The history of the Olympics
BBC Sport Online brings you the history of the Olympics in this clickable guide, with news on all the headline makers from 1896-1996.

Atlanta 1996
The Olympic flame was movingly lit by Muhammad Ali, and when the competition got underway there were some outstanding performances.

Barcelona 1992
The 1992 Games have been seen as one of the best Olympiads ever, and not one nation boycotted the Olympics.

Seoul 1988
Politics finally took a back-seat as all leading nations except Cuba and Ethiopia came together for the Games.

Los Angeles 1984
Four years after the Americans boycotted Moscow, the Soviet Union team did not compete in Los Angeles.

Moscow 1980
The 1980 Games were the first held in a country under communist rule, and were marred by a boycott in protest at the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.

Montreal 1976
Planning errors and strikes caused construction costs to spiral and the Games got underway with building cranes still dominating the surroundings.

Munich 1972
The 1972 Games were overshadowed by a terrorist attack on the Israeli team which left 11 athletes dead.

Mexico City 1968
The high altitude of Mexico City made life uncomfortable for the distance runners, but elsewhere Olympic and World records crashed.

Tokyo 1964
Asia hosted its first Games and an estimated $3bn was spent on stadiums and transport facilities.

Rome 1960
These were the first Games to have worldwide television coverage and there were 100,000 in the Olympic Stadium for the opening ceremony.

Melbourne 1956
The first ever south-of-the-equator Olympics posed problems for many athletes from Europe and America.

Helsinki 1952
Russian athletes return to Olympic action for the first time since 1912, but now they were representing a communist Soviet Union.

London 1948
A record number of 59 countries attended the first post-War Games in London with Dutch athlete Fanny Blankers-Koen the leading star.

Berlin 1936
The Games were held under the shadow of Nazism but it was the black American athlete Jesse Owens who shone brightest.

Los Angeles 1932
The LA Games found the world in a crippling depression, but the IOC supplemented athletes with transportation and food benefits.

Amsterdam 1928
After three unsuccessful attempts to stage the Games in Amsterdam, the Dutch finally succeeded in 1928, where the Germans made their first appearance for 16 years.

Paris 1924
The 1924 Games saw American William DeHart Hubbard became the first individual black athlete to win a gold medal.

Antwerp 1920
After an enforced absence in 1916 due to World War One, the Olympics made a welcome return in 1920.

Stockholm 1912
The 1912 Games in Stockholm was when American Indian Jim Thorpe was named the greatest athlete in the world.

London 1908
London stepped in to take over from Rome and a new stadium was rapidly constructed in ten months at White City.

St Louis 1904
Originally awarded to Chicago, World's Fair organisers in St Louis threatened to organise a rival sporting tournament.

Paris 1900
Female athletes competed in the Olympics for the first time but they made up only about 20 of the total number of competitors that exceeded 1000.

Athens 1896
The first of the modern Olympic Games was staged in Athens with just over 200 men, representing 14 countries, competing.