Introduction
The upcoming Summer Olympics and Paralympics have inspired us to gather artworks and learning resources – from Art UK and our Partner museums and galleries – on the theme of sports people and events.
Use them to support you in your Olympic-themed teaching and learning.
At a glance
Browse a selection of Olympic and Paralympic-related artworks on Art UK – from sporting stars to commemorative sculptures.
Art UK Curation: The Olympic Games and sport in art
John Lessore (b.1939)
The ancient Olympics
Did you know that the first Olympic games were held 3,000 years ago? The ancient Olympics took place at Olympia in Greece every four years from 776 BC to 393 BC. Many of the competitions in the modern Olympics are inspired by these ancient games.
Explore the ancient Olympics with these fun resources from the Ashmolean Museum. Watch a video and have a go at an Olympic-themed quiz and games. The resources were developed for home learning but you could also use them in the classroom.
The ancient Olympics: activities for home learning
(All ages)
Find out about sporting events and religious rituals of the ancient Olympics with this teaching resource from the British Museum
British Museum classroom resource: Olympic games
(Primary level)
Red-figured pottery cup, 470 BC–460 BC
Olympic design and memorabilia
Browse some of the amazing Olympics-related objects in museum collections and use them in your lesson planning or as inspiration for design projects. With everything from souvenirs and cuddly mascots to medals and spectacular Olympic torches – you're sure to find something that will get you in the Olympic spirit!
Design inspiration from the V&A
The V&A has lots of Olympic-related objects to use in your lesson planning and design projects – from cuddly mascots and powerful posters to spectacular Olympic torches.
Be inspired by Olympic designs in the V&A
From ancient to modern at the British Museum
Browse trophies from the ancient Olympic Games and medals and colourful badges from the modern Olympics.
Explore Olympic objects in The British Museum
London and the Olympics
Students of St Joseph's College
Many of us will remember the 2012 London Summer Olympics, but did you know that London also hosted the Olympic Games in 1908 and 1948? Find out about the history of the Olympics in London and discover medals and badges from all three Games.
London Olympics: medals and badges
The Olympic Park
The Aquatic Centre in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in Stratford, designed by Zaha Hadid
The spectacular Aquatics Centre built for the 2012 London Olympics was designed by Iraqi-British architect Zaha Hadid. The design concept is inspired by the fluidity of water in motion and can be seen in the wave-like undulating roof that sweeps up from the ground.
Explore architectural models of the Aquatics Centre in the V&A
Take an in-depth look at a vibrant contemporary portrait of Zaha Hadid, and find out more about her story with this resource from the National Portrait Gallery.
Zaha Hadid by Michael Craig-Martin
ArcelorMittal Orbit is the UK's tallest sculpture at 115 metres tall and was commissioned by the Greater London Authority as a permanent tower for the Olympic Park. Designed by sculptor Anish Kapoor, its continually coiling structure invites the viewer to move around and inside it – to participate in its seemingly unstable form.
See more images of the sculpture on Art UK
Sporting heroes – and athletes in action!
National Portrait Gallery resources
Explore two portraits of sporting heroes, and find out more about their lives.
Sir Ben Helfgott by Frances Segelman, Lady Petchey
Ben Helfgott survived terrible conditions in concentration camps in Poland during the Second World War and arrived in Britain in 1945 aged just 15. He went on to become a weightlifter and to captain the British weightlifting team at the Olympic Games in 1956 and 1960.
Marcus Rashford by Elliot Morgan
Best known as a professional footballer who has played for Manchester United and England, Marcus Rashford is also a campaigner against child poverty.
See more portraits of Olympic and Paralympic athletes in the National Portrait Gallery
Women's football
Did you know that although women have competed in football for well over a century, women's football has only been an Olympic event since 1996? (That's 96 years after the men's competition was included in the Games!)
Explore this resource from Leeds Museums and Galleries to learn about one of the earliest women's football teams, who played their first match on Christmas Day in 1917.
Football heroes
Walter Tull was only the third Black footballer in Britain to play in the top division of the Football League. He was a British Army officer in the First World War and was killed in action in 1915. Watch this video from the National Army Museum to discover his story.
Crystal Palace and Newcastle United's Donald Simpson was the first professional footballer to volunteer for the British army in the First World War. Read his story in this resource created by Leeds Museums and Galleries.
Donald Simpson: footballer, solider and medal recipient
Nicola Adams and Leeds sporting heroes
In 2012, boxer Nicola Adams became the first Olympic gold medalist in women's boxing. Find out more about her, and other sporting heroes from Leeds.
Leeds Museums and Galleries: top Leeds sporting heroes
Murderball: wheelchair rugby
Wheelchair rugby was created in 1977 by five wheelchair athletes. Read about this fast, action-packed sport and the Canadian wheelchair rugby team that competed in the 2012 Paralympics.
Leeds Museums and Galleries: Murderball wheel
Athletes in action
Be inspired by athletes in action with photographs of the Grasmere Sports event from Lakeland Museum. The Grasmere Sports has been running annually since 1865. Use the photographs to inspire drawings or sculptures of figures in movement.
Explore photographs of athletes in action
Eat healthy, stay active – and be happy!
Has all your Olympic research inspired you to get active? Discover how eating well and exercising can make you happy as well as healthy with this video created by the Science Museum.
