More than 15 million tourists are expected to be in Paris during the course of the Olympic Games between July 26 and August 11.
Over a period of more than a century, the games have become the largest gathering of the world’s human population at a specific centre. The entire world’s media will be focussed on the games as well as the activities surrounding them.
This amazing phenomenon that happens every four years came about due to the vision of one man who was committed to building an ideal society based on fair play and equality for all. His name was Pierre de Coubertin, a French aristocrat who is known as the father of the modern Olympic Games.
He was born to a wealthy and highly reputed family in Paris on 1st January, 1863. From a young age he showed academic proficiency and had a keen mind. But most of all he developed a great love for the French ideals of Liberty, Equality and Fraternity.
Visit that opened his eyes
Pierre’s love for academics made him interested in different methods of education. When he visited England he was highly impressed at the way in which sports were propagated in the famous public schools like Rugby, Eton, Harrow and others. He realised that sport played an important role in developing the character and spirit of the young boys. He saw that sport was an instrument that could create moral strength and bring about social unity.
His knowledge of European history, especially Greek history, then gave him the idea of reviving the Olympic Games which had once been an important part of life in ancient Greece. He used his family connections and his aristocratic position to put forward this idea among like-minded people in different countries. Some influential people in Greece were the first to accept his idea because the games had been a part of their ancient tradition.
Responded to call for action
An English magistrate named William Brookes, two wealthy brothers from Greece named Evangelos and Konstantinos Zapas and a few others joined Pierre de Coubertin in his efforts. They were among the first to respond to his call for action on this programme. The group publicised the idea through newspapers to all the nations of the world and sought support for the concept.
After much discussion, persuasion and struggles the modern Olympics was born. One can imagine what a monumental task it would have been. Convincing Prime Ministers and Presidents to go along with the project, thrashing out the legal formalities, deciding which sports should be included, raising funds to conduct the games, the location of the venues, construction of stadiums, appointing of referees and judges and all the small details required many hours of work every day. To compound the problems, all letters and documents had to be sent and received by post and that caused many delays.
First modern Olympics
Finally, on April 6th, 1896, the first modern Olympics began with great fanfare in Athens. Compared to the huge sports extravaganza that the Olympics is nowadays, the first edition in Athens was a small one. The games were inaugurated by King George I of Greece. The host nation had a lot to cheer about when a Greek runner by the name of Spiridon Louis won the marathon race which was the most grueling event of the entire games.
Large crowds turned up to watch the contests and there were signs that the event would become a long lasting success story. As the years passed, the importance of the Olympics grew. Political leaders across the world vied with each other to host the games and gain publicity for themselves and their countries.
Baron Pierre de Coubertin passed away in 1937 but he left behind an enduring legacy. His vision of promoting the concept of fair play and friendship while striving for excellence in sport, is flourishing even today. Since the revival of the games, 128 years have passed. Many cataclysmic events have happened including two destructive world wars. Human society has undergone momentous changes. But the vision and the dream of Baron de Coubertin live on. His zeal and his optimism will be celebrated once again when the 2024 Olympic Games get underway in Paris in July.
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