Dennis the 'Bloody Peasant'
8th May 2012, 09:21
Twelve weeks before the opening ceremony of the Los Angeles Olympic Games, the USSR announced it was boycotting them. It was expected most of the Eastern Bloc will follow suit.
The announcement, which was made on Russian TV this afternoon, blamed the commercialisation of the games and a lack of security measures, which amounted to a violation of the Olympic charter.
The Soviet Union accused the United States of using the games "for political purposes" and "stirring up anti-Soviet propaganda" and of having a "cavalier attitude to security of Russian athletes". In 1980 the USA and more than 60 other countries boycotted the Moscow Olympics in protest at the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.
With the exception of Romania, the entire Eastern bloc and Cuba joined the boycott - 14 countries in all.
Although a record 140 nations did turn up - including China which had not taken part since 1932 - the level of competition was somewhat lopsided with the absence of so many world-class athletes.
As a result the USA won a record 83 gold medals. The Los Angeles Summer Games were highly commercialised - they were the first privately financed games ever and made a profit of $225m thanks to corporate sponsorship and extensive use of unpaid volunteers. Forty-three companies were licensed to sell "official" Olympic products.
(BBC History)
The announcement, which was made on Russian TV this afternoon, blamed the commercialisation of the games and a lack of security measures, which amounted to a violation of the Olympic charter.
The Soviet Union accused the United States of using the games "for political purposes" and "stirring up anti-Soviet propaganda" and of having a "cavalier attitude to security of Russian athletes". In 1980 the USA and more than 60 other countries boycotted the Moscow Olympics in protest at the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.
With the exception of Romania, the entire Eastern bloc and Cuba joined the boycott - 14 countries in all.
Although a record 140 nations did turn up - including China which had not taken part since 1932 - the level of competition was somewhat lopsided with the absence of so many world-class athletes.
As a result the USA won a record 83 gold medals. The Los Angeles Summer Games were highly commercialised - they were the first privately financed games ever and made a profit of $225m thanks to corporate sponsorship and extensive use of unpaid volunteers. Forty-three companies were licensed to sell "official" Olympic products.
(BBC History)