顾拜旦曾建议第一届奥运会于1900年与世界博览会同时在巴黎举行，借以扩大奥运会的影响。但顾拜旦的意见遭到了否决。不过与会代表考虑到顾拜旦为复活奥林匹克运动所作的贡献，尊重他提出的在1900年让奥运会和世界博览会同时举行的设想，同意第二届奥运会在巴黎举行。

KEY FACTS

Opening date: 14 May 1900

Closing date: 28 October 1900

The host city: Paris (France)

Sports: 18

PARIS 1900 Games of the II Olympiad

The Games of 1900 were held in Paris as part of the Exposition Universelle Internationale - the Paris World's Fair. The exposition organizers spread the events over five months and de-emphasized their Olympic status to such an extent that many athletes died without ever knowing that they had participated in the Olympics. Women made their first appearance in the modern Games.

The first to compete were Mme. Brohy and Mlle. Ohnier of France in croquet. The first female champion was in tennis: Charlotte Cooper of Great Britain. Tennis was one of five sports in which athletes from different nations competed on the same team. The others were football, polo, rowing and tug of war. Alvin Kraenzlein won four athletics events in three days and, on 16 July, Ray Ewry, who had overcome childhood polio, won three championships in one day - all in the standing jump events.