For the first time in its 124-year history, the Olympics have been postponed. According to olympic.org, the 2020 summer games were set to take place in Tokyo. The games are now set to begin in Tokyo on July 23, 2021.
The Olympic games have been canceled twice, once in 1914 for World War I and again in 1940 for World War II.
The first modern Olympic games were held in 1896 in Athens, Greece. According to the Olympics website, 14 nations and 241 athletes competed in 43 events. James B. Connolly of Massachusetts was the first Olympic winner. He won the triple jump and was crowned with an olive wreath and given a silver medal.
The games held in 1896 featured events such as cycling, fencing, gymnastics, shooting, swimming, tennis, weightlifting and wrestling. Unlike modern events, the ancient games also included boxing, pankration and chariot racing.
The Olympics has many symbols surrounding it, one of the most recognizable being the Olympic rings. History.com claims the five rings represent the union of the five continents: the Americas, Asia, Africa, Europe and Australia. The rings were based on the design by Pierre De Coubertin and were introduced in 1913. However, the rings did not debut until 1920.
One important aspect of the Olympic Games is the Olympic Flame and Torch relay.
“The lighting of the Olympic flame at Olympia is a ceremony of great symbolic importance, one that binds the ancient and modern versions of the Games firmly together,” from the Olympic.com website.
The Olympic flame was first introduced in 1928 at the Amsterdam Games. In 1936, the torch relay came into existence for the Berlin Games. The torch started its journey in Olympia and made its way to Berlin.
The Olympic 2020 torch seems to hold a theme the world is in need of at the moment: hope. The idea surrounding the 2020 torch relay is “Hope lights our way.” The theme of hope does not only show in the relay but also in the torch itself. The torch is made of aluminum materials from temporary housing that was erected after the Great East Japan earthquake according to information found on Olympic.org.
“While the materials were once used to help rebuild lives, they will now be used to spread a message of hope and recovery.”
Though the games have been postponed, the knowledge that they will take place in the future means the world will eventually return to normal.
