The Significance of the Olympics

A Political Perspective

Sport and Politics

'Sport and politics don't mix'

YET

Sport is regularly used as a platform from which people launch their political ideals or protest against certain establishments.

Political SignificanceAs history shows, the Olympics' ability to command international attention makes its entanglement with politics inevitable. Here is a brief timeline of the biggest protests and political statements in Olympic history.

3.5 Billion Viewers in 1992 Barcelona Games. Viewer numbers for more recent games will be even higher!

1936 Berlin

Hitler saw the Games as an opportunity to promote his government and ideals of racial supremacy, and did not want Jews or Blacks to be allowed to participate in the Games.

However, when threatened with a boycott of the Games by other nations, he relented and allowed Blacks and Jews to participate, and added one token participant to the German team—a German woman, Helene Mayer, who had a Jewish father.

At the same time, the party removed signs stating "Jews not wanted" and similar slogans from the city's main tourist attractions. In an attempt to "clean up" Berlin, the German Ministry of the Interior authorized the chief of police to arrest all Romani (Gypsies) and keep them in a "special camp," the Berlin-Marzahn concentration camp.[2]

1956 Melbourne and 1964 Tokyo1956 – Melbourne. Egypt, Lebanon, and Iraq boycott the games in protest of the Israeli invasion of the Sinai Peninsula. The Netherlands, Spain, and Switzerland boycott in protest of the Soviet invasion of Hungary.

1964 – Tokyo. Indonesia and North Korea boycott the Games after the IOC classifies a number of their athletes ineligible. South Africa is banned from participating because of its segregation policy of apartheid.

1968 - Mexico1968 – Mexico City. A student protest against the government turns violent 10 days before the Games, when the Mexican army kills more than 200 students. During the Games US black runners Tommy Smith and Jan Carlos raise the black power symbol with their fists from the podium and are expelled from the ceremonies.

The Black Power salute at the 1968 Olympics was a protest made by the African American athletes Tommie Smith and John Carlos; the athletes made the raised fist gesture at the Olympic Stadium in Mexico City. The Australian competitor, Peter Norman, who was neither Black nor American, also wore a human rights badge on his shirt during the ceremony to show his support to the two Americans. The event was one of the most overtly political statements

in the history of the modern Olympic Games

1972 - Munich1972 – Munich. Palestinian terrorists break in to the Israeli compound in the Olympic village and take nine hostages to bring attention to their demands against the Israeli government. 11 athletes are murdered altogether.

1972 Munich1976 – Montreal. 26 African and Carribbean countries boycott the Games because of the IOC's refusal to ban New Zealand from participating, whose rugby team played in South Africa. Taiwan boycotts when Canada does not accept its request to be recognized at the Games as the Republic of China.

1980 Moscow and 1984 Los Angeles

1980. Moscow. President Carter leads about 60 other countries in the largest boycott of the Games in history in response the Soviet Union's invasion of Afghanistan in 1979.

1984. Los Angeles. The Soviet Union, East Germany and Cuba boycott the Games in response to the 1980 U.S.-led boycott.

Activists are protesting outside the Olympic Stadium against Dow Chemical, one of the sponsors of the games. The protesters staged a "die-in" demanding compensation for those affected by the Bhopal disaster in 1984.

1988 - Seoul

Among issues with the environment and the displacement of thousands to build the Olympic stadiums, the free Tibet movement was in force during this Olympics highlighting to the world the control that China had over Tibet and their quest for freedom.

2008 Beijing

The Olympic Lane

London 2012: “Demonstrators here in East London say they have nothing against the Olympic Games. However, they are worried about the level of corporate sponsorship. And the type of companies that are sponsoring the Games.”

Political Significance

• Self

• What significance does the political aspect of the London 2012 Olympics have on you?

Political Significance

• Others (family and friends)

• What significance does the political aspect of the London 2012 Olympics have on those close to you?

Political Significance

• Society

• What significance does the political aspect of the London 2012 Olympics have on New Zealand society?