INTERNATIONAL OLYMPIC ACADEMY 7th JOINT - IOA

Festivals:
From 776 BC to 395 AD, the ancient Olympic Games brought
competitors together from Greece to share in a display in both mind
and body. The Games comprised four major Pan-Hellenic festivals
held in Olympia, regarded as the centre of the Greek World. There
were also competitive festivals at Delphi, Corinth and Athens.
The presentation of the ancient Games involved training and
displays of physical, moral and intellectual discipline.
The Games initially involved athletic competitions, cultural
displays, intellectual forums, business transactions and worship. The
artists of the day - poets, musicians, painters and sculptors – all
competed alongside the athletes.
The ancient Olympic Games ended in 395 AD when the Byzantine
Emperor, Theodosius, banned all pagan cults and two major
earthquakes and a flood destroyed the site. The tradition of the
Olympic Games lay dormant for over 1500 years until revived at the
end of the 19th century by Baron Pierre de Coubertin.
Pierre de Coubertin strongly adhered to the principles of the
ancient Games when he founded the modern Olympic Games in 1896.
In 1894, the Congress for the Revival of the Olympic Games was
established at the Sorbonne in Paris. The International Olympic
Committee (IOC) was subsequently formed and the first modern
Games planned for Athens in April 1896.
There are 4 phases in which one can study the role of the Arts in
the Olympic Games.
1st Phase:
In this phase the level and importance of cultural events were not
satisfactory, while the Games of Paris (1900), St. Louis (1904) and
London (1908) did not involve an official cultural programme.
2nd Phase:
From 1912 to 1948 Arts Competitions had a predominant role in
the cultural programmes of the Games.
Some of the most successful Arts Competitions were held during
the Games in Antwerp (1920), Paris (1924), Amsterdam (1928), while
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