The 1920 gymnastics events consisted of an individual all-around competition and three team events. The three team events were chosen to reflect the varying schools of gymnastics practised on the European continent in this era. The three team events consisted of only a few nations entering, but with many competitors allowed per team. Other than the description of the scoring methods, details of the competition have not survived. Scoring, as always in gymnastics, was controversial, notably in both team events, as described below.
Gymnastics in Belgium at this time was governed by the three competing schools – the Belgian Gymnastics Federation (founded in 1865), the Catholic Gymnastics Federation (founded in 1892), and the Socialist Gymnastics Federation (founded in 1904). In addition to the competitions, on Sunday, 22 August, the three Belgian gymnastics federations gave a collective demonstration in the Olympic Stadium.