The Olympic Games are an international sporting event. It will be held every 4 years for sports practiced on snow and ice. It is the youngest Winter Olympics. The first Winter Olympics were held in 1924 in Chamonix, France. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essayThe Winter Olympic Games (official name) (French: Jeux olympiques d'hiver) are a major international sporting event held once every four years, for sports played on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympics, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were held in Chamonix, France. The Olympic Games are inspired by the ancient Olympic Games, which were held in Olympia, Greece, from the 8th century BC to the 4th century AD. Baron Pierre de Coubertin founded the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 1894, leading to the first modern Games of Athens in 1896. The IOC is the governing body of the Olympic Movement, with the Olympic Charter defining its structure and authority. The original five Sports (divided into nine disciplines) were bobsleigh, curling, ice hockey, Nordic skiing (consisting of the disciplines military patrol, cross-country skiing, Nordic combined and ski jumping) and skating (consisting of the disciplines skating artistic and speed skating). The Games were held every four years from 1924 to 1936, interrupted in 1940 and 1944 due to the Second World War, and resumed in 1948. Until 1992 the Winter and Summer Olympic Games were held in the same years, but according to a of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 1986 to place the Summer and Winter Games on separate four-year cycles alternating even years, the next Winter Olympics after 1992 were held in 1994. The Winter Games have evolved since their inception. Sports and disciplines have been added and some of them, such as alpine skiing, luge, short track speed skating, freestyle skiing, skeleton and snowboarding, have earned a permanent place in the Olympic programme. Some others, including curling and bobsleigh, were discontinued and later reintroduced; others have been permanently discontinued, such as military patrolling, although the modern Winter Olympic sport of biathlon descends from it. Still others, such as speed skiing, bandy, and skijoring, were demonstration sports but never incorporated as Olympic sports. The rise of television as a global communications medium has boosted the profile of the Games. It generated revenue through the sale of broadcast and advertising rights, which became profitable for the IOC. This allowed outside interests, such as television companies and corporate sponsors, to exert influence. The IOC faced several criticisms, internal scandals, the use of performance-enhancing drugs by Winter Olympic athletes, as well as a political boycott of the Winter Olympics. Nations used the Winter Games (as well as the Summer Games) to proclaim the superiority of their political systems. The Winter Olympics have been hosted on three continents by eleven different countries. The Games have been held in the United States four times (1932, 1960, 1980, 2002); in France three times (1924, 1968, 1992); and in Austria (1964, 1976), Canada (1988, 2010), Japan (1972, 1998), Italy (1956, 2006), Norway (1952, 1994) and Switzerland (1928, 1948) twice. Furthermore, the Games have been held once in Germany (1936), Yugoslavia (1984) and Russia (2014). The IOC chose Pyeongchang, South Korea, to host the 2018 Winter Olympics and Beijing, China, to host the 2022 Winter Olympics. As of 2017, no cities in the Southern Hemisphere had applied to host the Winter Olympics,.