There is no such thing as a “brief” history of the Olympics. That’s because the Olympics started thousands of years ago in Ancient Greece. Greek city-states used to send athletes to compete against each other with the reputation of the city and its people on the line.

These ancient games helped create peace among the cities by bringing people together for friendly competitions.

The modern Olympics began in 1896, but the first one was very different to the Olympics we know today. Only 14 countries and 176 athletes, all of them men, competed in the games, which were hosted in Athens. Still, the Olympics were successful and helped to improve cooperation between nations. Just four years later women competed in the 1900 Olympics in Paris.

Over time the Olympics grew more popular and more nations started sending competitors. In 1924, the winter Olympics was started. The first winter Olympics was hosted in Chamonix, France. Only 16 nations and 258 athletes participated, competing in just 16 different events. Like the summer Olympics, however, the winter games gradually became more popular.

Following World War II, the Olympics became an important part of the Cold War and were vital in maintaining world peace. During the Cold War, the world was divided between communism and capitalism, with the Soviet Union and United States competing intensely with each other. The Olympics were one of the main ways in which these two nations competed.

At the same time, many new nations were coming into existence. With the colonial empires of France, the United Kingdom, and others crumbling, new countries were founded. Many of these countries wanted to prove themselves to the world, and the Olympics was one way to do so.

From humble beginnings, the Olympic games have evolved into the grandest games on earth. In fact, the Rio Olympics saw 205 countries and over 10,000 athletes competing in 302 separate events.

Furthermore, while the Olympics was predominantly hosted by developed countries through much of their modern history, the recent games have been hosted in developing nations, such as Brazil and China. Many up-and-coming nations now view the Olympics as a way to announce their prosperity to the world.  

Currently, the United States dominates the world stage, and has taken home the most medals in nearly every summer Olympics over the past few decades. During the Beijing Olympics in 2008, China came close to taking home the most medals but couldn’t quite beat the United States.

Recently, criticism over the costs and burden of the games has increased. Norway pulled out of a winter Olympics bid just a few years ago because its citizens didn’t want to deal with the hassle. Meanwhile, the summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro faced many setbacks and challenges.

So, what does the future hold for the Olympics? They’ll almost certainly continue to be hosted, but given these issues, reform may be inevitable for the games.