The United States leads the all-time medal count at the Summer Olympics, and has topped the medal table on 18 separate occasions - followed by the USSR (six times), and France, Great Britain, Germany, China, and the ex-Soviet 'Unified Team' (once each). Great Britain is the only country to have won a gold medal at each edition of the Games. Only five countries have participated in every Summer Olympic Games: Australia, France, Great Britain, Greece, and Switzerland. The IOC has also selected Los Angeles to hold the Games in 2028, and Brisbane to play host in 2032. The 2024 Summer Olympics will take place in Paris, marking a century since the French capital last organised the event. London has hosted the Summer Olympic Games a record three times, followed by Paris, Los Angeles, Athens and Tokyo, where the Games have been held twice. The Summer Olympics have been hosted on five continents by a total of nineteen countries. The Olympics have increased in scope from a 42-event competition programme with fewer than 250 male competitors from 14 nations in 1896 to 306 events with 11,238 competitors (6,179 men, 5,059 women) from 206 nations in 2016.

It is regarded as the largest and most prestigious multi-sport international event in the world. The Winter Olympic Games were created out of the success of the Summer Olympics. In each Olympic event, gold medals are awarded for first place, silver medals are awarded for second place, and bronze medals are awarded for third place this tradition began in 1904.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) organises the Games and oversees the host city's preparations. The inaugural Games took place in 1896 in Athens, Greece, and most recently the postponed 2020 Summer Olympics were celebrated in 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. The Summer Olympic Games, also known as the Games of the Olympiad, are a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years.

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