Origin
The ancient Greek Olympic Games were banned in 394 AD and after sleeping for more than 1,000 years, they were restored and developed in the late 19th century. From the 14th to the mid-18th century, three major ideological and cultural movements appeared in Europe: the Renaissance, the Reformation, and the Enlightenment. The emerging bourgeoisie highly praised ancient Greek culture and sports ideas, which aroused people's yearning for the ancient Olympic Games. At the beginning of the 18th century, some scholars and experts from Britain, France, Germany and other countries visited Olympia for inspection. In addition to discovering a large number of historical materials, they also unearthed many precious cultural relics and historical materials related to the ancient Olympic Games, which aroused people's interest in the ancient Olympic Games. More interest.
In 1883, Coubertin proposed for the first time to hold a competition similar to the ancient Olympic Games. It was not a simple inheritance, but an expansion of the games that were limited to Greeks in the past to a global scale. Although Coubertin's ideas encountered some opposition, with his unremitting efforts, 20 countries finally sent representatives to convene the first "International Conference on the Reconstruction of the International Olympic Games" at the University of Paris, France, on June 16, 1894. The meeting decided to hold the first modern Olympic Games in 1896 in Athens, the capital of Greece. The Greeks showed great enthusiasm for this conference, and 80,000 spectators attended the opening ceremony. This number was not exceeded until the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics. Since then, the Olympic Games have become a world sports event.
The meaning of the Modern Olympic Games
The Modern Olympic Games is a modern social and cultural phenomenon constructed in the name of "restoring the ancient Olympic Games". It follows the name of the "Olympic Games" and inherits the The tradition of the "Olympiad" cycle every four years borrows and develops certain rituals and absorbs the ancient traditional ideas of fair competition, courageous struggle, and harmonious development of body and mind. But the modern Olympics is not a continuation or replica of the ancient Olympics. It is a new social and cultural phenomenon produced under the background of capitalism. There are essential differences between them.
The birth of the modern Olympic Games
In 1893, based on the suggestion of "Father of the Olympics" Coubertin, an international sports conference was held in Paris to discuss the revival of the Olympic Games. In January 1894, Coubertin drafted specific steps for reviving the Olympic Games and 10 issues that needed to be discussed, and wrote to sports organizations and groups in various countries. On June 16, the "International Sports Congress" opened at the Sorbonne Theological School in Paris. There were 79 representatives present, representing 49 sports organizations from 12 countries. 2,000 people attended the opening ceremony. The General Assembly passed the resolution "Revival of the Olympic Movement". The International Olympic Committee was established on June 23. The establishment of the International Olympic Committee marked the birth of the Olympic movement.
Nationality and Internationality
The ancient Olympic Games had a distinct nationalistic color and exclusive cultural characteristics. It was a national ceremonial competition, always held at the same place, and athletes had to Of pure Greek descent. The ancient Olympic Games played a role in prospering Greek culture, but its limitations made it unable to withstand the waves of multi-ethnic integration. It could only develop under the specific conditions of the prosperity of ancient Greek slavery. Once it encountered the invasion of foreign nations, it would be difficult to survive. The modern Olympic Games are open to all countries, all regions and all nationalities, and are held in turn around the world. It is a grand gathering of peace and friendship for people all over the world.
Ancient Sports and Modern Sports
The ancient Olympic Games used sports content closely related to military skills. The project setting was incomplete, and the competition method was primitive and simple. It was a product of the childhood of human society. Sports competition. The modern Olympic Games use highly standardized modern competitive sports content. It breaks through ancient traditions, adds collective events, and creates the Winter Olympics. The content is rich and colorful, reflecting the needs of the development of modern society.
Exclusion of women and equality between men and women
Women were not allowed to participate in the ancient Olympic Games, and offenders were punished with death. Although Coubertin wanted to imitate ancient traditions in the early days of the Olympic Games, he could no longer stop the trend of gender equality. Since women first entered the Olympics in 1900, the number of female athletes, the number of women participating in events, and the number of female sports managers have gradually increased, and sports performance has improved significantly. Women's sports have achieved unprecedented development in the Olympic Games, and their significance has gone beyond the scope of competitive competitions.
Zeus’ Festival and Sports Celebration
The ancient Olympic Games were a sacrificial event dedicated by the Greeks to Zeus, the head of the gods. City-states with different cultures but independent of each other, and sometimes even enemies of each other, could come together to participate in the Olympic Games. Therefore, the ancient Olympic Games were not an independent sports event, but part of a religious festival. The modern Olympic Games is a secular, non-religious sports celebration with independent ideas, organizations and activity systems. It is a grand sports festival where athletes from all over the world gather together.
