President of the International Olympic Committee congress. Athens was approved to host the 1896 Olympic Games, being the original home of the Olympics, and Vikelas was duly chosen as the first President of the IOC. Pierre, Baron de Coubertin, took over the IOC presidency when Demetrius Vikelas stepped down after the Olympics in his own country. Despite its initial success, the Olympic Movement faced hard times, as the 1900 Games (in de Coubertin's own Paris) and 1904 Games were both upstaged by World's Fairs—Exposition Universelle in 1900 and Louisiana Purchase Exposition in 1904—and received little attention. The 1906 Intercalated Games revived the momentum, and the Olympic
Hellenic Olympic Committee the Olympic Games (, E.O.A.) and became a member of the International Olympic Committee in 1895. E.O.A organized 1896 Summer Olympics, first in modern history, in restored Panathenaic Stadium, who was held from 6 to 15 April. In 1899, Greek government gave to E.O.A. full responsibility to cooperate with other sport federations, spreads the Olympic spirit and its structure of the 12 members, led by the president. When Athens was chosen as the host city of the 2004 Summer Olympics during the 106th IOC Session held in Lausanne on 5 September 1997, in 2000 the E.O.A. changed its name to