The Olympic movement began in ancient times in Greece. City-states gathered their best athletes for fierce competitions that began in 776 BC and continued for a century. In 1896, the first modern Olympic Games were held, in Athens, Greece. Every four years since, the nations of the world have gathered for the Olympics. The first Olympics were summer sporting events. In 1924, the first Winter Olympics were held. Starting in 1994, the Summer Olympics and the Winter Olympics were staggered, with one Olympics occurring every two years, instead of both Olympics being held in the same year every four years.

Playing host to an Olympics forever transforms a city. In Atlanta, site of the 1996 Olympic Games, an Olympic park near several sports venues downtown helped to revitalize a key area of the city. Cities bid to play host to the Olympic Games, and make painstaking efforts to plead their case to the International Olympic Committee which oversees the Olympics.

While the Summer Olympics and Winter Olympics are the two big players, there are other players in the Olympic movement. The Paralympics are held after the Olympics in the same host city, giving physically disabled athletes a chance to compete in a moving and inspiring setting. The Special Olympics provides athletic training and competition for persons with developmental disabilities in more than 180 nations.