Summer Olympics Cities

The modern history of the Summer Olympics dates back to 1896, when the games first were revived in Athens, Greece. In the years since,  bidding for the Games has  become big business, and cities and countries stage lively competitions for the rights to host the world’s biggest sporting event and party.

Beijing is up in 2008. London already has been awarded the 2012 Summer Games, and the 2016 site has yet to be determined.

Where have the flags been raised in previous years?

Here’s the list:

2004 — Athens, Greece

2000 — Sydney, Australia

1996 — Atlanta, Georgia

1992 — Barcelona, Spain

1988 — Seoul, Korea

1984 — Los Angeles, California

1980 — Moscow, USSR

1976 – Montreal, Canada

1972 — Munich, Germany

1968 — Mexico City, Mexico

1964 — Tokyo, Japan

1960 — Rome, Italy

1956 — Melbourne, Australia (Equestrian events were held in Stockholm, Sweden.)

1952 — Helsinki, Finland

1948 — London, England

1944 — (Canceled by World War II)

1940 — (Scheduled for Sapporo, Japan; canceled by World War II)

1936 — Berlin, Germany

1932 — Los Angeles, California

1928 — Amsterdam, The Netherlands

1924 — Paris, France

1920 — Antwerp, Belgium

1916 — (Scheduled for Berlin; canceled by World War I)

1912 — Stockholm, Sweden

1908 — London, England

1904 — St. Louis, Missouri

1900 – Paris, France

1896 — Athens, Greece

Source: Olympic.org