Olympic Games Host Cities

sports · world cities · competition · history

Modern Olympics began. The first modern Olympic Games happened in 1896, and since then different cities have been chosen to host them every four years.

Winter and summer split. From 1924 until 1992, the Winter and Summer Olympics were held in the same year, but now they happen in different even years so athletes and fans get a break between them.

Two cities together. In February 2026, Milan and Cortina became the first cities ever to host the Winter Olympics together, sharing the games between them.

Games cancelled by war. Five Olympic games had to be cancelled because of wars, including ones planned for Berlin in 1916 and Tokyo and London in 1940 and 1944.

First postponement ever. The 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo were postponed to 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the first time in Olympic history that the games were delayed.