Culture
In the modern Olympic history, which counts more than a hundred years, the connection between art on the one hand and sport and the Olympics on the other hand is one of the issues that recur in the discussions of the IOC. The first time this issue was put forth officially was during a special IOC conference in 1906. It was then that was decided the organization of the Muses Pentathlon, namely art competitions that would accompany the sports games of each Olympic organization. The Muses Pentathlon was organized between 1912 (Stockholm) and 1948 (London), but did not have the prestige that the Olympic Games were acquiring at the same time. Therefore, in the 1950s it was decided to replace the art competition with a non-competitive art festival, whereas from the Barcelona Olympics (1992) these events took the form of an institution, the Cultural Olympiad.
The relation between Art and the Olympic Games does not consist only in the art competitions of the past or the events of the Cultural Olympiad of today. For example, the posters, the stamps, the medals of the Games are the creations of important artists and are found, among other exhibits, in the Olympic Museum in Lausanne. Equally popular is the music of the Games, namely the Olympic anthem and the musical theme of each organization.

 

The Olympic Games in Antiquity:
From ancient Olympia to Athens of 1896