The
1996 Summer Olympics (French: Les
Jeux olympiques d'été de 1996), known officially as the
Games of the XXVI Olympiad and unofficially as the
Centennial Olympic Games, was a major international
multi-sport event that took place in
Atlanta, Georgia, United States, from July 19 to August 4, 1996. A record 197 nations, all current
IOC member nations, took part in the Games, comprising 10,318 athletes. The International Olympic Committee voted in 1986 to separate the Summer and Winter Games, which had been held in the same year since 1924, and place them in alternating even-numbered years, beginning in 1994. The 1996 Summer Games were the first to be staged in a different year from the Winter Games. Atlanta became the sixth American city to host the
Olympic Games and the third to hold a
Summer Olympic Games. It will remain the last time the United States has hosted the Summer Olympics until at least 2024.