With the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games just around the corner, RFI's French and foreign-language editorial teams have taken a look back at ten Olympic Games that have made history. They have also looked at how history has changed the games.
The games in question are notable for taking place during periods of tense geopolitical rivalry starting with Helsinki in 1952 to Paris in 2024, via Melbourne 1956, Mexico City 1968, Munich 1972, Montreal 1976, Moscow 1980, Los Angeles 1984, Barcelona 1992, Beijing 2008, and Rio 2016.
The Olympic Games is the only event on the planet that brings together more nations than the UN does. Every four years it unfolds in what is a veritable geopolitical theatre in which each player has a role.
As on so many occasions since the revival of the Games in 1896, next year’s Olympics in 2024 in Paris will also take place against the backdrop of a tense geopolitical stand-off, this time between Ukraine and Russia and between Russia and Ukraine's allies.
So do the Olympic Games make history or has history made the Olympic Games? To decipher what has happened, RFI's websites will feature a different piece every month from each of the language services and tackle the major issues that have surrounded the games over the past 70 years. The subjects in question include:
Helsinki 1952
RFI's Vietnamese editorial team will be looking back at the games in Helsinki which took place against the backdrop of the Cold War, the bipolarisation of the world, and the athletes who became champions of one side or the other.
For Finland, the Games were an organizational challenge more than anything. Faced with the animosity between East and West, the country had to give up on the idea of an Olympic Village – a longtime symbol of peace - and build two Olympic Villages to avoid tensions between athletes from the two blocs.
Melbourne 1956
The Persian-language service will look at the first games that were boycotted by some countries as tensions rose over the Suez Canal affair, the second Egypt-Israel war and the invasion of Hungary by the Soviet Union. Tensions flared up at the very heart of the competition, culminating in the water polo semi-final between the USSR and Hungary, which was descibed in some circles at the time as a "bloodbath".
Mexico City 1968
The Spanish-language service will look at the first developing country to hold the event. Participants in the games required army protection after the massacre of students in Tlatelolco,. However, the games will always be rembered for the iconic raised-fist salute by Tommie Smith and John Carlos - a symbol of Black power and the human rights movement at large - as a sign of protest on the podium.
Munich 1972
The Cambodian-language service will look at the last games Cambodia participated in before a pause of more than 20 years, precipitated by the violence that tore the country apart. However, Munich 72 will go down in history for the politicisation of the games through terrorism which was brought into focus by the murder of 11 Israeli athletes by the Palestinian terrorist organization Black September
Montreal 1976
The Portuguese service will explore the first time democratic Portugal took part in the competition. The games were marked by the absence of no fewer than 28 African nations, who decided not to travel to Canada in protest against apartheid, which was still in force in South Africa.
Moscow 1980
The English service looks at how the games unfolded as more than 60 nations responded to the call for a boycott of the games by the US president Jimmy Carter. He initiated the boycott to protest against the invasion of Afghanistan by the Soviet Union.
Los Angeles 1984
The Romanian service will look at the Californian games, which the Soviet Union boycotted in response to the 1980 boycott of the Moscow games. The USSR was followed by nearly fifteen nations, mainly from the Communist bloc apart from Romania, which did not take part.
Barcelona 1992
The Russia service looks at Russia's first participation in the event following the collapse of the USSR a year earlier. The other countries of the now former Soviet Union made a comeback and decided to take part in the competition under a single banner.
Beijing 2008
The Chinese service will examine the many controversies (repression in Tibet, press freedom, ecological disaster) that marred the organisation and staging of the games in China.
Rio 2016
The Brazilian service will look at the Rio 2016 games, which took place in a country marked by a major political, institutional and social crisis, as well as the problems associated with the emergence of the Zika virus epidemic. Organising the games was a double challenge. However, despite the insistence of the World Health Organisation, the International Olympic Committee categorically refused to postpone the event.
Paris 2024
As for the Paris 2024 Games, it is a safe bet that they will be no exception to the rule and will be strongly influenced by the global geopolitical context, where the power of the sporting game will not prevent the diplomatic game of the powers that be.
