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 Image from 1636 depicting the Cotswold Games. Robert Dover, founder of the games, is on horseback, carrying a wand.[1] | |
| Abbreviation | Cotswold Olimpicks |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Chipping Campden, England |
| Chairman | Andy Norton |
| Website | Robert Dover's Games Society |
The Cotswold Olimpick Games is an annual public celebration of games and sports now held on the Friday after Spring Bank Holiday near Chipping Campden, in the Cotswolds of England. The games likely began in 1612 and ran (through a period of discontinuations and revivals) until they were fully discontinued in 1852. However, they were revived in 1963 and still continue as of 2024.
The games originated with a local lawyer, Robert Dover, with the approval of King James I. Dover's motivation in organising the games may have been his belief that physical exercise was necessary for the defence of the realm, but he may also have been attempting to bring rich and poor together; the games were attended by all classes of society, including royalty on one occasion.