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World Gatherings
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World gatherings include great sporting events such as the World Cup or the Olympic Games, world fairs or 'expos', and international trade fairs. Some pop music festivals are huge, too. Almost a third of the world's population watched the televised 'Live Aid' concerts of 1985, which raised money to help victims of a terrible famine in Africa.
Surprisingly, many of these modern gatherings have ancient origins. The Olympic Games started in ancient Greece. We know the games were being held in 776 BC, and even then they may already have been celebrated for 600 years. They were started up again in 1896.
Great fairs and markets, the forerunners of world 'expos', were held in Europe during the Middle Ages at trading centres such as Nuremberg in Germany. Air travel has now made it possible for people from all over the world to travel to big festivals, and satellites in space have allowed billions more to watch events live on television. | | Competitors from all over the world parade around the stadium at the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games. |
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Previous:
Back
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Book:
Festivals
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Section:
Festivals
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Chapter:
World Gatherings
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