Politics in the Olympics: Difference between revisions
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#REDIRECT [[List of Olympic Games scandals, controversies and incidents]] {{R from merge}} |
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{{Mergefrom|Olympic boycotts|date=September 2009}} |
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{{Unreferenced|date=August 2007}} |
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There are numerous examples of '''politics in the Olympic Games'''. This was not the original intent. The [[Olympic Games]] were created by Baron [[Pierre de Coubertin]] for two reasons: |
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1) A way for the countries of the globe to become more connected.<br> |
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2) It was a reason for men to become more "vigoureux" or vigorous. (This was in answer to the Franco-Prussian War in which Germany defeated France) |
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However in the years to come this began to change. In 1900, the Olympics became a great honor for countries who took part. |
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== 1916 == |
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{{Main|1916 Summer Olympics}} |
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The 1916 Summer Olympics were to have been held in [[Berlin]], but was cancelled because of the outbreak of [[World War I]]. |
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== 1920 & 1924 == |
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{{Main|1920 Summer Olympics|1924 Summer Olympics}} |
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Budapest had initially been selected to host the Games over [[Amsterdam]] and [[Lyon]], but as the [[Austro-Hungarian Empire]] had been a German ally in [[World War I]], the French-dominated [[International Olympic Committee]] transferred the Games to [[Antwerp]] in April 1919. Hungary, [[Germany]], [[Austria]], [[Bulgaria]] and [[Turkey]] were also banned from competing in the Games. Germany remained banned until 1925, and instead hosted a series of games called [[Deutsche Kampfspiele]], starting with the winter edition of 1922 (which predated the first [[Winter Olympics]]). |
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== 1936 == |
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The [[1936 Summer Olympics]], held in Berlin, were contraversial due to the [[Nazi]] regime that came to power after the city's selection. [[Adolf Hitler]] regarded it as his Olympics and he took them as a chance to show off the post-First World War Germany. The United States considered boycotting the games, but ultimately decided to participate. Nazi propaganda promoted concepts of "Aryan racial superiority," however [[African-American]] athlete [[Jesse Owens]], winner of four medals during the games, did not face segregation and discrimination in Germany that were normal in the United States at the time. |
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French Olympians gave what appeared to be the [[Hitler salute]] at the opening ceremony, although they may have been performing the [[Olympic_symbols#Olympic_salute|Olympic salute]], which is similar. Both are based on the [[Roman salute]]. |
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American sprinters [[Sam Stoller]] and [[Marty Glickman]], the only two Jewish athletes on the U.S. Olympic team, were pulled from the 4 × 100 relay team on the day of the competition, leading to accusations of anti-Semitism on the part of the [[United States Olympic Committee]]. |
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== 1940 & 1944 == |
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{{Main|1940 Summer Olympics|1940 Winter Olympics|1944 Winter Olympics|1944 Summer Olympics}} |
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All Olympic events in 1940 and 1944 were cancelled due to the outbreak of [[World War II]]. [[Great Britain]] that hosted the first post-war Olympics in 1948 and [[Nazi Germany]] hosted the last pre-war Olympics in 1936. Both countries were major players in the war and were at war with each other during this period. In addition, Japan was slated to host both events in 1940 (Winter in [[Sapporo]] and Summer in [[Tokyo]]) but both were cancelled due to war outbreak in the Pacific. |
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== 1956 == |
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The [[1956 Summer Olympics]], held in Melbourne, were affected by numerous boycotts. Egypt, Iraq, and Lebanon boycotted in protest of the [[Suez Crisis|Israeli invasion of Egypt]]. The Netherlands, Spain and Switzerland boycotted in protest of the Soviet Union's invasion of Hungary during the [[Hungarian Revolution of 1956|Hungarian Uprising]]. |
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The political frustrations between the Soviet Union and Hungary boiled over at the games themselves when the two mens water polo teams met for the semi-final. The players became increasingly violent towards each other as the game progressed, while many Hungarian-Australian spectators were prevented from rioting only with the sudden appearance of the police<ref> |
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{{cite news |
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|url = http://www.smh.com.au/news/175-years/cold-war-violence-erupts-at-melbourne-olympics/2006/04/17/1145126047088.html |title = Cold War violence erupts at Melbourne Olympics |
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|date = [[1956-12-07]] |
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|publisher = ''Sydney Morning Herald'' |
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|accessdate = 2008-08-10 |
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}}</ref>. |
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The match became known as the [[Blood in the Water match]]<ref> |
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{{cite web |
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|url = |
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http://www.smithsonianmag.com/people-places/blood-in-the-water.html |
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|title = Blood in the Water at the 1956 Olympics |
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|date = [[2008-08-01]] |
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|publisher = ''Smithsonian.com'' |
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|author = Miles Corwin |
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|accessdate = 2008-08-10 |
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}}</ref>. |
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== 1968 == |
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The [[1968 Summer Olympics]] were held in Mexico City. At these games [[Tommie Smith]] and [[John Carlos]], gold and bronze medalists, gave the [[black power salute]] during the [[Star Spangled Banner]]. The action was deemed to be against the principles of the Olympic Games and the two athletes were expelled from the Olympics. |
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{{See also|1968 Olympics Black Power Salute}} |
