A multi-sport event is an organized sporting event, often held over multiple days, featuring competition in many different sports among organized teams of athletes from (mostly) nation-states . The first major, modern, multi-sport event of international significance was the Olympic Games , first held in modern times in 1896 in Athens, Greece , and inspired by the Ancient Olympic Games , one of a number of such events held in antiquity. Most modern multi-sport events have the same basic structure. Games are held over the course of several days in and around a "host city", which changes for each competition. Countries send national teams to each competition, consisting of individual athletes and teams that compete in a wide variety of sports. Athletes or teams are awarded gold , silver or bronze medals for first, second and third place respectively. Each game is generally held every four years, though some are annual competitions.
24-542: The Afro-Asian Games were the series of inter-continental multi-sport competitions, held between athletes from Asia and Africa . These Games are one-of-a-kind, since no other sporting competition brings athletes from these two continents together for one event, excluding the Olympic Games . These Games are supposed to be held once every four years. They are jointly supervised by the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA), and
48-978: A footrace and the number of sporting competitions expanded at later editions. There were several other "games" held in Europe in the classical era : Other multi-sport festivals emerged in the Middle Ages in Europe, including the Cotswold Olimpick Games in England in the 1600s, the Highland Games in Scotland , and the Olympiade de la République in France in the 1800s. In the late 19th and early 20th century, athletes at multi-sport events were almost exclusively male. As international women's sport began to develop, events such as
72-495: A long-distance equestrian ride. Many other sports that are rarer or less commonly thought of as winter sports today were also included, such as horse-driven sledding , glima , hunting , skiing behind reindeer ( a.k.a. skijoring ), military sports , car racing , motorcycle racing , ballooning , kick-sled , and pulka racing. The sport of bandy was featured at the Nordic Games beginning in 1901. The final match in 1901
96-805: A national concern for our entire people." They were held every four years thereafter through 1926. Many believe that this event led to the implementation of the Winter Olympics as we know them today. The Nordic Games began as an effort to bolster both Swedish national sentiment along with Swedish tourism . The Nordic Games featured not only the snow and ice related sports that the country excelled in but also showcased Swedish cultural events such as theatre, opera and folklore. Tourist attractions were also highlighted. Similar games were held in Helsinki in Finland in 1907. According to some sources these were Nordic Games, but it
120-630: A selected group of athletes, rather than everybody, which was the case with the Olympic Games. The Soviets organized the first Spartakiad in 1920, a communist alternative to the 'bourgeois' Olympic Games, and in 1922 the University Olympia was organizedor in Italy , the forerunner of the World University Games , meant for students only. Regional games were another kind of multi-sport event that
144-470: Is unclear whether they were formally named Nordic Games or not. The Nordic Games consisted of the winter sports that were popular in Scandinavia at the time, such as ski jumping , downhill racing , cross-country skiing , skeleton , speed skating , figure skating , hockey (which at the time was a term used for bandy ) and curling . Some non-winter sports were also included like fencing , swimming and
168-544: The Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa (ANOCA). The Afro-Asian Games witness the participation of Asian and African National Olympic Committees (NOCs), along with a few Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) nations. The inaugural Afro-Asian Games were held in 2003 in Hyderabad , India . Algiers, Algeria was "ready" to host the second Afro-Asian Games, scheduled to be held from July to August 2007. However,
192-643: The International Paralympic Committee (IPC). Arranged for the first time in 1960 in Rome , Italy . The number of sports, initially only a few, is still growing. The first Special Olympics International Summer Games were held in Chicago , Illinois, in 1968. The most recent Special Olympics World Winter Games in Schladming, Austria involved 25 sports and approximately 2,277 athletes from 133 countries. At
216-678: The Women's World Games and Olympics of Grace were held to allow women to engage in sport on the international stage. Though short-lived, events such as these led to greater inclusion of women at multi-sport events over the course of the 20th century. Although the modern tradition commemorates the 1921 revolution , the Naadam festival in Mongolia is a continuation of ancient sporting practises amongst Mongolians. The three events of wrestling, horse racing and archery are thought to date back centuries and represent
240-473: The 1917 tournament and came fourth (out of six teams) after losing their matches with 0-13 (Stockholm, semifinals) and 0-16 (Västmanland, match for third prize). The Danes were also invited to the 1922 game, but despite an unusually bandy-friendly winter in Denmark that year, they abstained. During the Nordic Games in 1917, the bandy SM semi-finals and final were also decided as part of the arrangements. In 1922 it
264-650: The Games were indefinitely postponed. The President of the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa (ANOCA), Lassana Palenfo , said that: It is impossible for us to host the Afro-Asian Games, as the Asians have failed to line up their gold medalists. Multi-sport The Ancient Olympic Games , first held in 776 BC, was the precursor to the Modern Olympic Games , although its first edition only featured
