Yes, there is a quiz at the end so pay close attention

Opening Ceremony

The 2008 Olympics set off magnificently. A huge opening celebration set off on the 8th of August dazzling viewers.

There were drummers, singers, dancers and many, many more. At one point,. 2,008 fau drums were beaten, and 14,000 performers entertained 91,000 people in ‘the Birds Nest’ (picture above), a HUGE stadium in Beijing, China. The performance mind-bogglingly, astoundingly AWESOME!

ChinaChina EnglandEngland AmericAmericaa

RussiaRussia

GoldGold 5151 1919 3636 2323

SilverSilver 2121 1313 3838 2121

BronzeBronze 2828 1515 3636 2828

TotalTotal 100100 4747 110110 7272

It all started in about 776 BC, around the time of Homer (No. Not Simpson but the famous poet!). It was mainly to honour Zeus, the god of all gods. Only men were allowed and all sports had to be done NAKED! Except chariot racing because it wouldn’t be very nice without clothes and Hoplite racing because there was armour.

The sports they did were:

Running

Javelin throwing

Wrestling

Discus throwing

Horse racing

Chariot racing

The Long jump

Hoplite racing

Pankration wrestling

Not next year, or the next, or the next, but the one after that, London will be hosting the Olympics of 2012.it may seem like a lot of time but already people are preparing. There are websites that are counting down. Today there are exactly 1324 days to go.

They’re not particularly modern. It just means that it’s not ancient. they have been held in many places . In fact they’ve been held in every continent except Africa.

London

1908

1948

2012

Athens

1896

2004

China

2008

When is London hosting the Olympics?

2012!

In ancient Greek times, for how many sports were they dressed?

2

Click for harder ones!