The foremost sporting event in the world, the Olympic Games have grown from a quaint idea in the 1890s to a major world happening. This unique book shows the historical context in which each of the Olympic Games has taken place. Divided into sections on the Summer Games and the Winter Games, the book includes chronologically arranged entries on each of the games since 1896. Entries focus on such information as site selection, political questions, controversies, collateral events, changes in programming, and political and economic consequences of the games--all information that is not available in other reference works on the Olympics. Once again the Olympic flame will burn in the U.S.A. as Atlanta, GA, hosts the 1996 Summer Olympic Games, marking the 100th anniversary of the Modern Olympic Movement. The first Games of the Modern Era were celebrated in Athens in 1896 and have grown from a quaint idea in the 1890s to a major world happening. It is a testament to the founders of the games that the ideals upon which the Olympic Movement was founded have continued throughout the years and will be carried into the next century in Sydney, Australia. Valued for their idealism and revered for the moral code they demonstrate in heroic sporting contests, the Olympic Games are the foremost sporting event in the world. Divided into sections on the Summer Games and the Winter Games, this unique reference work shows the historical context in which each of the Olympic Games has taken place. The book includes chronologically arranged entries on each of the games from 1896 to the Centennial games planned for 1996, and the Olympic Games planned for 1998 in Nagano, Japan, and 2000 in Sydney. Entries focus on such information as site selection, political questions, controversies, collateral events, changes in programming, and political and economic consequences of the games--all information that is not available in other reference works on the Olympics. Adding another dimension, the appendixes provide biographical profiles of the members of the International Olympic Committee and an entry on the United States Olympic Committee. The volume also provides information on Olympic films and a general bibliography.