Olympic Games

In 1896, the first modern Olympic Games was held in Athens, Greece. Since then many countries have successfully held the Olympics, such as England, France, Germany, Canada, the USA, Spain and Australia.

After more than a century the Games returns to its hometown this year. When people hold the Olympic Games, they always make an emblem. The emblem of the Athens Olympic Games this year is a white circle of olive branches in the sky.

Now Athens is developing a spirit of peace. An officer said, "While in Athens, the world should be at peace. We hope the peace is not just for a short time. We would like the message from the Athens Games to help countries come together and solve their problems."

In 2008, the Olympic Games was held in China. And China made a seal as the emblem of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. The emblem has a single Chinese character on a red seal and means "Chinese seal—dancing Beijing". Below it, there are the words "Beijing 2008". The character in the emblem is "Jing". It means "capital" of China and it is also like a runner or a dancer. The running figure of the emblem shows the spirit of the Olympics—faster, higher and stronger.