In 776 BC, spectators and athletes traveled from across the ancient Greek Empire to Olympia for the first Ancient Olympic Games. At the peak of the ancient games’ popularity, the event garnered more than 40,000 spectators. While the occasion began as a religious festival, it has developed into a showing of the best athletic competition in the world. Today, the Olympic Games serve as a gathering place for over 10,000 athletes and nearly eight million spectators. The games are also broadcasted to 3.6 billion people across the globe, according to a August 2016 People article on the Rio Olympics.
How sports bring people together
