List of Olympic Games boycotts

(Redirected from Olympic boycotts)

While all countries are normally eligible to compete in the Olympic Games, there have been several instances of nations boycotting or being barred from participation, often in protest to decisions made by the International Olympic Committee.

Austria, Bulgaria, Germany, Hungary, and the Ottoman Empire were not invited to attend the 1920 Antwerp games in Belgium, having lost World War I.[1][2]

South Africa were not invited to the 1964 Games, while its invitation to the 1968 Games was withdrawn after several other African countries threatened to boycott the Games due to apartheid. South Africa would not be permitted to return to the Olympics until 1992.

Rhodesia was also prevented from entering the 1972 Summer Olympics when its invitation was withdrawn by the International Olympic Committee following protests by other African countries.[3]

Possibly the most famous Olympic boycotts occurred in 1980 and 1984, due to the Soviet invasion in Afghanistan. Iran and Albania are the only countries that boycotted both the 1980 and 1984 Olympics. Albania is also the only country that boycotted the 1976, 1980 and 1984 Olympics.

In 2021, several nations announced a diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Winter Olympics to protest against Chinese mistreatment of the Uyghur population, thus prohibiting many government officials from attending the games in an official capacity, while still permitting athletes to compete.[4] Later, India joined the boycott over China's decision to choose Qi Fabao, a regimental commander in the People's Liberation Army, as a torchbearer for the event.[5][6]

List of full boycotts of an Olympic Games or full non-attendance

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Olympiad Host City Host Country Year No. boycotts Boycotting countries
List Map
XVI Melbourne   Australia 1956 12  
XVIII Tokyo   Japan 1964 3  
XXI Montreal   Canada 1976 37  
XXII Moscow   Soviet Union 1980 67
  1.   Albania[a]
  2.  Antigua and Barbuda
  3.   Argentina
  4.   Bahamas
  5.  Bahrain
  6.   Bangladesh
  7.   Barbados
  8.   Belize
  9.   Bermuda
  10.   Bolivia
  11.   Canada
  12.   Cayman Islands
  13.   Central African Republic
  14.   Chad
  15.   Chile
  16.   China
  17.   Egypt
  18.   El Salvador
  19.   Fiji
  20.   Gabon
  21.   Gambia
  22.   Ghana
  23.   Haiti
  24.   Honduras
  25.   Hong Kong
  26.   Indonesia
  27.   Iran
  28.   Israel
  29.   Ivory Coast
  30.   Japan
  31.   Kenya
  32.   South Korea
  33.   Liberia
  34.   Liechtenstein
  35.   Malawi
  36.   Malaysia
  37.   Mauritania
  38.   Monaco
  39.   Mauritius
  40.   Morocco
  41.   Netherlands Antilles
  42.   Niger
  43.  North Yemen
  44.   Norway
  45.   Pakistan
  46.   Panama
  47.   Papua New Guinea
  48.   Paraguay
  49.   Philippines
  50.   Qatar
  51.   Saudi Arabia
  52.   Singapore
  53.   Somalia
  54.   Sudan
  55.   Suriname
  56.   Eswatini
  57.   Chinese Taipei[b]
  58.   Thailand
  59.   Togo
  60.   Tunisia
  61.   Turkey
  62.   United Arab Emirates
  63.   United States
  64.   United States Virgin Islands
  65.   Uruguay
  66.   West Germany
  67.   Zaire
 
XXIII Los Angeles   United States 1984 19  
XXIV Seoul   South Korea 1988 7  

List of non-attendance of government officials or diplomatic boycotts of the Olympic Games

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The following is the list of countries that did not send official delegations to the Games, but permitted their athletes to participate.

Games Host City Host Country Year Boycotting countries
List Map
XXXII Olympic Summer Olympics Tokyo   Japan 2020
  1. North Korea[e]
 
XXIV Olympic Winter Games Beijing   China 2022  

Other

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During the 2014 Winter Paralympics in Russia, the United States and United Kingdom diplomatically boycotted the event, and the entire Ukrainian delegation except for their flagbearer boycotted the opening ceremony due to Russia's annexation of Crimea and the violation of the Olympic Truce.

Notes

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  1. ^ a b Albania withdrew from participation at the 1980 and 1984 Summer Olympics without giving any reasons.
  2. ^ Taiwan boycotted the 1980 Summer Olympics by protesting the Nagoya Resolution designating it as "Chinese Taipei"
  3. ^ a b c Albania, Ethiopia and Seychelles did not respond to invitation for the 1988 Olympics.
  4. ^ a b Madagascar and Nicaragua cancelled participation at the 1988 Summer Olympics for financial reasons.
  5. ^ North Korea cancelled participation at the 2020 Summer Olympics for medical reasons.[7]

References

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  1. ^ "Explainer: Who took part in the Antwerp Olympics? | Century Ireland". www.rte.ie. Retrieved 2025-02-02.
  2. ^ "Timeline: Politics and Protest at the Olympics". www.cfr.org. Retrieved 2025-02-02.
  3. ^ "1972: Rhodesia out of Olympics". 22 August 1972. Retrieved 14 May 2025 – via news.bbc.co.uk.
  4. ^ "2022 Beijing Winter Olympics: Australia joins US diplomatic boycott". BBC News. 2021-12-08. Retrieved 2021-12-08.
  5. ^ "India announces diplomatic boycott of Beijing Winter Olympics". The Hindu. 2022-02-03. Retrieved 2022-02-03.
  6. ^ "India launches last-minute diplomatic boycott of Beijing Olympics over Chinese soldier". 4 February 2022.
  7. ^ "Tokyo Olympics: North Korea to skip Games over Covid-19 fears". BBC News. 2021-04-06. Retrieved 2022-07-17.
  8. ^ "Lithuania confirms diplomatic boycott of Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics". ANI News. 3 December 2021. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
  9. ^ Allie Malloy and Kate Sullivan. "White House announces US diplomatic boycott of 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing". CNN. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
  10. ^ "Australia joins diplomatic boycott of Beijing Winter Olympics". ABC News. 7 December 2021. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
  11. ^ "UK 'effectively' plans a diplomatic boycott of Beijing Winter Olympics, joining the United States, Australia and Lithuania". chicagotribune.com. 8 December 2021. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
  12. ^ Tasker, John Paul (8 December 2021). "Trudeau announces diplomatic boycott of Beijing Olympics". CBC/Radio-Canada. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
  13. ^ "Kosovo boycotts Beijing Winter Olympics". Alsat News. 8 December 2021. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
  14. ^ "Which Countries Are Boycotting China's Winter Olympics? Full List". Newsweek. 8 December 2021. Retrieved 18 December 2021.
  15. ^ "Estonian government officials in no mood to attend Beijing Olympics". Baltic News Network. 18 January 2022. Archived from the original on 29 January 2022. Retrieved 18 January 2022.
  16. ^ "Taiwan to boycott Beijing Winter Olympics: source". taipeitimes.com. 26 January 2022. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
  17. ^ "Denmark to join diplomatic boycott of Beijing Olympics over human rights". Reuters. 14 January 2022. Retrieved 14 January 2022.
  18. ^ IndiaToday, Geeta Mohan 3rd Feb'22. "Indian diplomats to boycott Beijing Winter Olympics after China makes Galwan PLA soldier torchbearer". IndiaToday. Retrieved 3 February 2022.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)