Among many other occasions, Hitler used it as a showcase in 1936; the 1956 Melbourne Games were boycotted by a number of states for a variety of different reasons; the 1972 Munich Games were used by Muslim terrorists to kill Israeli athletes; the 1980 Moscow games were boycotted by 65 countries; as retaliation by the Soviets, 14 states, all with Communist regimes, boycotted the 1984 Los Angeles Games, etc.
Olympic purists refuse to acknowledge this. They deny reality. They insist that the Games transcend politics, are separate from regimes. ‘Apolitical’ observers say that political issues come and go, but the Olympics and its spirit are endurable.
Six months before the 2020 Summer Games in Tokyo, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) added a rule to the Olympic Charter: “No kind of demonstration or political, religious or racial propaganda is permitted in any Olympic sites, venues or other areas.”
This of course regulates “non-neutral” messaging at the Games themselves. But who’s allowed to participate and who’s not, still remains an issue. On January 25, the IOC issued a statement which, a) reaffirmed and called for a reinforcement of anti-Russian and Belorussian sanctions; banned any of their attributes (flags etc.) from the Games; opposed invitations to any of their officials to any international events; b) proclaimed solidarity with Ukraine; allowed Russian and Belorussian athletes to participate as “neutrals”, not representing their country, but only athletes “who have not acted against the peace mission of the IOC by actively supporting the war in Ukraine”.