--- description: The four-year intervals for the Olympics are a tradition that dates back to when the games first began in Ancient Greece. Here's why. title: Why Are the Olympics Held Every Four Years? image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt784b0f8a02364aae/698a5896db2987673b26bd4b/GettyImages-2160843378.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Sports](/section/sports/) ## Sports Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [2024 Paris Olympics](/tag/2024-paris-olympics/) ## 2024 Paris Olympics Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Why Are the Olympics Held Every Four Years? ## Video: Ralph Lauren Releases Its Uniform Lineup for the Paris 2024 Olympics [Watch (HLS stream): Ralph Lauren Releases Its Uniform Lineup for the Paris 2024 Olympics](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/ICtu8DyH.m3u8) (2:20)  _Published 2024-06-17. American fashion company Ralph Lauren revealed its full collection of uniforms for Olympic athletes competing in the Paris 2024 Olympics._  by [Simmone Shah](/author/simmone-shah/)  ## Simmone Shah Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Reporter Jul 10, 2024 9:23 PM CUT  This photograph shows the Olympic Rings displayed at the construction site of the Eiffel Tower Stadium for the upcoming Paris 2024 Olympics and Paralympic Games which will host the Beach Volleyball and men's Blind Football competitions, at the Champ-De-Mars in Paris on July 10, 2024. This photograph shows the Olympic Rings displayed at the construction site of the Eiffel Tower Stadium for the upcoming Paris 2024 Olympics and Paralympic Games which will host the Beach Volleyball and men's Blind Football competitions, at the Champ-De-Mars in Paris on July 10, 2024.DIMITAR DILKOFF/AFP— Getty Images  by [Simmone Shah](/author/simmone-shah/)  ## Simmone Shah Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Reporter Jul 10, 2024 9:23 PM CUT Viewers around the world will come together to watch athletes compete [in the Olympics in Paris ](https://time.com/6996571/paris-2024-olympics-cost/ "undefined")this summer, four years since they last saw gymnasts, swimmers, and cyclists compete. The summer and winter games each occur in four-year intervals—a tradition that dates back to when the games first began in Ancient Greece. The timing of the games originated with the first Olympics, which were believed to have been held in 776 BC in ancient Greece, according to the [International Olympics Committee](https://olympics.com/en/news/the-history-of-the-olympic-games "undefined"). Time was thenmeasured in “Olympiads,” which demarcated a four-year period. The Olympics were held at the beginning of each Olympiad to honor the Greek god Zeus. The ancient games continued to be celebrated in Olympia in Greece for more than a thousand years, but were abandoned after the Christian emperor Theodosius I forbade the celebration of pagan cults, including the Olympic Games, in 393 AD. Several attempts were made at the end of the 19th century to bring back the games, but were unsuccessful until Pierre de Coubertin, a French educator and founder of the modern Olympics games, [began rallying ](https://olympics.com/ioc/pierre-de-coubertin "undefined")to resurrect the games in 1892\. He drew [inspiration](https://olympics.com/ioc/pierre-de-coubertin/ancient-games-as-modern-inspiration "undefined") from the ancient Games, including the timing. **Read More:** [_The Different Prizes Olympic Champs Can Win—Depending on Their Country and Sport_](https://time.com/6996826/olympic-gold-medal-prize-money-countries-sports-federations/ "undefined") [From 1924 to 1992](https://olympics.com/ioc/faq/history-and-origin-of-the-games/since-when-have-the-summer-and-winter-games-no-longer-been-held-in-the-same-year "undefined"), the summer and winter games wereheld in the same year, until the International Olympics Committee instituted a change, deciding to hold the summer games during the first year of an Olympiad and the winter games during the third year. There have only been a handful of times when the Games did not occur in a four-year period, including in 1916 during [World War I](https://olympics.com/en/news/the-history-of-the-olympic-games "undefined") and during the COVID-19 pandemic, when the 2020 Tokyo games were pushed to 2021. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/6997167/olympics-four-years-timing-history/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/6997167/olympics-four-years-timing-history/"},"headline":"Why Are the Olympics Held Every Four Years?","datePublished":"2024-07-10T21:23:12.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-24T17:55:23.076Z","description":"The answer goes back to ancient history.","url":"https://time.com/6997167/olympics-four-years-timing-history/","keywords":["2024 Paris Olympics","Explainer","News Desk","sponsorshipblock"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt784b0f8a02364aae/698a5896db2987673b26bd4b/GettyImages-2160843378.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Simmone Shah","jobTitle":"Reporter","url":"https://time.com/author/simmone-shah/"}],"articleSection":"Sports","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt784b0f8a02364aae/698a5896db2987673b26bd4b/GettyImages-2160843378.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"FRANCE-OLY-PARIS-2024-VENUE","caption":"FRANCE-OLY-PARIS-2024-VENUE","creditText":"DIMITAR DILKOFF/AFP— Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/sports/","name":"Sports"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/2024-paris-olympics/","name":"2024 Paris Olympics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/6997167/olympics-four-years-timing-history/","name":"Why Are the Olympics Held Every Four Years?"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Ralph Lauren Releases Its Uniform Lineup for the Paris 2024 Olympics","description":"American fashion company Ralph Lauren revealed its full collection of uniforms for Olympic athletes competing in the Paris 2024 Olympics.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/ICtu8DyH/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2024-06-17T22:03:14.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/ICtu8DyH.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/6997167/olympics-four-years-timing-history/","duration":"PT2M20S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/6997167/olympics-four-years-timing-history/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```