<P> In 1948, Sir Ludwig Guttmann, determined to promote the rehabilitation of soldiers after World War II, organised a multi-sport event between several hospitals to coincide with the 1948 London Olympics . Guttmann's event, known then as the Stoke Mandeville Games, became an annual sports festival . Over the next twelve years, Guttmann and others continued their efforts to use sports as an avenue to healing . For the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome, Guttmann brought 400 athletes to compete in the "Parallel Olympics", which became known as the first Paralympics . Since then, the Paralympics have been held in every Olympic year . Since the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea, the host city for the Olympics has also played host to the Paralympics . In 2001 the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) signed an agreement guaranteeing that host cities would be contracted to manage both the Olympic and Paralympic Games . The agreement came into effect at the 2008 Summer Games in Beijing, and the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver . Chairman of the London organising committee, Lord Coe, said about the 2012 Summer Paralympics and Olympics in London that, </P> <P> We want to change public attitudes towards disability, celebrate the excellence of Paralympic sport and to enshrine from the very outset that the two Games are an integrated whole . </P> <P> In 2010, the Olympic Games were complemented by the Youth Games, which give athletes between the ages of 14 and 18 the chance to compete . The Youth Olympic Games were conceived by IOC president Jacques Rogge in 2001 and approved during the 119th Congress of the IOC . The first Summer Youth Games were held in Singapore from 14--26 August 2010, while the inaugural Winter Games were hosted in Innsbruck, Austria, two years later . These Games will be shorter than the senior Games; the summer version will last twelve days, while the winter version will last nine days . The IOC allows 3,500 athletes and 875 officials to participate at the Summer Youth Games, and 970 athletes and 580 officials at the Winter Youth Games . The sports to be contested will coincide with those scheduled for the senior Games, however there will be variations on the sports including mixed NOC and mixed gender teams as well as a reduced number of disciplines and events . </P> <P> From 241 participants representing 14 nations in 1896, the Games have grown to about 10,500 competitors from 204 nations at the 2012 Summer Olympics . The scope and scale of the Winter Olympics is smaller . For example, Sochi hosted 2,873 athletes from 88 nations competing in 98 events during the 2014 Winter Olympics . During the Games most athletes and officials are housed in the Olympic Village . This village is intended to be a self - contained home for all the Olympic participants, and is furnished with cafeterias, health clinics, and locations for religious expression . </P>

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