Editing Olympic Games (section)

==Nations==
===Participants===
{{main|List of participating nations at the Summer Olympic Games|List of participating nations at the Winter Olympic Games}}
As of the [[2020 Summer Games]] in Tokyo, all of the current 207 NOCs (and 19 obsolete NOCs) have participated in at least one edition of the [[Summer Olympics]]. Competitors from five nations—[[Australia at the Olympics|Australia]], [[France at the Olympics|France]],{{efn|The IOC lists a French immigrant to the United States [[Albert Corey]] as a United States competitor for his marathon silver medal, but (together with four undisputed Americans) as part of a mixed team for the team race silver medal.<ref name="OR1904">{{cite book|title=The Olympic Games – 1904|author=Charles J.P. Lucas|publisher=Woodard & Tiernan|year=1905|location=St. Louis, MO|pages=47|url=http://www.la84foundation.org/6oic/OfficialReports/1904/1904lucas.pdf|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090304003336/http://www.la84foundation.org/6oic/OfficialReports/1904/1904lucas.pdf|archive-date=4 March 2009|url-status=dead|access-date=28 February 2008}}</ref><ref name="IOCdatabase">{{cite web|title=Olympic Medal Winners|publisher=International Olympic Committee|url=http://www.olympic.org/athletes|access-date=2 February 2014}}</ref>}} [[Great Britain at the Olympics|Great Britain]],{{efn|All three of [[Great Britain at the 1904 Summer Olympics|Great Britain's athletes in 1904]] were from Ireland, which at the time was part of the [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland]]. Despite the team being called "Great Britain" or "Team GB", inhabitants of Northern Ireland (and formerly the whole of Ireland) are/were eligible to join.<ref>{{cite book|last=MacCarthy|first=Kevin|title=Gold, Silver and Green: The Irish Olympic Journey 1896–1924|chapter=St Louis – Ireland's Olympic Awakening|pages=117–146|date=30 March 2010|publisher=Cork University Press|isbn=9781859184585}}</ref>}} [[Greece at the Olympics|Greece]], and [[Switzerland at the Olympics|Switzerland]]{{efn|Switzerland participated in the [[Equestrian at the 1956 Summer Olympics|equestrian events of the 1956 Games]] held in [[Stockholm]] in June,<ref name="EQ1956">{{cite book|title=The Equestrian Games of the XVI Olympiad Stockholm 1956|publisher=Esselte Aktiebolag|year=1959|location=Stockholm|pages=23|url=http://www.la84foundation.org/6oic/OfficialReports/1956/or1956eq.pdf|access-date=4 February 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080411091101/http://www.la84foundation.org/6oic/OfficialReports/1956/or1956eq.pdf|archive-date=11 April 2008|url-status=dead}}</ref> but did not attend the Games in [[Melbourne]] later that year.<ref name="OR1956">{{cite book|title=XVI Olympiad Melbourne 1956|publisher=W. M. Houston|year=1958|location=Melbourne|page=37|url=http://library.la84.org/6oic/OfficialReports/1956/OR1956.pdf|access-date=23 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140108024252/http://library.la84.org/6oic/OfficialReports/1956/OR1956.pdf|archive-date=8 January 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref>}}—have competed in all 28 Summer Olympics. Athletes competing under the Olympic flag, Mixed Teams and the [[Refugee Olympic Team at the 2016 Summer Olympics|Refugee Team]] have competed at six Summer Olympics Games.

A total of 119 NOCs (110 of the current 207 NOCs, and nine obsolete NOCs) have participated in at least one edition of the [[Winter Olympics]]. Competitors from 12 nations — [[Austria at the Olympics|Austria]], [[Canada at the Olympics|Canada]], [[Finland at the Olympics|Finland]], France, Great Britain, [[Hungary at the Olympics|Hungary]], [[Italy at the Olympics|Italy]], [[Norway at the Olympics|Norway]], [[Poland at the Olympics|Poland]], [[Sweden at the Olympics|Sweden]], Switzerland, and the [[United States at the Olympics|United States]] — have participated in all 23 Winter Games to date.

===Host nations and cities===
{{main|List of Olympic Games host cities}}{{see also|List of Olympic medals by host nation}}
[[File:Summer Olympics.svg|thumb|Map of [[Summer Olympics]] locations with countries that have hosted one Summer Olympics shaded in green and countries that have hosted two or more shaded in blue]]
[[File:Winter olympics all cities.svg|thumb|Map of [[Winter Olympics]] locations with countries that have hosted one Winter Olympics shaded in green and countries that have hosted two or more shaded in blue]]
The host city for an Olympic Games had historically been chosen seven to eight years ahead of their celebration. Beginning with the 2024 and 2028 Olympics selection process in 2017, the IOC has proceeded to announce the winning bid with a longer lead-in time in order to provide time for the winning cities/regions to prepare.<ref name="bidpro" /><ref>{{cite press release|url=https://olympics.com/ioc/news/future-olympic-games-elections-to-be-more-flexible|title=Future Olympic Games elections to be more flexible|date=2 May 2019|work=International Olympic Committee}}</ref> The process of selection is carried out in two phases that span a two-year period. The prospective host city applies to its country's National Olympic Committee; if more than one city from the same country submits a proposal to its NOC, the national committee typically holds an internal selection, since only one city per NOC can be presented to the International Olympic Committee for consideration. Once the deadline for submission of proposals by the NOCs is reached, the first phase (Application) begins with the applicant cities asked to complete a questionnaire regarding several key criteria related to the organisation of the Olympic Games.<ref name="hostcity" /> In this form, the applicants must give assurances that they will comply with the Olympic Charter and with any other regulations established by the IOC Executive Committee.<ref name="bidpro" /> The evaluation of the filled questionnaires by a specialised group provides the IOC with an overview of each applicant's project and their potential to host the Games. On the basis of this technical evaluation, the IOC Executive Board selects the applicants that will proceed to the candidature stage.<ref name="hostcity" />

Once the candidate cities are selected, they must submit to the IOC a bigger and more detailed presentation of their project as part of a candidature file. Each city is thoroughly analysed by an evaluation commission. This commission will also visit the candidate cities, interviewing local officials and inspecting prospective venue sites, and submit a report on its findings one month prior to the IOC's final decision. During the interview process the candidate city must also guarantee that it will be able to fund the Games.<ref name="bidpro" /> After the work of the evaluation commission, a list of candidates is presented to the General Session of the IOC, which must assemble in a country that does not have a candidate city in the running. The IOC members gathered in the Session have the final vote on the host city. Once elected, the host city bid committee (together with the NOC of the respective country) signs a Host City Contract with the IOC, officially becoming an Olympic host nation and host city.<ref name="bidpro" />

By 2032, the Olympic Games will have been hosted by 47 cities in 23 countries. As of 2021, since the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea, the Olympics have been held in [[Asia]] or [[Oceania]] four times, a sharp increase compared to the previous 92&nbsp;years of modern Olympic history. The 2016 Games in [[Rio de Janeiro]] were the first Olympics for a South American country. No bids from countries in Africa have succeeded, although Egypt (thrice) and South Africa (in 2004) have tried.<ref>{{Cite web|date=17 April 2024|title=Will Africa ever host the Olympic Games as Egypt prepares 2036 bid?|url=https://www.bbc.com/sport/africa/68817809|access-date=2 June 2024|website=BBC Sport|language=en-GB}}</ref>