With the 2024 Paris Olympics just around the corner, you may hear many people referring to the event as "the Olympics." While the Royal Spanish Academy acknowledges both terms as synonyms, there is a distinction that not everyone is aware of.
The term "Olympics" specifically refers to the 17 days between the opening and closing ceremonies. This period includes various individual and team events in sports selected by the International Olympic Committee. On the other hand, the Olympics is the four-year span between each Olympic Games, beginning on January 1st of the competition year and ending on December 31st of the year before the next event. For instance, the upcoming games in Paris represent the 30th edition of the competition, marked as the 33rd Olympiad.
There isn’t a specific reason why the interval between the competitions is set at four years. During the Olympiad, athletes who aspire to represent their countries participate in both national and international competitions. The winners of these events will ultimately determine who gets to compete in the Olympics.
The 2024 Paris Olympics will kick off with the opening ceremony on the Seine River on July 26, and the games will run until Sunday, August 11. The Olympic schedule includes 32 sports, featuring a total of 329 events. These include artistic gymnastics, tennis, fencing, water polo, basketball, and soccer. As previously mentioned, Paris 2024 marks the 30th edition of the Olympics and the 33rd Olympiad, as the events could not be held during the wartime years of 1916, 1940, and 1944.
The global sporting event has its roots in ancient Greece, where competitions like running, wrestling, and jumping were held in honor of the god Zeus. This tradition faded until the 19th century, when Pierre de Coubertin spearheaded a movement to revive the modern Olympic Games. The first of these modern games took place in Athens, Greece, in 1896, featuring athletes from only 14 countries. Over the years, the Olympics gained popularity, evolving into the prominent sporting event we recognize today.
As the excitement builds for the upcoming games, the anticipation of witnessing top athletes from around the world compete is sure to unite fans and inspire many.
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