky brown competing for team GB in skateboarding.
Awesome!
ReaderRooROO
Cool
good
Zoom
Good
Kaia Montgomery
daft
raf
we will and we can
isaac
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BELLETHEBOOKWORM
I LOVED THE FACTS THEY WERE AWESOME!
Ireda
I'll check it out!!
WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Laser
I like basketball Hahahhahahahahhahahahahahah
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I’m so good at kakaing
kool kid
epic
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koko
wowowowowowowowow
HungryTiger
WONDERFUL
xavier
cool
Potato Head
awsome
Potato Head
nice
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You is
Jimmy
Cool
Jimmy
Jimmy
hi
mia
amazing
Sudarkodi
Cool Facts!
student
Amazing!
andy
David
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Ayden
Amazing
Owen
Cool!
person
cool
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Patrick
The facts were great
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Wow
Babablacksheep
Nice
Stella
Hi
Amazing
Izzy prins
I love the nat geo magazines!
ShellGL
Great Effort Guys!
Cool
corby
can't wait!
Chloe
I did not know most of those facts
b
Cool !!!!!
Wow
lol
justin
cool
Big Bob
I didn't know that in 1912 in the first-place olympic medals were made out of solid gold! BY BIG BOB
Chhavi Jain
WOW! Super
Sirius
Cool but could have more facts
Jacob
Chadox
Awesome!
the man
Super
elijah t
Max
Wow!
ARCHER
Hvbj
Wow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I like the story of the Olympics because it’s really interacting.
Natupu
I really like all the information that you put in for the Olympics I know no that the Olympic were banned in 1835
nithin104
Nice
Cool
Cool
cool
Jose Victoriano Seguerra
Hope Philippines can host Olympic Games soon.
Eve
Cool they were some amazing facts
sceeeeeehnece
Arnav
Lovely
rasmcoop26
its so cool to now know this stuff because I didn't know it.
ryan
cool can not wait
OOOH THERE IT IS
Oh wow such cool facts OMG love them I’m a shark :D
Giraffe Harlee :) :)
Hi!
Deer crossed with bird
Cool!
Elizabeth
Sunny
Wow i can belive the medals are made out of electronics
Ananya
A
Interesting
Sophia
Nice! Can't wait for the OLYMPICS!
Willow
Cool
Zara
Thats so cool!I didn't know most if these facts.
Hi
Hi
uyi
cool
ruthann
I it was instring to me
Cool
isaac
so coooooooooooooooool!
these fact where good for my report
car92070
wow great facts
hi
nice
Knox rush
Knox rush
Knox rush
Adeline
wow
Telz
I so am entering the Olympic Games
Iris
It says at the end that it's all about the athletes making friends, but with COVID, I wonder if that is possible or whether they will have to isolate.
Ellie
Great ideas!!!
bob
hi
these were cool!!!
wow!
ploopy
nice
purpleleopard111
anaxply
Great Facts!!!
Skye
These facts are so cool
Olivia
Cool
I am really exited for skateboarding because sky brown is on the GB team at only 13 years old she is so amazing at skateboarding and inspired me to have a go at it to
Isabel
These were really cool facts.
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