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The Olympic Games, or Olympics, is an international multi-sport event taking
place every four years and comprising 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, also known as
the Summer Olympics, have been held every fourth year since 1896, with the
exception of the years during the World Wars.
A special edition for winter sports, the Olympic Winter Games, was established
in 1924. Originally these were held in the same year as the Summer Olympics, but
starting with 1994 the Winter Games are in between, two years after the Games of
the Olympiad.
The 2008 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad,
will be held in Beijing in the People's Republic of China from August 8, 2008 to
August 24, 2008, with the opening ceremony to take place at 8 p.m. on August 8,
2008 (08-08-08 - the number 8 stands for prosperity in Chinese culture). Some
events like the Beach Volleyball, Sailing and Open Waters Swimming will be held
in the coastal city of Qingdao.
On July 8, 2005, the International Olympic Committee announced that Hong Kong
will hold the equestrian events at the site of the Hong Kong Sports Institute in
Fo Tan, Sha Tin. The facilities of the Sports Institute may be moved to Wu Kai
Sha. This will be the second time the same season of Olympics Games has been
hosted by two members of the International Olympic Committee. (A similar
arrangement was in place between Melbourne of Australia and Stockholm of Sweden
for the 1956 Summer Olympics).
On October 28 2005 The UK's Guardian newspaper reported that a new discipline of
10km open-water swimming for men and women will be added to the Summer Olympic
schedule in 2008.
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