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Political moves in the Olympics down the ages
1916: Games cancelled because of World War I
1916: Games cancelled because of World War I
Belgium, 1920: Austria, Bulgaria, Germany and Turkey not permitted to participate because of their role in World War I
Berlin, 1936: Olympic Games awarded to Berlin. Hitler used the Olympics to convey to the world the facade of a peaceful and tolerant Germany in contrast to his racist regime. He used the Games as a display of political strength. Many Jewish communities, in various countries, asked for a boycott of these Games. However, Hitler failed in his attempt to use the Games to prove his theory of racial superiority. In this, he was frustrated by Jesse Owens, an American black athlete, who won four gold medals in the 100m, 200m, long jump and the 4 x 100m relay.
1940: Games were originally awarded to Tokyo, but after the Japanese invasion of China, the Games were taken from them.
London,1948: Germany and Japan were not invited to participate because of their role in World War II. The London Games saw the first time participation by Communist countries.
Helsinki,1952: USSR and West Germany participated for the first time. Taiwan withdrew in protest that the People's Republic of China was permitted to compete although its National Olympic Committee(NOC) had not yet been recognised.
Melbourne, 1956: Egypt, Iraq and Lebanon boycotted Melbourne Games to protest Israeli-led take over of the Suez Canal. Holland and People's Republic of China withdrew in protest of the continuing recognition of Taiwan's separate NOC.
Spain and Switzerland boycotted to protest the Soviet invasion of Hungary. The conflict between USSR and Hungary was taken into the pool when the two countries exchanged kicks and punches. The game was halted by the referee.
The Melbourne Olympics marked the beginning of individuals and groups using the Games as a stage for political displays.
1958: People's Republic of China withdrew from the Olympic movement and all international federations. It wasn't until 1971 that the IOC reinstated them.
Rome, 1960: These games marked the end of South Africa's Olympic participation. South Africa was banned from the Olympic Games due to its political policy of Apartheid. The IOC restored recognition of the South African Olympic Committee in 1991. South Africa competed in the 1992 Barcelona Games.
Mexico City, 1968: East German NOC was recognised as the NOC of teh German Democratic Republic and competed separately for the first time. Games best known for the black power protests of Tommie Smith and John Carlos, USA runners.
1971: IOC resolved to reinstate the People's Republic of China.
Munich, 1972: On 5 September, eight Arab terrorists broke into the Israeli team headquarters. The terrorists killed 2 people immediately and another 9 were murdered after a rescue attempt, by the German police, failed at the airport. The Olympic Family was stunned. A memorial service took place, the next morning, in a packed Olympic stadium. Competition resumed later that day with the consent of the Israeli team who returned home immediately. The Games were suspended for 34 hours.
Montreal, 1976: African nations demanded New Zealand be expelled as their rugby team had toured South Africa. As rugby was not an Olympic sport, IOC did not take any action and subsequently, the Montreal Games were boycotted by African nations.
Moscow, 1980: Moscow Olympics boycotted by USA in protest of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Australian Government supported the boycott but allowed athletes to decide for themselves whether to take part.
Los Angeles, 1984: The boycott of the 1984 los angeles olympic games by the soviet union and 13 other socialist countries was partially influenced by the desire to reciprocate the US boycott of the Olympic Games and the desire to call attention to the fact that the los Angeles olympic committee was violating the spirit of the olympics by using the games to generate commercial profits.
Seoul, 1988: North Korea, Cuba, Ethiopia and Nicaragua boycotted Seoul olympics.
1991: IOC restored recognition of South African Olympic committee. IOC also recognised the NOCs of Estonia, Latvia and lithuania.
Barcelona, 1992: New unified team participated for the first time. South Africa represented for the first time since 1960.
Sydney, 2000: There have been occasions when Games were used to send out a positive message. In these Olympics, teams from North and South Korean marched as one at the opening ceremony -- although they competed as separate nations.
East Timor was allowed to compete in the Games under the Olympic flag, after a last minute, hurried compromise.
Olympics, 2008: China's bid for the Games was opposed on the subject of human rights violations. Amnesty International says decision to award the Games to Beijing is 'tantamount to ignoring widespread torture, detention without trial, political repression, summary execution and other denials of basic human rights.'
Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian's push for a new constitution, which China views as a step toward the goal of independence, could reportedly prove disruptive for Beijing's hosting of the 2008 Olympics.
