The Summer Olympic Games are held every four years, with the first modern Games in 1896 and the most recent completed Summer Olympics in 2024 in Paris, France.

Quick Scoop: When were the Summer Olympics?

If you’re asking “when were the Summer Olympics,” there are two useful angles: how often they happen and the key years they’ve been held.

How often are the Summer Olympics?

  • They are normally held every four years, a cycle known as an Olympiad.
  • This four‑year rhythm has defined the modern Games since their revival in the 19th century, with rare disruptions such as world wars and the pandemic.

First and most recent Summer Olympics

  • The first modern Summer Olympics were held in Athens, Greece, in 1896.
  • The most recent Summer Olympics were held in Paris, France, in 2024, marking Paris’s third time as host city.
  • Before that, the previous edition was the Tokyo “2020” Games, which were postponed and held in 2021 due to the COVID‑19 pandemic.

A few illustrative milestones

  • 1896 – Athens inaugurates the modern Summer Olympics and brings together athletes from around a dozen countries.
  • 1900 and 1924 – Paris hosts the Games, later becoming one of the first cities to host multiple times.
  • 2012 – London becomes the first city to host the modern Games three times (1908, 1948, 2012).
  • 2024 – Paris hosts again, tying London with three Summer Olympics.

In short, when people ask “when were the Summer Olympics,” they usually mean: every four years since 1896, most recently in Paris 2024, with a few exceptional delays like Tokyo 2020 being held in 2021.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.