Visitors take photos of the National Stadium, dubbed the Bird's Nest on April 16, 2008 in Beijing, China.

Building the Olympic Games

A close connection between architecture, athletics, and the urban fabric is central to the idea of the modern Olympic Games.
A scoreboard bearing a quote by founder of the modern olympics Pierre de Coubertin, at the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games Wembley Stadium, London, 29th July 1948. The quotation reads: 'The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not winning but taking part. The essential thing in life is not conquering but fighting well'. Original Publication: Picture Post - 4582 - Olympic Games - pub. 14th August 1948 (Photo by Haywood Magee/Picture Post/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

The French Historian Who Invented the Olympics

Pierre de Coubertin harnessed an enduring fascination with ancient Greece to create a new institution that blended national pride with global unity.
Poster promoting the Olympic bobsled run at Lake Placid

Antisemitism at the 1932 Winter Olympics

The 1932 Winter Olympics were a small foreshadowing of what was to come in 1936 Berlin.
Damien Hooper of Australia listens to advice from his corner during the bout with Juan Carlos Carrillo of Colombia in the Boxing Men's Middle 75kg division on day 11 of the Singapore 2010 Youth Olympics at the International Convention Centre on August 25, 2010 in Singapore

How Do Indigenous Athletes Fit into the Olympics?

Olympic athletes are divided into teams of nations. To Indigenous competitors, though, that can mean representing oppressive settler-colonial states.
Russian Olympians

What Counts as Natural Athleticism?

Regulations banning performance-enhancing drugs raise as many questions as they answer.
Leni Riefenstahl

Leni Riefenstahl’s Nazi Olympics

Leni Riefenstahl was the Nazi regime’s most artistic propagandist. She is also remembered for Olympia, her documentary of the 1936 Olympics.
Heleno Bernardi art

Olympic Art: Mega Events and the Museum

Can the Olympics increase museum attendance in both the long and short-term? Carol Scott and her team proved just that in documenting Sydney's case study.
JSTOR Daily Friday Reads

The Olympics, Dave Eggers, and Your Idiot Brain

Our Friday Reads are these five new books out this week, and links to related content you won’t find anywhere else.
rio olympics

How Olympics Host Cities Hide Their Homeless

Olympic host cities have historically cleared away and marginalized their homeless in advance of the games.