The idea of creating the International Physics Olympiad was conceived in Eastern Bloc countries, inspired by the 1959 established International Mathematical Olympiad. Poland seemed to offer the best conditions at the time, and so the first IPhO was held in Warsaw in 1967, organized by Prof. Czesław Ścisłowski. Some months prior to the competition, all Central European countries were invited, and the five countries Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Poland and Romania participated. Each country sent a delegation of three students and one supervisor. Already in this first edition, the competition consisted of two exams, one theoretical and one experimental, and the students went on excursions while their exams were marked.