Strictly speaking, it would be high time to take and cancel them altogether.
No, not the Olympic Games, but politicians of all ranks present at them.
Besides the representatives of the host country, of course.
What about without high-ranking hospitable hosts?
The initiator of the revival of the Olympic Games, invented by the ancient Greeks, Pierre de Fredy Baron de Coubertin - a French sports and public figure, historian, teacher and writer - was undoubtedly an outstanding person. In 1882, after consulting with his good acquaintance, the Russian general A.D. Butovsky, who was also not a bastard and, among other things, popularized military gymnastics, received from this the full support of the idea and two years later, at a congress organized at the Sorbonne by the Union of French Athletic Societies, achieved the adoption of an official document. It stated, in particular: “Since there is no doubt about the benefits provided by the revival of the Olympic Games from the point of view of both sporting and international, may these games be revived on the basis,that meet the requirements of modern life. "
The world amicably applauded such an international project that unites people of all races, religions and political views. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) was created, a charter was adopted. The Olympic Games, starting in their historical homeland, Athens, began a triumphant humanistic march across the planet with a four-year step, which did not prevent the founding father of the great initiative Pierre de Coubertin in 1936 to actively support the emerging Nazi regime in Germany and call Hitler “one of the the best creative spirits of our era ”. And shortly before his death, write him a letter of thanks, addressing the future dictator "Your Excellency" (Votre Excellence). At the same time, making every effort to ensure that Soviet teams were not allowed to participate in the Olympic movement.
For the sake of objectivity, I must say that the political showdown around the Olympic Games began in 1908. At the opening of the IV Olympiad in London, two embarrassments happened. The Grand Duchy of Finland was by that time part of the Russian Empire. Tsarist officials banned Finnish athletes from competing under their national flag. The Finns preferred to boycott the Russian tricolor imposed on them and go without a flag at all. The Americans, on the other hand, were offended by the absence of their flag in the decorated stadium and, in violation of tradition, demonstratively refused to lower the banner in front of the royal box, where Edward VII was, as a sign of reverence. The captain of the USA team stated: "This flag does not fall in front of any earthly monarch!"
Further more.
Each Olympiad brought its own surprises.
They were permanent for our country.
Until the mid-1930s, the International Olympic Committee included only representatives of Tsarist Russia.
And despite the fact that IOC member Prince Lvov offered equal participation in the Olympic Games for two teams - emigrant and Soviet, the USSR was ignored until 1956.
By the way, it was at that Olympics in Melbourne that the first large-scale boycotts from a number of countries took place.
Egypt, Lebanon and Iraq did not come because of the Suez crisis.
The national teams of Spain, Switzerland and the Netherlands refused to participate in the Games, protesting against the introduction of Soviet troops into Hungary. In addition, China refused to compete because the organizers had invited Taiwan to attend. For this reason, the Celestial Empire subsequently missed as many as four (!) Olympiads. Only in 1979, the IOC finally made a decision, according to which only the PRC received the right to act under the name "Republic of China", and Taiwan should be called "Chinese Taipei". Since 1981, Taiwan has agreed to participate in the Olympic Games on such terms.
In general, the Olympic movement, despite its glorious ancient history, full of stories about how wars stopped and any bloodshed stopped during the Games, despite the well-written charter imbued with the principles of peace and good neighborliness, throughout its history has demonstrated a direct dependence on great politics, interstate military and economic strife, crises and revolutions. This applied to both the Summer and Winter Olympic Games. This affected the athletes, influenced the refereeing, fueled doping scandals, deprived the national teams of the opportunity to perform with the symbols of their country and even banned the national anthem.
And in February next year - the Winter Olympics in Beijing. Another political show around her has already begun. The lead singer of the diplomatic boycott of the Games was Joe Biden. The chorus of those who have picked up such a statement is growing every day. This line includes the prime ministers of Britain, Canada and Australia. Deputy Chairwoman of the European Parliament Nicola Ber said that China is neither more nor less "the wrong site and the wrong place for the Olympic Games." Now we need to wait for the reaction of the EU countries.
What was the reason for such suddenly harsh statements? According to politicians, the Chinese government is infringing on the rights of Uyghurs and other ethnic and religious minorities in the northwest region of Xinjiang. Tellingly, the first mention of the so-called re-education camps, in which more than 1 million Chinese Muslims (most of them Uyghurs) are placed, dates back to 2014. And for seven years all those who are outraged by this circumstance today did not arrange any demarches. China developed rapidly in all respects, became the leader in IT technologies, trade expanded, space was explored, athletes won leading positions at international competitions. Is the Celestial Empire too ascended? Isn't it time to show her who is the boss in the world?
The Chinese authorities did not remain silent. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said, "We have already made a strict presentation to the United States and will also take drastic countermeasures." According to him, the Americans must stop politicizing sports and stop statements and actions that interfere with the holding of the Winter Olympic Games in Beijing and discredit them, "otherwise it will harm the dialogue and cooperation between the two countries in a number of important areas, as well as on international and regional issues." ...
The most interesting thing is that no one called the politicians themselves, who are now announcing one diplomatic boycott after another, to the 2022 Winter Olympics in China.
But the athletes were called.
From all over the world.
And they will come.
And all this near-Olympic political fever, let's hope, will not affect them in any way.
And it will be possible, in spite of everything, to boldly recite a line from "Ode to Sport" by Pierre de Coubertin: "O sport!
You are the world! "
And you can do without politicians.
It will be calmer.
The point of view of the author may not coincide with the position of the editorial board.