The arbitration institution of the slave-owning nobles and the complete system of modern organizational institutions
The leader of the ancient Olympic Games was the arbitration institution composed of the slave-owning nobles. It is jointly served by full-time priests and local officials in the Temple of Zeus, and is composed entirely of people from a single city-state, Elis. It is difficult for them to remain impartial when they preside over competitions between their city-state and foreign players. In order to compete for the leadership of the Olympic Games, city-states even went to war with each other.
The modern Olympic Games has a complete organizational structure, which is composed of the International Olympic Committee, International Sports Federations, National Olympic Committees and the organizing committee of the host city, and is widely international. The scientific nature of its management, the objectivity of judgment and the rigor of organization constitute another essential difference between the modern Olympic Games and the ancient Olympic Games.
The development of the modern Olympic movement
The Olympic movement has been a century since the establishment of the International Olympic Committee in 1894. Its development can be divided into four stages.
(1) The initial period of the Olympic Movement (1894-World War I) From 1894 to 1914 before the First World War, it was a period of rapid changes in global political and economic relations. All kinds of nationalism and xenophobia hinder normal international exchanges. Modern sports are only carried out in a few European countries, and world-wide sports competitions are rarely held. The Olympic movement is still in an exploratory stage. The Olympic Games has not yet formed a certain hosting model, such as poor stability in event settings, poor venue facilities, financial difficulties, irregular conference dates, unfair enforcement by referees, and lack of clear regulations on participation qualifications.
The 1908 Olympic Games implemented standardization and standardized management, which established a basic framework for the holding of future Olympic Games. The 1912 Olympic Games was the most successful Olympic Games in this period. There were great improvements in terms of participating countries, number of athletes, venue facilities and organization. For the first time, what Coubertin expected was achieved: no accidents, no protests, no nationalities. The Olympics of jingoistic hatred.
The main problem during this period is that the International Olympic Committee, international individual sports organizations and national Olympic committees are still only loose institutions. The International Olympic Committee has not yet realized that the Olympic Games were entrusted to a certain city by the International Olympic Committee, and has given up its leadership and supervision rights. As a result, all matters of the Olympic Games are arranged at will by the host country. Because women are not allowed to officially participate in the Olympic Games, not only does it cause major flaws in the universality of the Olympic Games, but it also hinders the development of women's sports.
(2) The Formation Period of the Olympic Movement (1914-World War II) The Olympic Games, which were interrupted by the First World War, were resumed in 1920. The International Olympic Committee realized the importance of standardization of the Olympic Games from practice. The basic framework, operating mechanism and fundamentals of the entire Olympic Games were basically formed during this period. This is reflected in the following: the setting of competition events gradually became more reasonable; the competition facilities were further improved; The duration of the conference is basically fixed; the application and hosting procedures are basically established, and the issue of athletes’ qualifications has been basically resolved. Advanced technologies began to be applied to competitions, such as electronic timers, finish cameras, automatic printers, closed-circuit television broadcasts, etc. Since 1928, women's track and field events have been included in official competitions. This important change has played a role in promoting the popularity and appeal of the Olympic movement. Another important development is the Winter Olympics, which has greatly increased the coverage of the Olympic movement.
During this period, the organizational structure of the Olympic movement also developed. The number of National Olympic Committees increased from 29 before World War I to 60, making an important contribution to the spread of Olympic ideas around the world. contribute. At the same time, various international individual sports organizations have also been established one after another. Through the coordination between the International Olympic Committee and various international individual sports organizations and national Olympic committees, the International Olympic Committee has been freed from the specific technical matters that exist in every Olympic Games. And they play more roles at higher levels such as leadership, coordination, and decision-making.
An important problem at this stage is the increasing influence of politics on the Olympic movement. For example, the 1936 Berlin Olympics, although superior to previous games in many aspects, was used by Hitler to show off to the world. The strength is contrary to the Olympic purpose of peace, friendship and progress.
(3) The Development Period of the Olympic Movement (1946-1980) After the end of World War II, the world political landscape formed a confrontation between the two major political groups of the East and the West, which had a great impact on the development of the Olympic Movement. had a significant impact. On the other hand, the economic revitalization and scientific and technological development of various countries after the war promoted the development of the Olympic movement.
Due to the participation of the Soviet Union and newly independent countries, the number of participating countries and competition items in each Olympic Games increased during this period; at the same time, Coubertin's idea of ??holding the Olympic Games in turn on each continent was realized Realization; sports games and Paralympic Games on various continents have also emerged one after another. With the popularity of foundation sports, the level of competitive sports has also increased rapidly, and African sports have begun to rise. This created a situation where the United States and the Soviet Union were competing for power at the Olympics. The Olympic competition venues and various supporting facilities have developed greatly compared with before, and the Olympic Games are developing in a large-scale and artistic direction. The integrity of the competition is enhanced by advanced electronic equipment, as well as gender and banned drug checks. Previous Olympic Games have greatly improved various municipal constructions in the host city and laid the foundation for its continued role after the games. Funding for the Olympic Games has also changed from pure government allocations and private donations to a combination of government allocations, social donations, the sale of television broadcast rights, and the issuance of lottery tickets.
