The Olympiads

At a glance

International Mathematical Olympiad

IMO/First held 1959/Team size 6Active

History

The oldest of the international science Olympiads. The first was held in Romania in 1959 with seven countries taking part, and it now draws over a hundred delegations each July.

Format

Six problems across two days, three on each, with four and a half hours for each paper. Every problem is marked out of seven, so a perfect score is 42. A delegation is six students with a leader and a deputy leader. Medals go to the top half of contestants, in roughly a one-two-three ratio of gold to silver to bronze. Contestants must be under twenty and not yet enrolled in higher education. A country new to the competition takes part as an observer for one year before entering a team, which Lebanon did at the 2026 edition. Students compete as individuals, though the results are usually read as a table of countries.

Status

Lebanon is registered with the IMO and has a listed national contact, but has never sent a competing team. LASO attended the 2026 edition in Shanghai as observers; the 2027 team in Hungary will be the country's first.

Year	Host	Delegation
2026	Shanghai, China	Observer delegation
2027	Hungary	First competing team

International Physics Olympiad

IPhO/First held 1967/Team size 5Applied

History

First held in Warsaw in 1967, and now among the largest of the science Olympiads.

Format

Two five-hour papers over two days: a theoretical exam of three problems, and an experimental exam worked in the laboratory. A delegation is at most five students with two leaders. Gold goes to roughly the top eight per cent, and about two thirds of contestants leave with a medal or an honourable mention. Contestants must be under twenty and not yet enrolled in higher education. A country new to the competition takes part as an observer for one year before entering a team. Lebanon has applied to do so at the 2027 edition.

Status

Lebanon has never competed at the IPhO. LASO has applied to attend the 2027 edition as observers. The application has not been accepted yet.

International Olympiad in Informatics

IOI/First held 1989/Team size 4Active

History

First held in Pravetz, Bulgaria, in 1989, and now the reference competition for algorithmic programming at school level.

Format

Two competition days, each with about three algorithmic tasks and five hours at the keyboard. Submissions are judged automatically against hidden test data, with partial credit for partial solutions. A delegation is at most four students with two leaders. Medals go to the top half of contestants, in roughly a one-two-three ratio of gold to silver to bronze. Contestants must be under twenty and not yet enrolled in higher education. A country new to the competition takes part as an observer for one year before entering a team. Lebanon will do so at the 2027 edition.

Status

Lebanon has never competed at the IOI. LASO was accepted to attend the 2027 edition in Potsdam, Germany, as observers.

Year	Host	Delegation
2027	Potsdam, Germany	Observer delegation

International Olympiad in Artificial Intelligence

IOAI/First held 2024/Team size 4Planned

History

First held in Burgas, Bulgaria, in 2024, which makes it by some distance the youngest of the six.

Format

A scientific round and a practical round. The scientific round covers machine learning, natural language processing, and computer vision, and is worked on in advance; the practical round is sat under supervision at the competition. A delegation is at most four students with two team leaders. Medals follow the same scheme as the other science Olympiads: roughly the top half of contestants, split in about a one-two-three ratio of gold to silver to bronze. Contestants must be under twenty and not yet enrolled in higher education.

Status

Lebanon has taken part in the IOAI. The team that went did so independently and was not entered by the association.

International Chemistry Olympiad

IChO/First held 1968/Team size 4Future scope

History

First held in Prague in 1968, and run every year since except 1971.

Format

A laboratory examination worth forty points and a theoretical paper worth sixty, each up to five hours and held over two days. A delegation is at most four students with two mentors. Medals go to at most sixty per cent of contestants, split gold to silver to bronze in roughly a one-two-three ratio. Contestants must be under twenty and not yet enrolled in higher education. A country new to the competition takes part as an observer for one year before entering a team.

Status

Lebanon does not appear in the IChO's register of participating countries.

International Biology Olympiad

IBO/First held 1990/Team size 4Future scope

History

First held in Olomouc, then Czechoslovakia, in 1990, with six countries and twenty-two students.

Format

Theoretical and practical examinations held over two days, the practical worked across a series of laboratory stations. Each country sends the four winners of its own national biology Olympiad, together with two team leaders. Medals go to roughly the top half of contestants, in about a one-two-three ratio of gold to silver to bronze. Students must be under twenty and not yet at university. A country new to the competition takes part as an observer for one year before entering a team.

Status

Lebanon is not a member of the IBO and does not appear in its published results.