Demonstration sport
A demonstration sport is a sport which is played to promote it, most commonly during the Olympic Games, but also at other sporting events.
Demonstration sports were officially introduced in the 1912 Summer Olympics, when Sweden decided to include glima, traditional Icelandic wrestling, in the Olympic program, but with its medals not counting as official. Most organizing committees then decided to include at least one demonstration sport at each edition of the Games, usually some typical or popular sport in the host country, like baseball at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games and taekwondo at the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games. From 1912 to 1992, only two editions of the Summer Olympics did not have demonstration sports on their program. Some demonstration sports eventually gained enough popularity to become an official sport in a subsequent edition of the Games. Traditionally, the medals awarded for the demonstration events followed the same design as the Olympic medals, but of a smaller size. They are never included in the medal count.
Demonstration sports were suspended after the 1992 Summer Olympics, as the Olympic program grew bigger and it became more difficult for the organizing committees to give them the appropriate attention, since the IOC required the same treatment to be dispensed for official and demonstration sports. It is unlikely that they will be reintroduced as a requirement for future Olympic organizing committees. However, the Beijing Olympic Committee received permission from the IOC to run a wushu competition parallel to the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, Wushu Tournament Beijing 2008.
From the 1984 Summer Olympics until the 2004 Summer Olympics, two Paralympic events were included in the athletics programme of each Games. These events are considered by many as a demonstration sport, but are, in fact, used to promote the Paralympic Games. Disabled events in alpine and Nordic skiing were also held as demonstration sports at the 1984 and 1988 Winter Olympics.
Summer Olympics
Here is the list of demonstration sports played at the Summer Olympic Games:| Games | Demonstration sports | Entered the Olympic program |
| 1900 Paris1 | • angling • ballooning • boules • cannon shooting • fire fighting • kite flying • jeu de paume • lifesaving • longue paume • motorsport • pigeon racing • water motorsports | |
| 1904 St. Louis1 | • basketball • American football • Gaelic football • hurling • motor cycling | • 1936 |
| 1908 London1 | • cycle polo • dueling | |
| 1912 Stockholm | • baseball • glima | • 19922 |
| 1920 Antwerp | • korfball | |
| 1924 Paris | • Basque pelota • la canne • canoeing and kayaking • savate • volleyball | • 1936 • 1964 |
| 1928 Amsterdam | • kaatsen • korfball • lacrosse | |
| 1932 Los Angeles | • American football • lacrosse | |
| 1936 Berlin | • baseball • gliding • kabaddi | • 19922 |
| 1948 London | • lacrosse • Swedish gymnastics | |
| 1952 Helsinki | • Finnish baseball • handball | • 19723 |
| 1956 Melbourne | • Australian rules football • baseball | • 19922 |
| 1960 Rome | none | |
| 1964 Tokyo | • baseball • budō | • 19922 |
| 1968 Mexico City | • Basque pelota • tennis | • 19884 |
| 1972 Munich | • badminton • water skiing | • 1992 |
| 1976 Montreal | none | |
| 1980 Moscow | none | |
| 1984 Los Angeles | • baseball • tennis | • 19922 • 19884 |
| 1988 Seoul | • badminton • baseball • bowling • judo • taekwondo | • 1992 • 19922 • 1992 • 2000 |
| 1992 Barcelona | • Basque pelota • roller hockey • taekwondo | • 2000 |
| 1996 Atlanta | none | |
| 2000 Sydney | none | |
| 2004 Athens | none | |
| 2008 Beijing | none5 | |
| 2012 London | none | |
| 2016 Rio de Janeiro | none6 | |
| 2020 Tokyo | none7 |
- 1 Although demonstration sports were "officially" introduced only in 1912, at the first Olympics some sports competitions were held simultaneously to the games, and today are considered "unofficial" or demonstration sports as well.
- 2 Removed from Olympic program after 2008.
- 3 Was part of the program in 1936.
- 4 Was part of the program between 1896 and 1924.
- 5 The IOC permitted a parallel Wushu competition to be run, but this was not an official demonstration sport.
- 6 The IOC permitted a parallel esports competition to be run, but this was not an official demonstration sport.
- 7 Though not explicitly listed as an demonstration sport, the Japan Sumo Association will hold a special two-day exhibition tournament between the Olympics and Paralympics as part of a larger official Olympics cultural festival.
Winter Olympics
| Games | Demonstration sports | Entered the Olympic program |
| 1924 Chamonix | none | |
| 1928 St. Moritz | • military patrol • skijoring | |
| 1932 Lake Placid | • curling • sled dog racing • speed skating | • 19981 • 1960 |
| 1936 Garmisch-Partenkirchen | • military patrol • ice stock sport | |
| 1948 St. Moritz | • military patrol • winter pentathlon | |
| 1952 Oslo | • bandy | |
| 1956 Cortina d'Ampezzo | none | |
| 1960 Squaw Valley | none | |
| 1964 Innsbruck | • ice stock sport | |
| 1968 Grenoble | • ice dancing, then known as "rhythmic skating" | • 1976 |
| 1972 Sapporo | none | |
| 1976 Innsbruck | none | |
| 1980 Lake Placid | none | |
| 1984 Sarajevo | • disabled alpine skiing | |
| 1988 Calgary | • curling • freestyle skiing • short track speed skating • disabled alpine and Nordic skiing | • 1998 • 1992 • 1992 |
| 1992 Albertville | • curling • speed skiing • freestyle skiing - aerials and ski ballet | • 1998 |
| 1994 Lillehammer | none | |
| 1998 Nagano | none | |
| 2002 Salt Lake City | none | |
| 2006 Turin | none | |
| 2010 Vancouver | none | |
| 2014 Sochi | none | |
| 2018 Pyeongchang | none2 |
- 1 Was part of the program in 1924, which in 2002 the IOC retroactively decided would be considered an official Olympic event.
- 2 Though not listed as a demonstration sport, the Intel Extreme Masters held an esports tournament for two games with official support from the IOC.