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Number of Sports at the Olympic Games

At the first Olympic Games in 1896 there were nine sports contested: Artistic Gymnastics, Athletics, Cycling (Road & Track), Fencing, Shooting, Swimming, Tennis, Weightlifting, Greco-Roman Wrestling.



Since that time many sports have been added (and some removed too) from the program. The sport count total from different sources do not always correspond, as some disciplines are sometimes counted as separate sports, such as swimming, diving, water polo being counted as aquatics, road and track cycling as just cycling.

In 2024 in Paris there will officially be 32 sports contested, and one less than in 2021, and in 2028 there may be up to 36 sports. See our list of Changes to Olympic Sports.

Olympiad Year Host City, Country no. of sports
XXXIV 2028 Los Angeles, USA 36?
XXXIII 2024 Paris, France 32
XXXII 2020 Tokyo, Japan 33
XXXI 2016 Rio, Brazil 28
XXX 2012 London, England 26
XXIX 2008 Beijing, China 28
XXVIII 2004 Athens, Greece 28
XXVII 2000 Sydney, Australia 28
XXVI 1996 Atlanta, USA 26
XXV 1992 Barcelona, Spain 25
XXIV 1988 Seoul, South Korea 23
XXIII 1984 Los Angeles, USA 21
XXII 1980 Moscow, USSR 21
XXI 1976 Montreal, Canada 21
XX 1972 Munich, Germany 21
XIX 1968 Mexico City, Mexico 18
XVIII 1964 Tokyo, Japan 19
XVII 1960 Rome, Italy 17
XVI 1956 Melbourne, Australia 17
XV 1952 Helsinki, Finland 17
XIV 1948 London, Great Britain 17
XI 1936 Berlin, Germany 19
X 1932 Los Angeles, USA 14
IX 1928 Amsterdam, Holland 14
VIII 1924 Paris, France 17
VII 1920 Antwerp, Belgium 22
V 1912 Stockholm, Sweden 14
IV 1908 London, Great Britain 22
  1906 Athens, Greece 13
III 1904 St Louis, USA 16
II 1900 Paris, France 19
I 1896 Athens, Greece 9


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Olympics Extra

The next Olympics will be in Paris 2024, followed by the Winter edition in Milan-Cortina 2026. Check out the list of Olympic Games sports, as well as discontinued and demonstration sports.

Major Events Extra

The largest sporting event in the world is the Olympic Games, but there are many other multi-sport games. In terms of single sport events, nothing beats the FIFA World Cup. To see what's coming up, check out the calendar of major sporting events.

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