A sport consists of a normal physical activity or skill carried out under a publicly agreed set of rules, and with a recreational purpose: for competition, for self-enjoyment, to attain excellence, for the development of skill, or some combination of these. The difference of purpose is what characterises sport, combined with the notion of individual (or team) skill or prowess.

Therefore swimming competitively in front of thousands in an indoor arena is considered a sport, whereas swimming in a pool or in the sea by oneself is seen simply as a recreation.

There are many kinds of sports, and they take up a substantial proportion of people's time, money and interest, if not as participants then as spectators.

In 1992, the first initiatives were launched by the IOC, in collaboration with the United Nations, allowing athletes of the former Republic of Yugoslavia to participate in the Barcelona Games. In 2000, during the Opening Ceremony of the Sydney Games, the South and North Korean delegations paraded in the stadium together under the flag of the Korean peninsula.

In July 2000, the International Olympic Truce Foundation (IOTF) was created with a view to promoting peace through sport and the Olympic ideal.