The sports meeting was held from July 1904 to1October 23, lasting more than five months. This is another protracted sports meeting in the history of the Olympic Games. There are only 12 participating countries, which is the least number of participating units in the Olympic Games so far. The host once offered to send a boat to pick up European players, but in the end it was just a blank check. Many European countries, including France, did not participate, because they were far away from the sea, the travel expenses were expensive, and they were worried about the development of the Japanese-Russian naval battle in the Far East. Only 1 person came from Britain, only 17 from Germany, only 14 from Greece, 2 from Norway, 2 from Austria, 4 from Hungary and 1 person from Switzerland, and only 465430 people were sent. Apart from Europe, the other five teams are the host countries of Cuba, Canada, Australia and South Africa for the first time.