Editing 1896 Summer Olympics (section)

== Reviving the Games ==

During the 19th century, several small-scale sports festivals across Europe were named after the [[Ancient Olympic Games]]. The 1870 [[Zappas Olympics|Olympics]] at the Panathenaic stadium, which had been refurbished for the occasion, had an audience of 30,000 people.{{r|Young|pp=43-44}} [[Pierre de Coubertin]], a French [[Pedagogy|pedagogue]] and historian, adopted [[William Penny Brookes]]' idea to establish a multi-national and [[multi-sport event]]—the ancient games only allowed male athletes of Greek origin to participate.<ref>Bijkerk (2004), 457</ref><ref>Toohey (2007), 20</ref> In 1890, Coubertin wrote an article in ''La Revue Athlétique'', which espoused the importance of [[Much Wenlock]], a rural market town in the English county of [[Shropshire]]. It was here that, in October 1850, the local physician William Penny Brookes founded the [[Wenlock Olympian Games]], a festival of sports and recreations that included athletics and team sports, such as [[cricket]], [[association football|football]] and [[quoits]].<ref>Mullins, "Pierre de Coubertin and the Wenlock Olympian Games"</ref> Coubertin also took inspiration from the earlier Greek games organised under the name of [[Zappas Olympics|Olympics]] by businessman and philanthropist [[Evangelis Zappas]] in 1859, 1870 and 1875.<ref>Matthews (2005), 66; Young (1996), 81</ref> The 1896 Athens Games were funded by the legacies of [[Evangelis Zappas]] and his cousin [[Konstantinos Zappas]]{{r|Young|p=117}}<ref>Memoire sure le conflit entre la Grece et la Roumanie concernant l'affaire Zappa – Athens 1893, by F. Martens</ref><ref>L'affaire Zappa – Paris 1894, by G. Streit</ref> and by [[George Averoff]]{{r|Young|p=128}} who had been specifically requested by the Greek government, through [[Constantine I of Greece|crown prince Constantine]], to sponsor the second refurbishment of the [[Panathenaic Stadium]]. The Greek government did this despite the cost of refurbishing the stadium in marble already being funded in full by Evangelis Zappas forty years earlier.{{r|Young|p=14}}

{{blockquote|quote=With deep feeling towards Baron de Coubertin's courteous petition, I send him and the members of the Congress, with my sincere thanks, my best wishes for the revival of the Olympic Games.|source=[[George I of Greece|King George]] of Greece (21 June 1894).{{r|Young|p=102}}}}

On 18 June 1894, Coubertin organised a congress at the [[University of Paris|Sorbonne]], Paris, to present his plans to representatives of sports societies from 11 countries. Following his proposal's acceptance by the congress, a date for the first modern Olympic Games needed to be chosen. Coubertin suggested that the Games be held concurrently with the 1900 [[World's Fair|Universal Exposition]] of Paris. Concerned that a six-year waiting period might lessen public interest, congress members opted instead to hold the inaugural Games in 1896. With a date established, members of the congress turned their attention to the selection of a host city. It remains a mystery how Athens was finally chosen to host the inaugural Games. In the following years, both Coubertin and [[Demetrius Vikelas]] would offer recollections of the selection process that contradicted the official minutes of the congress. Most accounts hold that several congressmen first proposed London as the location, but Coubertin dissented. After a brief discussion with Vikelas, who represented Greece, Coubertin suggested Athens. Vikelas made the Athens proposal official on 23 June, and since Greece had been the original home of the Olympics, the congress unanimously approved the decision. Vikelas was then elected the first president of the newly established [[International Olympic Committee]] (IOC).{{r|Young|pp=100–105}}