Amateur theatre is distinct from the professional or community theatre simply in that participants are not paid, although this is not always the case, even though the productions staged may be commercial ventures, either to fund further productions, to benefit the community, or for charity. Amateur actors are not typically members of actors’ unions, as these organisations exist to protect the professional industry and discourage their members from working with companies which are not signatories to union contracts.

The marathon was one of the original modern Olympic events in 1896, though the distance did not become standardized until 1921. More than 500 marathons are held throughout the world each year, with the vast majority of competitors being recreational athletes as larger marathons can have tens of thousands of participants.

Contemporary such venues may be found in the basement of larger residential buildings, or as simple storefront locations. They can be rather small compared to other music venues, reflecting the intimate atmosphere of jazz concerts and long term decline in interest in jazz. Despite being called “clubs”, these venues are usually not exclusive.

Most but not all movie theaters are commercial operations catering to the general public, who attend by purchasing a ticket. The movie is projected with a movie projector onto a large projection screen at the front of the auditorium. Most movie theaters are now equipped for digital cinema projection, removing the need to create and transport a physical film print.

In schools which use a house system a feature of the school is the competition between the houses; this is especially brought out during sporting events such as an inter-house sports day. Games that are played on school sports days can be wide and varied. They can include straightforward sprints and longer races for all age groups as well as egg and spoon races. Three legged races are run as well as sack races, wheelbarrow races, and parent and child races. Additional games are traditionally run in Ireland, and the UK, such as horseshoes.

A similar, though more rapid, evolution occurred with Jazz Bilzen, a solely jazz festival that was inaugurated in 1965 in the Belgian city of Bilzen. The 1966 festival still featured mostly jazz acts. However, by the time of the third festival from August 25–27, 1967, rock and pop acts had edged out most of the jazz bands and become the main attraction.