Planning for the modern games began in 1894, with the founding of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Largely through the efforts of the French sportsman and educator Baron Pierre de Coubertin (1863–1937), the IOC enlisted the aid of sports organizations and individuals of various countries, chiefly European at first. A modified revival of the ancient Greek Olympic Games (see Olympian Games), the modern games were inaugurated in the spring of 1896 in Athens. This competition evolved into the Summer Olympics. The Winter Olympics were begun in 1924 and were held in the same year as the summer games until the 1994 winter games in Lillehammer, Norway, when the alternating cycles began.