Have the Olympic Games Ever Been Canceled?

up International Olympic Committee or IOC takes lightly. Even when the IOC decided in ninety six to begin staggering the Games so that Winter and Summer Olympics were not held in the same year, but rather in two year intervals, the games were never skipped. Instead, the Olympics went on as scheduled in night and nine two, and a second Winter Olympics was held in nineteen nine four to put

the international of events apart. But nineteen sixteen, nineteen forty and nineteen forty four were grim years and holding the Olympics ended up taking a back burner due to the very dire circumstances playing out on the world stage. In the first case, let's set that stage. The year was nineteen fourteen and much Olympic preparation was afoot as directed

by the members of the IOC. The flag with its iconic rings was unveiled for the first time that year, along with the choice of the host city for the nineteen sixteen Games. Back then, the host city didn't get the seven years notice it does now. Ironically, the choice was Berlin. While the IOC was busy getting ready, Austria Hungary declared war on Serbia, and the Germans were quick

to join the battle. Although their targets were primarily Russia and France, Belgium, a neutral nation, was the next target. In response, Britain joined in and the Great War now known as World War One, was well under way. Given the state of world affairs, British members of the IOC protested the fact that Berlin was still the top choice for hosting the nineteen sixteen Games, and they resigned when

their demands for an alternative location were not met. At the same time, the Germans were adamant and continued planning. The Germans did issue a caveat, though only nations who were on their side or neutral could participate, and several US cities offered themselves as replacement sites, while other IOC members said there could be no games until ninety Pierre Couberton, founder of the IOC and widely recognized father of the

modern Olympics, had this to say on the matter. The IOC could not withdraw the games without consulting the designated city, which presumably would have to give its consent. At the time, Kuberton noted that it was possible that these particular games would not occur as the war trudged on. Kuber CON's prediction proved accurate. The nineteen sixteen games were not held. It was, after all, the war to end all wars.

The stadium stood silent. Fast forward a few decades, and Germany finally got the chance to hold the Games in Berlin in nineteen thirty six, although those games went down in history as the ones that then German Chancellor Adolf Hitler used to showcase Nazi propaganda. Meanwhile, the IOC declared an Asian nation as the future site of an Olympics in nineteen forty. Japan was slated to become the first country in Asia to host the games. Rumor has it that Tokyo won the role of host city because of

a bit of skullduggery. One of Japan's IOC members, Michimas Sosayeshima, reportedly met with Benito Mussolini and promised him the Japanese contingents backing for the nineteen forty four Games to be held in Rome if he would weigh in on Japan's bid for nineteen forty He may have tampered with the opinions of other members too. Of all, this effort was for not, as the nineteen forty four Games never happened either.

Here's how it went down again. The IOC refused the idea of moving the nineteen forty Games, which became a matter of exacerbated controversy when Japan invaded China. Eventually, though it became apparent that the Games would not go forward, Martial law at that point ruled Japan and decreed that the Games were not going to happen, and World War Two was still raging in nineteen forty four, causing the

cancelation of the nineteen forty four Games. The Olympics would not again see the world stage until nineteen forty eight, when they took place in London. However, although official Olympics didn't occur in nineteen forty or nineteen forty four, they didn't go completely unheralded. Prisoners of war in a few European camps held covert Olympiads. Only a handful of relics survived from these clandestine games, including a flag small and drawn on a Polish prisoner's shirt in crayon. In nineteen

forty four. The flag of those surreptitious games was made of a bedsheet and scarves. The Olympic oath for these games began in the name of all the sportsmen whose stadiums are fenced with barbed wire. After World War Two, all Summer Olympic Games took place as scheduled until the

twenty Tokyo Summer Olympics. The IOC president announced in March of twenty that, due to the COVID nineteen pandemic, the games quote must be rescheduled to a date beyond twenty but not later than summer one, to safeguard the health of the athletes, everybody involved in the Olympic Games, and the international community. As of this writing, the Tokyo Games are still scheduled to take place July twenty three through August eighty one under strict guidelines to ensure the safety

of athletes and attendees. Interestingly, the games are still referred to as the twenty Olympics even though they're being held in one. Billions of dollars from TV rights and merchandizing are at stake, so an outright cancelation is unlikely. However, the only spectators allowed will be those who live within

Japan's borders. The Japanese government has barred overseas visitors from entering the country, and one a pole showed of Japanese residents still think the games should be canceled or further postponed. Today's episode is based on the article are the Olympics ever canceled? On how stuff works dot com written by Jessica Tuthman. Brain Stuff is production of I Heart Radio in partnership with how stuff works dot Com and is produced by Tyler Klang. Four more podcasts from my heart Radio.

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