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Students in Mexico City tried to make use of the media attention for their country to protest against the authoritarian character of the Mexican government. The Mexican government reacted with violence, culminating in the [[Tlatelolco Massacre]] of [[October 2]] in which more than two hundred protesters were gunned down by government forces. |
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== 1972 == |
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The [[1972 Summer Olympics]] held in [[Munich]], Germany, were probably the most negatively affected games. Eleven Israeli athletes were kidnapped and ultimately killed by Palestinian terrorists. The terrorists demanded the release of 234 Palestinians. |
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{{See also|Munich Massacre}} |
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== 1976 == |
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Held in [[Montreal]], the [[1976 Summer Olympics]] were marred with boycotts as well as accusations against the East Germans of [[steroid]] use. The boycotts were held out by 26 African countries because [[All Blacks|New Zealand's national rugby team]] toured South Africa<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nzhistory.net.nz/media/photo/montreal-olympics-boycott |title=The Montreal Olympics boycott | NZHistory.net.nz, New Zealand history online |publisher=Nzhistory.net.nz |date= |accessdate=2009-02-27}}</ref><ref name="bbc">{{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/july/17/newsid_3555000/3555450.stm |title=BBC ON THIS DAY | 17 | 1976: African countries boycott Olympics |publisher=News.bbc.co.uk |date= |accessdate=2009-02-27}}</ref>. |
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Neither the Republic of China ([[Taiwan]]) or the [[People's Republic of China]] (mainland) competed.{{Citation needed|date=July 2008}} |
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Canada incurred $1.5 billion in debt, which they finished paying off in 19 December 2006.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cbc.ca/canada/montreal/story/2006/12/19/qc-olympicstadium.html |title=Quebec's Big Owe stadium debt is over |publisher=Cbc.ca |author=CBC News |date= |accessdate=2009-02-27}}</ref> Montreal became the last publicly funded games.{{Citation needed|date=October 2009}} |
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== 1980 == |
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{{Main|1980 Summer Olympics boycott}} |
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Moscow's [[1980 Summer Olympics]] was the year of the largest boycott in Olympic history. The boycott included the USA and 61 other countries in response to the USSR's invasion of Afghanistan. The [[1980 Winter Olympics]] in [[Lake Placid, New York]] stirred controversy because of plans to convert the Olympic athletes' dormitory facilities into a state prison afterwards. This made legal history when the National Moratorium on Prison Construction won a court ruling allowing its use of the Olympic symbol on a poster as protected speech. |
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== 1984 == |
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{{Main|1984 Summer Olympics boycott}} |
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Allegedly in retaliation of the 1980 boycott, the USSR, East Germany, Cuba and 14 other countries boycotted the Los Angeles [[1984 Summer Olympics]]. |
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This was also the first time the [[People's Republic of China]] participated, having protested the [[Republic of China]]'s presence in previous Olympics. |
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== 1988 == |
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[[North Korea]] boycotted the [[1988 Summer Olympics]] in [[Seoul]], as it was still technically at war with [[South Korea]]. [[Albania]], [[Cuba]], [[Ethiopia]], [[Madagascar]], [[Nicaragua]], and [[Seychelles]] also followed suit. [http://www.olympic.org/uk/games/past/innovations_uk.asp?OLGT=1&OLGY=1988] |
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== 2008 == |
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Since the beginning of 2008, especially during the protests of the torch relay of [[2008 Summer Olympics]], the prospect of boycotting the 2008 games in Beijing grew. The protesters' aims are not only the human rights of [[Mainland China]], but also the independent campaign and violence of [[Tibet]]. Another major factor was the Chinese support for the regime in Sudan, which is accused of committing genocide in the Darfur region; this issue led to Steven Spielberg pulling out as artistic director of the games.<ref>{{cite web|title=Spielberg drops out as Beijing Olympics advisor|year=2008|work=Los Angeles Times|author=Rachel Abramowitz|url=http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/movies/la-et-spielberg13feb13,1,7027646.story?ctrack=2&cset=true |
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|accessdate=2009-02-27}}</ref> U.S. president [[George W. Bush]] committed to attending the opening ceremonies. Ultimately, no nations boycotted the games; however, several prominent world leaders such as [[Angela Merkel]] and [[Gordon Brown]] did not attend the opening ceremony. |
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The political issues in 2008 were not simply limited to issues involving China. Russia was embroiled in controversy as the [[Second South Ossetian War]] started around the same time as the games. This lent extra weight to the victory of the Georgia Women's Beach Volleyball Team over their Russian opponents (although the two players, [[Cristine Santanna]] and [[Andrezza Martins]], were originally from Brazil).[http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/13/AR2008081302734.html?hpid=artslot] |
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== See also == |
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*[[Olympic boycotts]] |
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== References == |
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{{Reflist}} |
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==External links== |
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*[http://www.cfr.org/publication/16366/ Multimedia timeline on the history of politics and the olympics from the Council on Foreign Relations.] |
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Politics In The Olympics}} |
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[[Category:History of the Olympics]] |
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[[Category:Olympic Games controversies]] |
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[[Category:Sport and politics|Olympics]] |
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[[no:Olympiske leker og politikk]] |
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[[pt:Política e sua presença nos Jogos Olímpicos]] |
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[[ru:Олимпийское движение и политический протест]] |
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Latest revision as of 20:50, 12 August 2024
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