Which sport is returning to the Olympic programme at the Los Angeles Games?

  • A. Cricket
  • B. Rugby
  • C. Golf
  • D. Boxing

💡 Need a hint?

This team sport played with a bat and ball is enormously popular in countries such as India, Pakistan, Australia and England, but had not appeared at the Games for more than a century.

✅ View the answer

The correct answer is A. Cricket is returning to the Olympic programme for the Los Angeles Games. The sport is making its comeback after an absence of more than a century, carried by a global following that few other sports can match.

📚 More background information

Few people in the Netherlands know the rules, but cricket is one of the most widely followed sports in the world, with a massive audience on the Indian subcontinent and in countries that were part of the British Commonwealth. The format chosen for the Games is the fast-paced Twenty20 format (T20), in which a match is completed within a few hours. That is a world away from classic Test cricket, which can take several days.

The choice fits into a broader trend in which the organisers of the Games add sports that connect with the host country and reach a large international audience. For the edition in the United States, commercial appeal and new markets weigh heavily in that decision.

Useful to know: the Olympic sports programme changes with every edition, and as a result it regularly throws up surprising quiz questions. Sports come and go depending on popularity, the host country and international sports organisations. Keeping an up-to-date list is worth its weight in gold on quiz night.