The Modern Olympic Movement

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Early historic records indicate that the first Ancient Olympic Games began in 776 B.C. The core values of the Olympics first began to develop into benchmarks of human creativity and excellence. Over the centuries, the Games would illuminate examples of extraordinary achievement. They would become a celebration of noble competition and the educational value of sport. In 393 A.D., Emperor Theodosius abolished them for being "too pagan".

In 1896, Pierre de Coubertin, Dimitrios Vikelas, and other contributors, helped initiate the first Modern Olympic Games. These games took place in the country of their birth. In the century to follow, the Games travelled to countries around the world, encompassing a wide range of cultures and civilisations, facing new challenges, growing, and evolving.

According to the Olympic Charter, established by Pierre de Coubertin, the goal of the Olympic Movement is to contribute to building a peaceful and better world by educating youth through sport practised without discrimination of any kind and in the Olympic spirit, which requires mutual understanding with a spirit of friendship, solidarity and fair play.

After a detailed evaluation of the cities in question, the IOC Session awards a city the right to organise an edition of the Olympic Games or the Olympic Winter Games in its country. The IOC monitors the preparations of these Games through a Co-ordination Commission specially created to work with the Organising Committee of the Olympic Games (OCOG).

The tradition of the Olympic Truce dates back to the 9th century B.C., in Ancient Greece. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) decided to revive this ancient concept in order to protect the interests of the athletes and sports in general. In July 2000, the International Olympic Truce Foundation (IOTF) was created with a view to promoting peace through sport and the Olympic ideal.

Check that you understand what these words mean in this document
Core value: the most important.
Benchmark: a standard by which something can be measured.
Creativity: the ability to produce new ideas or things using skill and imagination.
To illuminate examples of extraordinary achievement: to show something very good and difficult that one has succeeded in doing.
To abolish: to end an activity. 
To encompass: to include a lot of things, ideas, places, etc.
Challenge: a difficult situation that you must find a way to overcome.
Charter: a document which describes the rights of an organisation or institution.
To contribute: to add one’s effort in doing something.
Discrimination: unfair treatment of a person because of that person’s beliefs or race.
Mutual understanding: understanding of each other.
Solidarity: unity and agreement of feeling or action.
IOC: (stands for) International Olympic Committee.
Session: a meeting.
To monitor: to keep an eye on, to watch and observe.
Co-ordination Commission: a group of people who are given the job to watch the progress of the preparations for the games.
Organising Committee: a group of people who are given the job to make all the necessary preparations for an event.
Truce: a condition in which the fighting parties in a war agree to stop fighting for a period of time.
To revive: to restore by making something active again.
Concept: an abstract or general idea.