Updated: July 12, 2021, 11:54 am
The Panathenaic Olympic stadium in Athens, Greece, in 1896.
When the Olympic Games begin in Tokyo this month, they will feature in excess of 11,000 participants from 200-plus countries, battling for more than 1,000 medals in 33 different sports.
The eyes of the world will be focused on an extravaganza that was delayed due to the Covid pandemic in 2020 but which is being staged this year despite concerns from many Japanese people about the rationale for them taking place with the virus still rampant in large parts of the globe.
However, the IOC seems determined to proceed with these Games without frontiers and the BBC is committed to broadcasting up to 350 hours of coverage from the myriad venues hosting competitions.