Why is French the Official Language of the Olympics

Olympics viewers may have noticed in Rio and Japan that the first language to be spoken at the Olympics was French.

Hence prompting the question, why is French the official language of the Olympics.

Find out today.

Why Is French the Official Language at the Olympics

The First Olympics Games

Frenchman Pierre de Coubertin initiated the first Olympiads held in Athens, Greece in 1896.

Original Olympic games were held in ancient Greek times (8th century B.C to 5th Century after Jesus Christ).

In 1894, De Coubertin creates what is known today as the modern International Olympic Committee (ICO in English and CIO in French).

The founding governing body instituted that the Olympic games will exclusively be for non-professional athletes.

As modernization and law of economics (understand big money) took over, the Olympic Committe decide in 1981 that professional athletes could now participate in Olympics games.

Which Countries are represented in the Olympics?

The modern Olympic games get representation from all countries in the world.

Over 4 years for the summer games, athletes across the globe meet to represent their respective counties.

The spirit of the Olympics goes far beyond the standard competition.

To be an Olympian means a great deal to all the athletes.

Many dream, sacrifice and train for many years to be able to have that honor.

What is the meaning of the 5 rings on the Olympic Flag?

The flag or emblem of the Olympics games is a white flag with 5 colored rings.

Each ring represents on continent from Africa, Asia, Australia, Americas and Europe.

You may have guessed it the while flag is just for neutrality as the Swiss would like to think of it.

How many times has France hosted the Olympics?

In honor of the French rich history with the Olympics, here is a table in French highlighting the host cities and countries from 1980 to 2032.

France will be hosting the 2024 summer Olympic sin Paris for only the third time in the history of the founding country.

The previous occurrence dates back to 1924. That is quite a long time indeed.

Los Angeles will be the next host in 2028 after Atlanta, Georgia in 1996.

I could not help noticing that Europe has hosted the Summer Olympics for a record 16 times (before Parris 2024), North America comes in second with 6follwed by Aisa and Oceania.

South America got to host for the first time through Rio, 2016.

So, here is my question, when will Africa finally get to host the Olympic, please, pretty please?

After all, a great of countries in Africa speak the French language already.

Does that count for anything?

Dazzling Olympics Opening Ceremony on YouTube:

Intro of Winter Olympics

The winter Olympics were introduced in 1924 even though there are less countries participating due to the requirement of snow.

Chamonix, France was the first city to host the winter Olympics.

They are not as popular as their summer counterpart because of fewer disciplines and contestants.

Most Famous athletes in the Olympics

American swimmer Michael Phelps amazed a record 28 medals at the Olympics between 2004 and 2016.

23 of those were gold medals.

The story does not tell us where and how one-man store such incredible bounty.

Speaking of bounty, did you know that Pirates of the Caribbean Star Johnny Depp is perfectly fluent in French?

Final Thoughts on French being the Official Language of the Olympics

The founding father of modern Olympic Games was a Frenchman: Pierre De Coubertin.

He helped created the ICO structure that has evolved over the years with massive influence.

Countries are joggling each four years to present their candidatures so that they could host the Olympics.

It has become quite a prestigious distinction for host nations to promote their culture and athletes.

Oh, France will be hosting the Summer Olympics in Paris in 2024, will you be there with the rest of us?