It's the Olympic Games! Trivia Quiz

Answer: Every four years

Every four years there are the Summer Olympic Games, the Winter Olympic Games, and the Paralympic Games.

The Paralympic Games (for disabled athletes) are held after the Summer Olympics. They include events such as wheelchair races: you have to be very fit and have strong arms to compete in these races!

The Winter Olympic Games used to take place in the same year as the Summer Olympics, but are now held mid-way between one Summer Olympics and the next.

Answer: Over two thousand years ago in Greece

The first records of the Ancient Olympic Games in Greece are from 776 BC - that's well over two thousand years ago.

They continued to take place every four years for over one thousand years, until the Romans banned them in 393 AD.

Answer: International Olympic Committee

The International Olympic Committee was formed in 1894, and the first modern IOC Olympic Games took place in Athens, Greece, in 1896.

People had tried before 1894 to get the Olympics going again, but there wasn't much interest. When archaeologists discovered the ruins of ancient Olympia, people became much more interested in reviving the Games.

Answer: The continents of the world

The five coloured rings on the Olympic flag represent the inhabited continents: Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe, and Oceania. The rings are linked to represent that all nations are linked by the Games.

The ring colours are black, blue, green, red, and yellow. The background colour is white. The colours of the rings and background are not linked with particular continents, but were chosen because every nation has at least one of these six colours in its flag.

Answer: Olympia in Greece

The Olympic Flame symbolises hope and peace. It is lit at Olympia in Greece, because that was the original home of the ancient Games over two thousand years ago.

Many people take a turn at carrying the flame on its journey from Olympia to the main stadium of the host country for the opening ceremony of the Games.

The flame from the torch is used to light a big fire that burns for the whole time the Games are taking place.

Answer: Gold, silver and bronze medals

First place wins the gold medal; second place wins silver; and third place wins bronze. Olympic athletes who do not win a medal are still winners, because they have been chosen from their country's best athletes.

The very first gold medals were made of solid gold, but now gold medals are made of silver covered in a thin layer of gold.

Answer: The Fuwa

The Fuwa look like five little children, and are called Beibei, Jingjing, Huanhuan, Yingying and Nini. Each one is the colour of one of the five Olympic Rings.

They represent different things from Chinese culture and nature, and also represent different types of Olympic sport.

You can find out more about the Fuwa on the official Olympic website. The other answers are all mascots from other Olympic Games.

Answer: London, UK

Including 2012, London, the capital city of the United Kingdom, has hosted the Olympic Games three times (1908, 1948 and 2012).

There are often competitions to design a mascot for the Olympic Games; have a go - you might win!

Answer: BBC

CAN, GBR, and USA are the Olympic country codes for Canada, Great Britain, and the United States of America.

The BBC is one of the television companies in the UK (Great Britain); the letters stand for the British Broadcasting Corporation.

Answer: Swimming

There are many swimming events in the Summer Olympics.

Snowboarding and ice hockey are official sports in the Winter Olympic Games.

Perhaps some athletes play noughts and crosses to pass the time, but it isn't an Olympic event.

Thank you for taking this quiz, and I hope you enjoyed finding out about the Olympics!