Interest in the ancient Olympics prompted the beginnings of the modern Olympics. In the mid 18th century, several British regions held Olympics style festivals. But, unlike the modern Olympics, competitors were mostly British citizens. One of the remnants of these early games is the Wenlock Olympian Society Annual Games, a much-celebrated event in England.

The French and the Greeks held athletic competitions numerous times in imitation of the ancient Olympics. These too were primarily restricted to competitors from their own countries, as travel from foreign countries would have proven very challenging and time-consuming.

In the middle of the 19th century, excavations of Olympia added fuel to the fire in terms of interest in restarting true Olympics again. One of the champions of restoring the Olympic ceremonies was Pierre de Coubertin. He felt the French badly needed athletic training, and that lack thereof was the principal reason for France’s defeat in Franco-Prussian War.

Pierre de Coubertin found an audience for his ideas at an international congress held at the Sorbonne in 1894. In response, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) was founded and determined the dates of the first modern Olympics, two years later in 1896.

To honor the original Olympics, the first modern Olympics were held in Greece. Less than 300 athletes participated. The 1900 Olympics took place in Paris, and was groundbreaking in that it allowed women to compete for the first time. Since then the modern Olympics have been divided into Winter and Summer Olympics, and continue to incorporate more sporting events.

Winter and Summer Events used to occur in the same year, always a leap year, divisible by the number 4. However, they frequently occurred at different locations. 1992 was the last year in which the Summer and Winter Olympics were held in the same year. The IOC decided to split the years so that one Olympics would occur every two years.

In 1994, the Winter Olympics were held again. Summer Olympics had to wait for the usual four years, until 1996, for their next celebration. Thus now Summer Olympics still only fall on leap years, and Winter Olympics fall either two years before or after a Summer Olympics. Both Olympics are still four years apart, after the initial two-year distance from 1992 to 1994.