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The Olympic programme
EDITORIAL
The Olympic programme has changed considerably since the first Games of the modern era in 1896. While the programme for the very first Summer Games included nine sports and 43 events, the Rio Games featured 306 events across 28 sports. This is not a fixed number: through Olympic Agenda 2020, more flexibility is afforded to Host Cities and International Sports Federations (IFs) in order to introduce innovation, sustainability and increase gender balance. The Winter Games programme has also evolved since 1924; there were 16 events at the first edition, while in PyeongChang there will be 102.
Today, the programme is reviewed after each edition of the Games. The Olympic Programme Commission is responsible for carrying out this process. Made up of IOC members, and representatives from the National Olympic Committees (NOCs), the International Federations (Ifs), and the athletes, the Commission analyses the sports and events to be included on the Olympic Games programme. The Commission submits its recommendations to the IOC Executive Board and presents reports to the IOC Session.
With the implementation of Olympic Agenda 2020, the process of establishing the Olympic programme changed in order to enhance the popularity of the Games while ensuring that the numbers of athletes, and the cost and complexity of the event, remain manageable. As part of this new process the Organising Committees of the Olympic Games (OCOGs) now have the opportunity to propose (only for their edition of the Games) additional events in new sports not included in the Olympic programme but popular in their country. The Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee was the first OCOG able to propose and include five new sports for the next edition of the Summer Games.
You will find all the details concerning the current process of establishing the Olympic programme, and which starts 7 years out from every edition of the Games, into the Factsheet on the Olympic programme. We also encourage you to have a look at the document Olympic Agenda 2020, and in particular the Recommendations 9 and 10, that reflect the current cap to the overall size of the Olympic Games and the Winter Games, in order to help control cost and complexity. Finally, since their creation in 2010, the Youth Olympic Games have contributed to the Olympic programme as a testing ground for IFs to proposed new events and try out new competition formats.
In this ZOOM IN page, we have compiled a series of official and academic publications to help you understand and research further into this complex subject, whether you’re interested in one particular sport or edition of the Games, or in the evolution of the programme. We encourage you to check out the useful links provided, where you will find plenty of information about the forthcoming editions of the Games. The selection below also includes two other components of the Olympic programme: demonstration sports and art competitions. The latter formed part of the Olympic Games from 1912 to 1948, and were part of the original intention of Pierre de Coubertin, the founder of the modern Olympic Games.
USEFUL LINKS
FAQs on Olympic programme (sports, programme on results)
On Olympic.org, the pages dedicated to the Olympic programme commission and sports
The factsheets on the Olympic programme (Summer and Winter and Youth Olympic Games)
The Olympic Charter (in force as from 17 July 2020) : section III, chapter 5 dedicated to the “Programme of the Olympic Games”.
Olympic Agenda 2020: 20+20 recommendations. IOC, 2014. Recommendation 9 - Set a framework for the Olympic programme; Recommendation 10 - Move from a sport-based to an event-based programme; Recommendation 11 - Foster gender equality
Olympic Programme Beijing 2022
Olympic Programme Tokyo 2020
Olympic Programme PyeongChang 2018
Event Programme: 3rd Winter Youth Olympic Games - Lausanne 2020
Olympic Programme: 3rd Summer Youth Olympic Games - Buenos Aires 2018
General IOC evaluation criterias: sports and disciplines ; Olympic programme - Host city proposal - Evaluation criteria for events
Videos
Tokyo 2020: Five new sports join the Olympic programme
Tokyo 2020: New events bring youth, women and urban focus
IOC press releases
Summer Olympic Games Paris 2024
27.03.2019: IOC Executive Board accepts Paris 2024 proposal for new sports
Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022
18.07.2018: Future Games sports programmes full of passion and excitement
Summer Olympic Games Tokyo 2020
09.06.2017: Tokyo 2020 event programme to see a major boost for female participation, Youth and Urban appeal
03.08.2016: Tokyo 2020: IOC approves five new sports for Olympic Games Tokyo 2020
Other articles on new sports on Olympic.org
Olympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018
03.04.2017: The Athletes Hub - PyeongChang 2018: What’s new? The 4 events set to debut at PyeongChang 2018
08.06.2015: New events to boost female participation, youth appeal for PyeongChang 2018 - Executive Board also approves evaluation criteria for events proposed by Tokyo 2020
Youth Olympic Games Buenos Aires 2018
03.03.2017: Roller Speed added to the Buenos Aires 2018 event programme
06.12.2016: Three new sports to join Buenos Aires 2018 YOG programme