1-345-718 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

Olympic stadium, Athens, 1906, (1936). As well as the inaugural games of the modern era in 1896, Athens hosted a further games, known as the Intercalated Games, in 1906. Athens had proposed that it could host the Olympics every four years, but Baron Pierre de Coubertin was opposed to the idea, not least because he wanted Paris to host the 1900 edition. As a compromise, it was decided that Athens would host games every four years in between the main Olympic Games. The 1906 version was a success, partly because unlike 1900 and 1904 it was not tied into an International Exposition and was not staged over a period of several months. However, political tensions in the Balkans caused a cancellation in 1910 and World War I ruled out 1914 and 1918, causing the idea to fall out of favour. The home of the Olympics would have to wait until 2004 to stage another games. A print from Olympia 1936, Die Olympischen Spiele 1936, Volume I, Cigaretten-Bilderdienst, Hamburg, 1936.