In this period, the Olympic organization was no longer simply a sports organization. Its relationship with the country and various departments of society became increasingly close.
The influence of politics on the Olympic Games has become more obvious, complex, and sharp, and various power groups want to use this stage to achieve their own goals. In addition, issues such as doping issues and excessive financial burden on the host country of the Olympic Games are all on the important agenda. Cracks appeared between the three pillars, and economic crises arose. This good behavior changed only after Kilanin became chairman in 1972.
(4) The Reform Period of the Olympic Movement (1980-) Entering the 1980s, under the leadership of Samaranch, large-scale changes were carried out to address various problems faced by the Olympic Movement. The past "independence" principle, that is, the practice of not seeking economic benefits and having political ties with different governments, no longer meets the needs of the new era. People's demands for the Olympic Movement are not limited to the Olympic Games held every four years. The Olympic Movement has participated in a broader field. The International Olympic Committee attaches great importance to the dissemination of Olympic ideas in terms of culture, education, science and technology. Through a series of activities, such as holding the Olympic Art Festival, establishing museums, holding "Olympic Day" commemorative activities, and holding regular Olympic science and technology conferences, etc., they have played a very good publicity role. The number of participating countries and regions in the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games has increased to 172, with 257 competition events.
The self-updating and improvement of the organizational structure has brought the International Olympic Committee into increasingly close contact with other institutions. Since the 1980s, the International Olympic Committee has established an organization that includes the president and various professionals. The permanent resident institution - Lausanne headquarters, ensures the leadership of the headquarters institution in all aspects. Since 1981, the International Olympic Committee has had a formal legal status for the first time, so that it can participate in various major affairs as a legal person, boldly carry out commercial development economically, use various activities to create wealth, and contribute to the development of the Olympic movement. Create a good economic foundation. Starting from the 23rd Olympic Games, the host country of successive Olympic Games has not experienced a deficit. Economic profits have greatly mobilized the enthusiasm of the host country to do a good job in the Olympic Games.
The important changes that occurred during this period were that while affirming the role of politics in sports, it emphasized that sports should not obey the command of any one country; while affirming commercialization, it also took certain measures against commercialization. restrictions and the abolition of the principle of amateur status for participants, making the Games open to all elite athletes. This pragmatic attitude has promoted the development of the Olympic movement in a healthy direction.
From early exploration to the basic formation of its own model, from development to stagnation after the Second World War, and then through reforms since the 1980s, the Olympic movement has finally entered a vibrant stage of development. .
Olympic Truce and World Peace
Mountains and rivers crisscrossed the ancient Greece. More than 200 city-states in a state of separatism had never been truly united. However, they always have unified traditions and similar religious beliefs, which allows the city-state alliance to maintain peace together during special festivals. At that time, an important link that could unite the Greeks who had a strong sense of separation was the Olympic Games, which was held every four years. For this grand ceremony, the League of Greek city-states concluded the "Olympic Truce" treaty. However, the scope of the truce was limited. It could not stop all wars in Greece. It only guaranteed that the city-state of Elis and Olympia were sacred war-free zones. The ancient Greeks could enjoy absolute peace here, but in other areas they only had "immunity" rights, that is, no one was allowed to infringe on athletes, officials and spectators passing through the place (even if there was a war going on). As a result, the ancient Olympic Games were held continuously for more than a thousand years without any interruption. It is a peaceful event that serves the Greek nation and is independent of the war environment. The modern Olympic Games serve to build a peaceful and beautiful world. Although it does not have the ability to stop the ongoing war, it strives to make people around the world understand, respect, and unite with each other in order to build a better new world.
The ancient Olympic Games and the modern Olympic Games are two essentially different social and cultural phenomena that occurred in different social backgrounds. Ancient Greece's politically independent slave city-state system, unified culture and religion, humanized primitive gods and relatively complete sacrificial system were the social foundation for the emergence and development of the ancient Olympic Games. Therefore, it cannot exist beyond ancient Greek slavery. The fundamental reason for its decline and extinction is that the social background on which it relies for survival no longer exists. The ancient Olympic Games in a slave society can never be resurrected under capitalist conditions. Just as the "Renaissance" movement was under the banner of "restoring" the culture of ancient Greece and Rome and promoted the new ideas and new culture of the bourgeoisie, Coubertin's success lay in his very strategic use of extremely powerful people. The classical model of the ancient Olympic Games has great appeal, but he also clearly realizes: "The Olympic Games must be modernized, rather than clumsy and simple imitation and restoration." Therefore, he always takes international and modern sports content as the basic principle , making the newly created Olympic Games an international sports event with classical traditional colors and modern ideological connotations, and an excellent cultural crystallization of human society across cultures, nationalities, and borders.
On April 6, 1896, the first modern Olympic Games were held in Athens, Greece