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The international biological competition between Czechoslovakia and Poland from 1985 to 1989 provided ground for the future IBO. Positive experience during international olympiads in other natural sciences and mathematics led to the idea of starting an international biology olympiad. So UNESCO asked the former Czechoslovakia to take the initiative. Six interested countries (Belgium, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, German Democratic Republic, Poland and the Soviet Union) founded the IBO in 1989 (Prague and Brno) and participated in the first IBO which was held in Olomouc in July 1990. Notwithstanding some initial difficulties, this olympiad was a great success and it was decided to continue with the IBO. In subsequent olympiads the number of participating countries increased rapidly.
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History of IBO 
