All sports that have received the "Olympic" status are divided into two categories: winter and summer. And the games in each of them are held separately. There is a break of four years between each pair of Summer or Winter Olympiads, but since the time for the Winter Games is shifted, every even year Olympiads are held in one of these two categories.
The upcoming Olympic Games - the Summer Olympics in London - will begin at the end of July this year. However, the very first sports competition will be held not in the British capital, but in Cardiff, on July 25 at 16:00 local time (Moscow time - at 19). It will be a qualifying match for the women's soccer tournament between the national teams of Great Britain and New Zealand. And the official opening ceremony with a march of all participants, speeches of officials and the procedure for lighting the Olympic flame will begin two days later, on July 27, at 21:00 local time and at midnight Moscow time. But besides footballers and footballers, before the official opening, archers will also have time to compete - their competitions will be held in the morning of the same day.
The date of the drawing of the first of 302 sets of medals is July 28. Women-shooters from a pneumatic pistol will be the first to receive medals. For them, this Olympiad will be the shortest - a little more than half a day will pass from the opening ceremony to the last shot. In total, 12 Olympic champions will be determined on this day - cyclists, judokas, shooters, swimmers, weightlifters and fencers.
The winners in modern pentathlon will be the last to be determined - the final in this event is scheduled for 21:00 Moscow time on August 12th. On the same day, the closing ceremony of the XXX Summer Olympic Games will be held in London.
The next Olympiad will be held in our country - winter games are planned for 2014 in Sochi. This resort town was selected by the International Olympic Committee from 7 candidates. The XXII Olympic Winter Games are due to open on February 7, 2014, and the closing ceremony will take place two weeks later, on February 23. The Summer Olympics will be held on the opposite side of the globe - from 5 to 21 August, the competition will be hosted by the Brazilian Rio de Janeiro.
