Moscow Olympic Games
The 22nd edition of the Olympic Games is organized in Moscow, capital of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). It was the first time that a socialist country hosted the modern Olympics, so much so that the USSR attached great importance to the event.
Moscow prepared for the games in a grandiose manner. For five years, sports venues and structures were erected throughout the capital to allow participating sports delegations to fully experience their stay in Moscow.
Designated in October 1974 by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to host the sporting event, Moscow was the subject of a call for a boycott launched by the United States just a few months before the opening of the games, announced for July 19, 1980.
To give more impact to his action, American President Jimmy Carter, instigator of this call for boycott, is forcing his country's athletes not to go to Russia, just as he is trying to convince other nations not to take part in this important sporting gathering.
If Great Britain and Australia support the United States, while giving their athletes the freedom to go or not to Moscow, nearly 40 nations refuse to attend. Once again, politics is encroaching on sport and one of the fundamental human rights – the right to sport – is being violated.
The Olympic Games have often been punctuated by political incidents. This was the case in 1936 in Berlin, when the Nazis wanted to confine the games to an ideological straitjacket to demonstrate the “supremacy of the Aryan race”.
Other events occurred during the Olympic Games in Helsinki (1956), Mexico (1968) and Montreal (1976), showing that politics and sport are sometimes unfortunately linked, while the Olympic spirit highlights the bonds of friendship and solidarity between people.
Moscow prepared for the games in a grandiose manner. For five years, sports venues and structures were erected throughout the capital to allow participating sports delegations to fully experience their stay in Moscow.
Designated in October 1974 by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to host the sporting event, Moscow was the subject of a call for a boycott launched by the United States just a few months before the opening of the games, announced for July 19, 1980.
To give more impact to his action, American President Jimmy Carter, instigator of this call for boycott, is forcing his country's athletes not to go to Russia, just as he is trying to convince other nations not to take part in this important sporting gathering.
If Great Britain and Australia support the United States, while giving their athletes the freedom to go or not to Moscow, nearly 40 nations refuse to attend. Once again, politics is encroaching on sport and one of the fundamental human rights – the right to sport – is being violated.
The Olympic Games have often been punctuated by political incidents. This was the case in 1936 in Berlin, when the Nazis wanted to confine the games to an ideological straitjacket to demonstrate the “supremacy of the Aryan race”.
Other events occurred during the Olympic Games in Helsinki (1956), Mexico (1968) and Montreal (1976), showing that politics and sport are sometimes unfortunately linked, while the Olympic spirit highlights the bonds of friendship and solidarity between people.