The modern summer Olympic Games began in Athens, Greece in 1896. The winter counterpart was initiated at Chamonix, France in 1924. From 1924 through 1992, the winter and summer games were staged every four years, but were both held in the same year. So, for example, the 1976 winter games were held in Innsbruck, Austria followed by the Montreal summer games later in the year.After the 1992 games, it was decided to stagger the games so that one or the other would be held every second year. As a result, the winter games in Albertville, Canada (1992) and Lillehammer, Norway (1994) were the only same-season Olympic games held two years apart.
For more on the site of the first winter Olympic Games, which is also on the route of the annual Tour de France bicycle race, go to http://www.chamonix.com
Here is a complete list of the games held to date (source - http://www.olympic.org/uk/games/index_uk.asp ):
Olympic Summer Games:
(Click on links below to learn more)
Athens 1896
Paris 1900
St. Louis 1904
London 1908
Stockholm 1912
Antwerp 1920
Paris 1924
Amsterdam 1928
Los Angeles 1932
Berlin 1936
London 1948
Helsinki 1952
Melbourne 1956
Rome 1960
Tokyo 1964
Mexico City 1968
Munich 1972
Montreal 1976
Moscow 1980
Los Angeles 1984
Seoul 1988
Barcelona 1992
Atlanta 1996
Sydney 2000
Athens 2004
Beijing 2008
Olympic Winter Games:
Chamonix 1924
St. Moritz 1928
Lake Placid 1932
Garmisch-Partenkirchen 1936
St. Moritz 1948
Oslo 1952
Cortina d'Ampezzo 1956
Squaw Valley 1960
Innsbruck 1964
Grenoble 1968
Sapporo 1972
Innsbruck 1976
Lake Placid 1980
Sarajevo 1984
Calgary 1988
Albertville 1992
Lillehammer 1994
Nagano 1998
Salt Lake City 2002
Turino 2006
The closing ceremonies of the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turino, Italy
