Olympic countdown: 27 days

Have there really been 27 Games in modern Olympic history?

The Intercalated Games in Athens were extremely popular

This year's Games in Athens will officially be the 28th Olympics of the modern era.

The Olympics scheduled for 1940 and 1944, but which were cancelled because of World War II, still count as the seventh and eighth Games.

Meanwhile, there was one other 'Games' in Athens in 1906 that is not included as one of the 27 'official' Olympics.

The Interim of Intercalated Games hoped to resurrect the Olympic ideal after debacles in Paris and St Louis.

Baron Pierre de Coubertin, the founder of the modern Olympics, had hoped that a Games in Paris in 1900 would coincide perfectly with the World's Fair.

But World's Fair organisers took over, de-emphasized the importance of the Olympics and spread the events over five months.

Similarly in 1904, St Louis was hosting a world's fair, took over the hosting over the Games from Chicago and spread Olympic competition over four and half months.

Again, the impact of the Games was massively diminished and, of the 84 events generally considered central to the Olympics, only 42 featured athletes from other countries.

As a result of these previous two events, Greece offered to host an 'interim' Games in 1906.

Although Baron de Coubertin was originally against the idea, he agreed that it should go ahead but that it would not be included in the numbered sequence of modern Olympics.

They proved a success and helped carry the Olympic spirit through to the next official Games in Rome in 1908.

But it has left confusion for historians of the modern Olympics as to whether to included the medals won - or even to recognise the event at all!