Before the Rings: The Visionary Who Lit the Way
John Hulley: Liverpool’s Hidden Architect of the Olympic Movement
John Hulley’s story is one of those brilliant, half-forgotten sparks that quietly shaped the world we know today. Long before the Olympic rings became a global symbol, Hulley was in Liverpool championing physical education as a force for public good and staging ambitious “Olympic Festivals” that brought whole communities together.
In 1865 he co‑founded the National Olympian Association — a direct forerunner of today’s British Olympic Association — alongside William Penny Brookes and Ernst Ravenstein
What makes Hulley remarkable isn’t just the events he organised, but the philosophy he pushed into the national bloodstream: that sport should be open, uplifting, and a pathway to a healthier society.
His festivals, gymnasia, and public campaigns laid the groundwork for the amateur ideals that later inspired Pierre de Coubertin and helped shape the modern Olympic Movement
Hulley may not be a household name, but his legacy runs through every torch relay, every opening ceremony, every athlete who steps onto the world stage. Liverpool’s own “Gymnasiarch” helped light the flame — and the Olympic world is brighter for it.
