| Year | Host City | Opened by | Sports
(Disciplines) |
| 1896 | Athens, Greece | King George I | 9(10) |
| 1900 | Paris, France | – | 19(20) |
| 1904 | St.Louis, United States | Former Governor David R. Francis | 16(17) |
| 1908 | London, England | King Edward VII | 22(25) |
| 1912 | Stockholm, Sweden | King Gustaf V | 14(18) |
| 1916 | Berlin, Germany | Awarded to Berlin. Cancelled due to | |
| 1920 | Antwerp, Belgium | King Albert I | 22(29) |
| 1924 | Paris, France | President Gaston Doumergue | 17(23) |
| 1928 | Amsterdam, Netherlands | Duke Henry of Mecklenburg-Schwerin | 14(20) |
| 1932 | Los Angeles, United States | Vice President Charles Curtis | 14(20) |
| 1936 | Berlin, Germany | Chancellor Adolf Hitler | 19(25) |
| 1940 | Tokyo, Japan | Originally awarded to Tokyo, then awarded to Helsinki. Cancelled due to World War II | |
| 1944 | London, England | Awarded to London. Cancelled due to World War II | |
| 1948 | London, England | King George VI | 17(23) |
| 1952 | Helsinki, Finland | President Juho Kusti Paasikivi | 17(23) |
| 1956 | Melbourne, Australia | Philip, Duke of Edinburgh | 17(23) |
| 1960 | Roma, İtaly | President Giovanni Gronchi | 17(23) |
| 1964 | Tokyo, Japan | Emperor Hirohito | 19(25) |
| 1968 | Mexico City,Mexico | President Gustavo Díaz Ordaz | 18(24) |
| 1972 | Münich, Germany | President Gustav Heinemann | 21(28) |
| 1976 | Montreal, Canada | Queen Elizabeth II | 21(27) |
| 1980 | Moscow, Soviet Union | Communist Party General Secretary Leonid Brezhnev | 21(27) |
| 1984 | Los Angeles, United States | President Ronald Reagan | 21(29) |
| 1988 | Seoul, South Korea | President Roh Tae-woo | 23(31) |
| 1992 | Barcelona, Spain | King Juan Carlos I | 25(34) |
| 1996 | Atlanta, United States | President Bill Clinton | 26(37) |
| 2000 | Sydney, Australia | Governor-General Sir William Deane | 28(40) |
| 2004 | Athens, Greece | President Konstantinos Stephanopoulos | 28(40) |
| 2008 | Beijing, China | President Hu Jintao | 28(41) |
| 2012 | London, England | Queen Elizabeth II | 26(39) |
| 2016 | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | Acting President Michel Temer | 28(41) |
| 2021 | Tokyo, Japan | Emperor Naruhito (expected) | 33(50) |
| 2024 | Paris, France | President of France (expected) | TBA |
| 2028 | Los Angeles, United States | President of the United States (expected) | TBA |
