Sports GK Quiz: Olympic Host Cities and Mascots

The correct answer is B, Athens. The first modern Olympic Games were held at Athens in 1896, two years after Pierre de Coubertin founded the International Olympic Committee at Paris, and Greece was chosen because the ancient Games had been held at Olympia. Option A is wrong because Paris hosted the second modern Games, in 1900, and hosted again in 1924 and 2024; it is where the IOC was founded in 1894, which is the source of the confusion. Option C is wrong because London first hosted in 1908, and again in 1948 and 2012. Option D is wrong because Rome hosted in 1960. Remember the pair 1894 Paris for the committee and 1896 Athens for the Games, because papers set one as the distractor for the other.

The correct answer is B, Munich 1972. Waldi, a dachshund in bright stripes, was the first mascot officially adopted by an Olympic Games, chosen because the dachshund is a German breed known for stamina. Option A is a trap that is close to being right: an unofficial figure called Schuss appeared at the Grenoble Winter Games of 1968, but Grenoble is not Mexico City, and the Mexico City Summer Games of 1968 had no official mascot. Option C is wrong because Montreal in 1976 had Amik, a beaver, the second official mascot. Option D is wrong because Moscow in 1980 had Misha the bear, the mascot that made the idea famous worldwide. Keep the order of the early official mascots in mind: Waldi at Munich, Amik at Montreal, Misha at Moscow and Sam at Los Angeles.

The correct answer is C, Moscow 1980. Misha, properly Mishka, was the bear chosen for the Moscow Games of 1980 and became the best known Olympic mascot of its time, partly because of its appearance at the closing ceremony. Option A is wrong because Seoul in 1988 had Hodori, a tiger cub, the tiger being a figure of Korean folklore. Option B is wrong because Los Angeles in 1984 had Sam, an eagle wearing a hat in the colours of the United States flag. Option D is wrong because Barcelona in 1992 had Cobi, a Catalan sheepdog drawn in a modern style. All four of these mascots are animals, which is why the matching question works: tie each animal to its country, bear to Russia, tiger to Korea, eagle to the United States, dog to Spain.

The correct answer is B, London. London has held the Summer Olympic Games three times, in 1908, 1948 and 2012, and shares that record with Paris, which hosted in 1900, 1924 and 2024. Option A is wrong because Tokyo has hosted twice, in 1964, the first Games in Asia, and in the 2020 edition that was postponed to 2021. Option C is wrong because Los Angeles has hosted twice so far, in 1932 and 1984, and has been awarded the Games of 2028, which would be its third. Option D is wrong because Athens has hosted twice, in 1896 and 2004. The trap here is Los Angeles, since candidates count the awarded 2028 edition as though it had already happened, so read whether the question asks about Games held or Games awarded.

The correct answer is D, Fuwa. Beijing 2008 was the first Games to use a set of five mascots, called Fuwa, meaning good-luck dolls: Beibei a fish, Jingjing a panda, Huanhuan the Olympic flame, Yingying a Tibetan antelope and Nini a swallow, their first syllables together making a line of welcome. Option A is wrong because Hodori was the single tiger mascot of Seoul 1988. Option B is wrong because Cobi was the single dog mascot of Barcelona 1992. Option C is wrong because Izzy was the mascot of Atlanta 1996, remembered as the first mascot created on a computer rather than drawn from an animal. Sydney 2000 is the other Games with more than one mascot, three in its case, so keep the figure five for Beijing and three for Sydney when a paper asks for a count.

The correct answer is A, Tokyo. Tokyo hosted the Summer Olympic Games in 1964, the first time the Games were held in Asia, and the edition is also remembered for the first use of satellite television to carry the Games abroad. Option B is wrong because Seoul hosted in 1988, the second Asian Games. Option C is wrong because Beijing hosted in 2008, the third in Asia, and later became the first city in the world to host both a Summer and a Winter Olympics when it held the Winter Games of 2022. Option D is wrong because Bangkok has never hosted an Olympic Games, although it has hosted the Asian Games several times, which is the source of the confusion. The order to remember for Asia is Tokyo 1964, Seoul 1988, Beijing 2008 and Tokyo again in 2020.

The correct answer is A, Miraitowa. Miraitowa, a blue chequered figure whose name joins the Japanese words for future and eternity, was the mascot of the Tokyo Olympic Games held in 2021 under the name Tokyo 2020. Option B is a close trap, because Someity was the mascot of the Tokyo Paralympic Games of the same edition, named after a cherry blossom variety; papers often swap the Olympic and Paralympic mascots. Option C is wrong because Vinicius was the Olympic mascot of Rio 2016, with Tom as its Paralympic partner. Option D is wrong because Wenlock was the Olympic mascot of London 2012, with Mandeville as the Paralympic one. Learn these in pairs, the Olympic name first and the Paralympic name second: Wenlock and Mandeville for 2012, Vinicius and Tom for 2016, and Miraitowa and Someity for 2020.

The correct answer is C, Beijing. Beijing held the Summer Olympic Games of 2008 and the Winter Olympic Games of 2022, becoming the first city anywhere to host both, and its Winter mascot was the panda Bing Dwen Dwen. Option A is wrong because Tokyo has hosted only Summer Games, in 1964 and in the 2020 edition; the Winter Games in Japan went to Sapporo in 1972 and Nagano in 1998. Option B is wrong because Innsbruck in Austria has hosted the Winter Games twice, in 1964 and 1976, but never the Summer Games. Option D is wrong because Lake Placid in the United States has also hosted only Winter Games, in 1932 and 1980. The question is a favourite because it needs both lists at once, so keep Beijing 2008 and 2022 together in memory.

The correct answer is B, Chamonix. The first Winter Olympic Games were held at Chamonix in the French Alps in 1924, the same year as the Paris Summer Games, and were recognised afterwards as the first winter edition. Option A is wrong because St Moritz in Switzerland hosted the second Winter Games, in 1928, and hosted again in 1948. Option C is wrong because Lake Placid in the United States hosted the third Winter Games, in 1932, and again in 1980. Option D is wrong because Oslo hosted in 1952, the first Winter Games in a Scandinavian capital. Note also that until 1992 the Winter and Summer Games shared a year; from the Lillehammer Games of 1994 the Winter Games were shifted to a separate even-numbered year, which is why 1992 and 1994 come so close together.

The correct answer is D, Atlanta 1996. Izzy, first shown as Whatizit, was the mascot of the Atlanta Games of 1996 and is remembered as the first Olympic mascot that was not an animal or a human figure but an abstract shape made with computer animation. Option A is wrong because Barcelona 1992 had Cobi, a Catalan sheepdog drawn in the cubist manner, which is a real animal however modern the drawing. Option B is wrong because Sydney 2000 had three animal mascots, Olly the kookaburra, Syd the platypus and Millie the echidna, all native Australian species. Option C is wrong because Athens 2004 had Athena and Phevos, two children based on ancient Greek dolls and named after Greek deities. Atlanta 1996 is also the centenary edition, a hundred years after Athens 1896.