I am a big believer in the idealism of the Olympics, but I also know they never exist in a vacuum of international affairs or foreign policy impact. Over time, a number of major news stories have erupted during these global sporting events designed to place "...sport at the service of the harmonious development of man, with a view to encouraging the establishment of a peaceful society concerned with the preservation of human dignity."
Already in the run up to the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, we have seen massive protests surrounding the global Olympic torch relay. And the Olympics have given many the opportunity to shine a spotlight on the Chinese government's role in Tibet, Darfur, and domestic human rights abuses.
The Chinese have tried to say the Games should exist separately from global policy discussions, but few are buying this logic. As Foreign Policy Passport points out in "The Olympics aren't political? Please.," even the Chinese can't follow that rule. French philosopher Bernard-Henri Lévy even compared the 2008 Games to the ones presided over by Adolph Hitler in Germany. "If we accept going to Beijing for the games, it will be like in Berlin in 1936--games of blood and shame," he said.
If history is any indicator, the Olympics in Beijing will continue to generate news on both the front pages and the sports pages of the world's media outlets. Here is just a short list of some major news made at the modern Olympics:
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2002 Salt Lake City: For the first time, there were official "protest zones" at the Olympics -- seven of them actually. But no real disruptions were reported.
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2000 Sydney: The two Koreas made history by marching into the Olympic stadium together. Australia's aboriginal people received international recognition. And, according to CNN, the Taliban almost received an Olympic invitation.
- 1996 Atlanta: The bomb that went off in Centennial Olympic Park has yet to be explained. Journalists also focused on the general disorganization early in the Games.
- 1988 Seoul: The Seoul Games were international recognition that South Korea had become a major player in the industrial world. Many stories were done about economic growth in the country.
- 1984 Los Angeles: The Soviets and most of their allies boycotted the 84 Games. These were the days of the "Star Wars" missile defense system and President Reagan's "evil empire" speech. Little did we know that the Cold War was on it's last leg.
- 1984 Sarajevo: Yugoslavia was still unified, and the world was shown how a modern, highly diverse nation could transcend religion, language and culture to become one people. We all know how this story ended. Early in the Bosnian war, TV news report showed that most of the Olympic facilities had been destroyed by the fighting.
- 1980 Moscow: President Carter ordered an American boycott of these Games in response to Soviet aggression in Afghanistan.
- 1980 Lake Placid: No real news here, but the USA victory over the USSR in hockey was a splendid moment of Cold War drama. Future generations, unable to feel the international tension of those times, will wonder why everyone was so excited.
- 1972 Munich: These Games are the true world news standard by which all modern Olympics are judged. Terrorists took the Israeli team, and the world's attention, hostage. When it was over, the whole team was dead.
- 1968 Mexico City: Young people in Mexico used the opportunity to draw world attention to their grievances against the government. Their protests were met with brutal violence from the Mexican authorities. Americans Tommie Smith and John Carlos won the gold and bronze medals in the 200-meter race. As they stood on the winner's platform listening to the Star Spangled Banner, they each raised a single gloved fist to symbolize black unity and draw attention to racism and black poverty in the US. For this, the two men were kicked out of the Olympic Village and vilified in the US.
- 1940 and 1944: Olympics cancelled due to World War II.
- 1936 Berlin: Jesse Owens, the African-American running sensation, was the star of the Games, much to the consternation of the Games' host, Adolf Hitler.
- 1916: Olympics cancelled due to World War I.
