The biggest sporting event in the world since 1896, the Summer and Winter Olympics, have mostly been a global break from politicians, but there have also been instances where politics have entered.
Here is a look up at the instances of previous Games when politicians and the Olympic Games crossed paths as the world’s greatest athletes gather in Paris, France, for the 2024 Summer Olympics.
Hitler’s Games – 1936 Summer Olympics
Due to Adolf Hitler’s ascent to power, Germany was given the hosting of the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, but those events would serve as advertising for the Nazi regime.
The treatment of Jewish citizens in Nazi Germany was now causing a stir all over the world, which led the United States to consider a boycott of the Olympics. Unfortunately, the U. S. may take a group to Berlin, but two American Jews had individually ban the Berlin Olympics.
Hitler attempted to use the function as a global display of Nazi-led Germany. Germany would be the most prosperous nation at the Games, but Jesse Owens ‘ four silver medal victories helped alleviate the Nazis ‘ false accusations of superior Aryan race.
Hitler hired Leni Riefenstahl to create the advertising movie Olympia about the 1936 Summer Olympics, which is commonly believed to be the most propaganda-focused event ever held. Due to the Nazi invasion of Poland, which sparked World War II in 1939, the Berlin Games would be the last Olympics to occur before the 1948 Summer Games.
Munich slaughter– 1972 Summer Olympics
At some Games, some Middle Eastern nations have been engaged in political debate over Israel’s right to exist.
At the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, West Germany, Palestinian terrorists held 11 Jewish players and officials captive in the Olympic Village, which was one of the darkest moments in Olympic history. Efforts to save the captives were fruitless, and all 11 Israelis were killed, along with a Western European police officer. The Olympics had pause before returning for a moment.
Although the massacre has been underclosed at subsequent Olympics, a moment of silence was observed for the victims during the opening ceremony for the 2020 Summer Olympics in July 2021.
At various Olympic Games, athletes from some Middle Eastern nations have chosen to not compete against Israeli athletes. Fethi Nourine, an Algerian judo player, withdrew from the most recent Summer Olympics in 2021 rather than face off against Israeli Tohar Butbul, an Israeli.
At the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Lebanese athletes refused to travel with the Israeli team to the opening ceremony. This was a second instance of anti-Israel sentiment.
Boycotts in the 1980 and 1984 Summer Olympics
The United States and the Soviet Union’s Cold War predominated global politics for the majority of the second half of the 20th century, and the Olympics were not immune from the politics of the two world superpowers.
In 1979, the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan to the condemnation of the U. S. and various other countries. In early 1980, President Jimmy Carter made the announcement that the United States would n’t send a team to the Summer Olympics in Moscow if the Soviet Union refused to do so.
The Soviet Union would not withdraw from the country and the U. S., along with 64 other countries, joined in the boycott. The 1980 Summer Olympics saw the smallest number of participants since the 1956 Summer Olympics.
The decision for the U. S. not to participate did complicate the closing ceremony, where Moscow was set to hand off the Olympics to Los Angeles, the host of the 1984 Summer Olympics. The Carter White House refused to permit the flow of the American flag during the closing ceremony, despite Olympic tradition requiring the next host nation’s flag to be raised there. The Los Angeles city flag was eventually raised alongside the flags of Greece and the United States of America, according to the LA 1984 Olympic organizers.
The Soviet Union and nearly all of its Eastern Bloc allies voted to boycott the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles in response to the boycott in 1980. The only Eastern Bloc nation to take part in the Los Angeles Olympics was Romania. It had its most successful Olympics in history, earning a standing ovation at the ceremony’s opening ceremony.
Both the U. S. and the Soviet Union, and their respective allies, would compete together again at the 1988 Summer Olympics.
China human rights concerns – 2022 Winter Olympics
The 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, China, saw calls for boycotts from various countries, mainly stemming from the persecution of Uyghurs in Xinjiang. The U.S. government and other nations and organizations have declared the actions of the Chinese government against the minority group to be genocides and crimes against humanity.
While some nations weighed a full boycott, others chose to hold a “diplomatic boycott,” in which cases they refused to invite any government officials. The U. S., United Kingdom, and Canada declared a diplomatic boycott, while other countries did not send officials because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The 2022 Winter Olympics ‘ organizers made a clear political statement by lighting the Olympic cauldron in response to China’s increased attention given the genocide against the Uyghurs. According to Chinese state media, one of the two Chinese skiers who lit the flame was a member of the Uyghur community. One analyst described the opening ceremony as a clear “message to the West” during the NBC broadcast of the event.
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The Seine’s opening ceremony for the Paris Olympics will take place on July 26. The Games will be broadcast by NBC and its affiliate networks, with the opening ceremony being aired live at 12 p. m. EDT and replayed in prime time at 7: 30 p. m. EDT.
Paris will host the Summer Games for the third time with the 2024 Summer Olympics. At the closing ceremony on Aug. 11, Paris will hand the Games to Los Angeles, which will host the 2028 Summer Olympics.