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#1732855645086288-664: The Nordic Games's discontinuation in the 1920s. The Nordic Games began in Stockholm in February 1901, after being conceived in 1899 by the Swedish Central Association for the Promotion of Sports (SCFIF) led by Viktor Balck, a well-known Swedish sports figure. He is quoted as saying, "Above all we placed the national goal of rendering a service to the fatherland and bringing honor to our country." The Nordic Games have now become
312-574: The Olympic Games, organised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) (est. 1894) for the first time in 1896 in Athens , Greece . After some celebrations (1900, 1904), the Olympics became very popular nowadays. The number of sports, initially only a few, is still growing. The Paralympic Games is the largest multi-sport event involving athletes with physical disabilities and is organized by
336-583: The Summer Olympics. The Nordic Games mainly included only competitors from the Nordic countries of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Sweden, and Norway. These countries ended up opposing the establishment of a separate Winter Olympics because it would take away from their nationalistic efforts. Sweden and Norway had political differences during this time which led Norway to cease participation in the games, which caused some controversy. After Viktor Balck died in 1928, there
360-637: The World Championship Events for Ladies and Pairs, who were not recognised before this. Balck was known as the ISU president with the longest tenure of 30 years of any president before him. He was elected the first honorary president of the ISU. All of his participation helped the Olympics take hold. The Winter Olympics as we know it today began in Chamonix , France in 1924. Prior to this time, some winter sports such as figure skating and ice hockey were held during
384-579: The beginning of the 20th century, another multi-sport event, the Nordic Games were first held. These Games were held in Scandinavia , and the sports conducted were winter sports such as cross-country skiing and speed skating . The Nordic Games were last held in 1926, after which the 1924 Winter Sports Week in Chamonix was declared the first Olympic Winter Games . In the 1920s, all kinds of other multi-sport events were set up. These were usually directed for
408-591: The first Games for deaf athletes. The Stoke Mandeville Wheelchair Games , incepted in 1948 in England, were the first Games for wheelchair athletes. In 1960, the first Paralympic Games were held, connected with the Olympic Games . The Special Olympics World Games , for athletes with intellectual disabilities, were first held in 1968. Nordic Games The Nordic Games were the first international multi-sport event that focused primarily on winter sports , and were held at varying intervals between 1901 and 1926. It
432-493: The first to lead to international championships in winter sports. For example, the skating championships raised the international appeal of the Nordic Games. Viktor Balck, the founder of the Nordic Games, was also a charter member of the International Olympic Committee and a president of the International Skating Union . He is credited with holding the ISU together through the end of World War I. He also established
456-409: The three most important pursuits of a strong man in nomadic society. Alongside these sporting events there are other cultural activities such as dances and parades. Since the establishment of the Olympics, most serial multi-sport events have been organized for specific audiences and participating countries or communities. These affiliations include: The first modern multi-sport event organised were
480-776: The way to the final, AIK defeated the Copenhagen Skating Association 3-0. In 1913, seven teams participated and IFK Helsinki was responsible for the non-Swedish element. The Finns lost however, already in the quarterfinals with 4-2 against the final winners AIK . Even a German team, Leipziger HK, would have participated in 1913, but was absent because the event clashed with the 1913 European Bandy Championships (Bandy-EM) in Switzerland. The 1913 European Bandy Championships had been won by England and had six more participating nations: Germany, Switzerland, Italy, France, Belgium and Holland. Denmark's Bandy Union participated in
504-544: Was a national team tournament and Sweden beat Norway 13-1 in the semifinals in the first meeting between the two countries. Because the Norwegians at that time played 7-man a side bandy, a match was also arranged between Norway and a Stockholm by combining it into a smaller one, the variant. It was this match that Stockholmers won 7-2. In the last Nordic Games in 1926, the bandy tournament existed between provincial teams with Norway as foreign element. The Nordic Games were one of
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#1732855645086528-728: Was established, such as the Far Eastern Championship Games (1913), the Central American and Caribbean Games (1926) or the Pan American Games (1951). The Olympic Games are still the largest multi-sport event in the world in terms of worldwide interest and importance (though no longer in participation), but several others also have significance. Other Games are intended for handicapped or disabled athletes. The International Silent Games , first held in Paris in 1924, were
552-431: Was organized by Sweden's Swedish Central Association for the Promotion of Athletics , and more specifically by Viktor Balck , a member of that association and one of the five original members of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). It was, in many ways, a precursor to the modern Winter Olympic Games , whose success was a contributing factor (along with the social and economic turmoil following World War I ) to
576-478: Was the second real bandy match played in Sweden. The first took place between the same teams earlier the same year and was won by Stockholm 4-1. As many as 16 teams took part in the 1905 game. In the 1909 game, AIK participated as "Swedish Football Association A", while the "B-team" was beaten in the final which consisted of players from IFK Uppsala , Djurgårdens IF , IFK Gävle , IFK Stockholm and The Sea Cadets. On
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