French nobleman Baron Pierre de Coubertin founded the modern Olympic Games and is acclaimed as ‘father’ of the Olympic movement. Coubertin first presented his vision of a multi-sport event to take place every fourth year to an international delegation in Paris during 1892.The delegation, comprising nine countries including Britain, the USA and Russia, responded favourably to his proposal.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC), assembled in 1894 by de Coubertin under the presidency of Dimitrios Vikelas of Greece, was given responsibility for the governance and ethos of the proposed Games. Installed as ambassadors of the IOC and not as representatives of their country, members of the committee were men of means and considerable influence. De Coubertin wished to keep the IOC free of government controls but was aware that politics would inevitably intervene.
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