Summer Olympic Games events vs. the 10 from Greece. Ancient Greece was the birthplace of the Olympic Games, consequently Athens was perceived to be an appropriate choice to stage the inaugural modern Games. It was unanimously chosen as the host city during a congress organised by Pierre de Coubertin, a French pedagogue and historian, in Paris, on 23 June 1894. The IOC was also established during this congress. Despite many obstacles and setbacks, the 1896 Olympics were regarded as a great success. The Games had the largest international participation of any sporting event to that date. Panathinaiko Stadium, the first big stadium in
Independent Olympians at the Olympic Games an NOC occurred as an Olympic Games were underway. Kuwaiti athletes competed as independent, as the Kuwait Olympic Committee was suspended by the International Olympic Committee due to governmental interference. This was the second suspension in five years; the first suspension resulted in Kuwaiti athletes being forced to compete under the Olympic flag as "Athletes from Kuwait" for the 2010 Asian Games. Fehaid Al-Deehani became the first Independent Olympic Athlete to win a gold medal. Like with gold medalists of the Unified Team at the 1992 Winter and Summer Olympics, the Olympic Hymn was played in the victory ceremony. Refugees