The first ever Olympic Games took place in 776 BC. At this time they were dedicated to ZeusThe king of the gods, known to the Romans as Jupiter., king of the gods. The main events were running, wrestling, boxing, and horse-riding. The athletes were all male and did almost all of it naked.¹

When the modern Olympic Games were inaugurated in 1896, they did not preserve all of these traditions. The athletics and wrestling were kept, but alongside them were several events the Greeks could never have dreamed of, including fencing, shooting and tennis.²

Zeus-worship and nudity went out the window. The organisers felt these would not appeal to modern audiences.

They were right. The games, held in Athens, attracted the biggest crowd ever to watch a sporting event. With the right mix of the old and the new, the Olympics had hit a perfect formula.

Today the games again need some of that magic. At the last Olympic Games, in Tokyo, viewing figures dropped by 50% compared with those of the 2016 Rio Games.³

The Olympic Committee is especially worried that it is losing younger viewers. The medianThe median is the middle point in a group of numbers: half of the numbers are smaller than the median and half are larger. age of an Olympic Games viewer now is 58.⁴ Gen Z is simply not tuning in.

Which is why it is trying to shake up the running order. Paris 2024 will include the Olympic debut of breakdancing, which organisers hope will bring in a younger audience.

Other sports that fire up younger people are also in the running for future games, including teqballA ball sport played on a curved table without arms or hands., ultimate (ultimate frisbee), and dodgeball.

Defenders of the idea say that modern viewers expect something more stimulating than running, jumping and diving.

But others argue chasing younger viewers with new sports will only alienate established spectators.

They warn that suggesting young people can only get into more visually stimulating sports is patronising and will serve only to put them off.

Is tradition sacred?

Yes: People like the Olympics because it feels so timeless and established. Olympics organisers are not dependent on advertising, so they can afford to lose some viewers to maintain tradition.

No: The Olympics have always adapted to their times, adding new events, shedding old ones. It was one of the first sporting events to include women: today it should again be at the cutting edge.

Or... The problem with the Olympics is not that it is fustyHaving an stale smell; or old-fashioned or out-of-date. and old-fashioned. There are just too many other sporting choices on TV. And its values are not aligned with those of younger people.