The Olympic Congress is only held every ten to fifteen years. It is a way to secure the continuous work in the Olympic Movement thus insuring the general progress and focus on Olympism and the Olympic spirit. The first Olympic Congress was held in Paris in 1894 and it saw the birth of the IOC. The latest Congress was again held in Paris in 1994 to celebrate the centenary of the IOC.


Congresses and the themes covered:

1894 in Paris: Re-establishment of the Olympic Games

1897 in Le Havre: Sports hygiene and pedagogy

1905 in Brussels: Sport and physical education

1906 in Paris: Art, literature and sport

1913 in Lausanne: Sports psychology and physiology

1914 in Paris: Olympic regulations

1921 in Lausanne: Olympic regulations

1925 in Prague: Sports pedagogy – Olympic regulations

1930 in Berlin: Olympic regulations

1973 in Varna: Sport for a world of peace – The Olympic Movement and its future

1981 in Baden-Baden: The future of the Olympic Games – International cooperation – The future Olympic Movement

1994 in Paris: The Olympic Movement’s contribution to modern society – The contemporary athlete – Sport in its social context – Sport and the mass media.