Syracuse

“Olympism is a philosophy of life, exalting and combining in a balanced whole the qualities of body, will and mind. Blending sport with culture and education, Olympism seeks to create a way of life based on the joy of effort, the educational value of good example, social responsibility and respect for universal fundamental ethical principles.”

This fundamental principle, taken from the current Olympic Charter, clearly underlines the humanistic nature of Olympism and its aspirations to develop not only individuals, but also society at large. Pierre de Coubertin himself was guided by this humanistic goal, and it was this vision that saw him seek to revive the Olympic Games.

Coubertin gave many explanations as to what he considered Olympism – or as he sometimes called it, the “Olympic idea” – to be, without providing a single, definitive definition. As he set about launching the first edition of the revived Games in Athens in 1896, the term “Olympism” was almost entirely absent from his writings. While it appeared surreptitiously in 1894 in a text about American football, it was not until the 1910s that the notion of Olympism began appearing more and more frequently in his published texts and speeches.

The first use of the term “Olympism” in the Olympic Charter dates back to 1933, when a quote from a speech delivered by Coubertin in 1927 was included in the section entitled “International Olympic Committee”, outlining the organisation’s goals. At its December 1981 meeting, the IOC Executive Board created a working group to undertake a major review of the Olympic Charter. As part of this process, the group decided that a definition, based on Coubertin’s concept of Olympism, should be added to the Charter, and it was included for the first time in 1991 (Fundamental Principle, paragraph 2, p. 7).

The pursuit of this ideal and the other “fundamental principles of Olympism” set out in the Olympic Charter gives rise to a series of values and activities that are powerfully conveyed at the time of the Olympic Games, and also between each edition of the Games, by the IOC and the whole Olympic Movement, covering topics such as solidarity, gender equality, development through sport, peace, education and culture and sustainability.

Olympism is universal and fluid; it adapts to different cultures around the world and to the challenges of modern societies. To this end, the Olympism365 strategy and the recent introduction of Olympic Agenda 2020+5 aim to secure greater solidarity, increased sustainability and a reinforced focus on the role of sport in society. To help you explore the numerous perspectives on Olympism in more detail, we have put together a list of the most relevant publications to enhance your understanding of the concept of Olympism and how it has evolved, from Pierre de Coubertin to today. We recommend reading “Olympism and Olympic education: back to the roots” by Michael Krüger, “Coubertin’s Olympism” by Norbert Müller, “Olympic Philosophy” by Heather L. Reid and our own Reference document "Olympism: from Coubertin to the present day". If you are interested in education on Olympism, don’t miss our ZOOM IN page on Olympic education.

Note however that this is just a selection of the resources available on this topic in the Olympic World Library, so be sure to check out the full list of resources via the link at the bottom of the page, or search in the full catalogue for other topics of interest.