Working the Olympic Games

The Olympic Games are one of the largest sporting events and displays of athleticism in the world. Athletes work day in and day out for years in order to earn a chance to compete in the largest sporting event to take place on a world stage.

The origin of the Games is rooted as far back as Ancient Greece where Grecian legends tell us the gods were said to compete. The first documented modern games however, were held in 1896 in Athens. That single competition has given way to both the summer and winter games, which alternate every two years, a tradition that began with the 1994 Olympics in Lillehamer, and has since been joined by the Paralympics which first began in 1948. The Youth Olympics was added to the list of official Olympic competitions with the first official Youth Olympic Games taking place in 2010, allowing kids 14-18 years of age a forum to compete.

The Olympic Games is consistently a favorite among fans and not only garners some of the largest live audiences ever recorded but is also watched by people all over the world over the course of the competition. For full information including dates and locations for upcoming games check out each of our event profiles on the Youth, Winter, Summer and Paralympic games.

As you might imagine an event like the Olympics takes some serious planning and execution in order for it to be a success. No single group of people or businesses could possibly arrange the organization necessary for an event such as the summer Olympics, which takes years to arrange. Beginning ceremonies, set-up, construction, travel accommodations, broadcasting, scheduling and infinitely more factors all go into the set up, preparation and execution of the Olympic Games. For more information on each event and how to get involved with working for the Olympics check out our event profiles and job descriptions on the following pages.

Keep in mind that with such an enormous amount of planning that goes into an event such as the Olympics, that it is impossible to list every possible job related to the event. Since host city planners and event organization companies spend years preparing for the event there is a constant stream of jobs and volunteers needed. The opportunities listed on the following pages are meant to act as a guideline for the types of jobs being listed now and are suggested ways to get involved in working for the Olympics.