| Ed. | Years | Place | Principal associated event/ politics or sports event |
| 1 | 1896 | Athens | Birth of Modern Olympic Games |
| 2 | 1900 | Paris | Assignment to Paris to maintain contemporaneity with the Universal Exposition |
| 3 | 1904 | Saint Louis | Assignment instead of Chicago for the contemporary Louisiana Purchase Exposition— Anthropological Day (competition for races different from white people) |
| 4 | 1908 | London | Assignment to London contemporary to France/British exposition. The first use of the motto “The important thing is not to win but to participate”—First use of the three medals for the awards—Disqualification of Dorando Pietri |
| 5 | 1912 | Stockholm | Inclusion of artistic competitions (figurative arts, music, architecture, literature) as in antiquity until 1936 |
| ND | 1916 | Berlin | Not disputed because World War I |
| 7 | 1920 | Antwarp | Defeated countries in WW1 banned—First use of the 5-circle Olympic flag |
| 8 | 1924 | Paris | Boycott of Germany. The first use of the Olympic motto (citius, altius, fortius) |
| 9 | 1928 | Amsterdam | The first time the parade was led by Greece and closed by the host country |
| 10 | 1932 | Los Angeles | Great Depression Games: few participants following the global crisis |
| 11 | 1936 | Berlin | Propaganda games National Socialist German Workers’ Party. Boycott of Spain. Jesse Owens is the protest. Luz Long’s fair play against Jesse Owens in the long run. End of artistic competitions. |
| ND | 1940 | Tokyo/Helsinki | Not disputed due to World War II |
| ND | 1944 | London | Not disputed due to World War II |
| 14 | 1948 | London | Participation bans for countries defeated in World War II, except Italy |
| 15 | 1952 | Helsinki | First USSR participation—abandonment of Spartakiad (1928-1956) |
| 16 | 1956 | Melbourne | Boycott of the Netherlands, Spain, and Switzerland (against USSR repression Hungarian uprising 1956) and Cambodia, Egypt, Iraq, and Lebanon (Suez crisis) |
| 17 | 1960 | Rome | First and only death from doping (fall in cycling for amphetamine use) |
| 18 | 1964 | Tokyo | First edition in Asia—The last torchbearer was born in Hiroshima a few hours after the explosion of the first atomic bomb. |
| 19 | 1968 | Mexico City | Political massacre before the start of the games—Protest African American athletes against racism —Introduction of Doping Controls |
| 20 | 1972 | Munich | Terrorist event against Israeli representative by Palestinian terrorist organization |
| 21 | 1976 | Montreal | Boycott African countries for apartheid-related issues |
| 22 | 1980 | Moscow | Boycott of USA and other Western countries against Soviet intervention in Afghanistan |
| 23 | 1984 | Los Angeles | Boycott of the USSR and Eastern countries in retaliation for the 1980 boycott |
| 24 | 1988 | Seul | Boycott North Korea—Ban Johnson for doping |
| 25 | 1992 | Barcelona | IOC request for observation of OLYMPIC TREGUE via UN support in case of ongoing conflict— First participation of professional athletes (USA Dream Team) |
| 26 | 1996 | Atlanta | Bomb attack in the Olympic Park |
| 27 | 2000 | Sydney | “the best ever.” |
| 28 | 2004 | Athens | The first time the Marathon award ceremony during the closing ceremony |
| 29 | 2008 | Pechino | Squalifica staffetta Jamaica per doping a 8 anni di distanza, per riscontrata positività di un frazionista |
| 30 | 2012 | Londra | criticism on the coincidence of some races with the beginning of Ramadan—participation of Oscar Pistorius |
| 31 | 2016 | Rio | first participation in boxing of professionals |
| 32 | 2020 | Tokyo | postponed to 2021 due to the Covid-19 Pandemic (first time of a postponement, rather than cancellation)—tenders behind closed doors |