American-led boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics
American-led boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics was a part of a package of actions to protest the December 1979 Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan.
Though the Games have aimed to be an arena free of politics, the 1979 Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan spurred United States President Jimmy Carter to issue an ultimatum, the terms of which being that the United States would boycott the Moscow Olympics if Soviet troops had not quit the country by 12:01 A.M. Eastern Standard Time on February 20, 1980; the official announcement confirming the boycott was made on March 21.
Carter engaged in extensive lobbying to gain support from other nations. Some governments, such as those of Great Britain and Australia, supported the boycott but allowed their athletes to decide for themselves whether to go to Moscow. No such freedom of choice was allowed U.S. athletes, as Carter threatened to revoke the passport of any athlete who tried to travel to the USSR. In the end, 65 nations turned down their invitations to the Olympics; an estimated 45 to 50 did so because of the U.S.-led boycott. 80 nations did participate - the lowest number since 1956. [1]
The United States were joined in the boycott by some other populous countries - including Japan, West Germany and Canada. Notably, Great Britain, France and Greece did not boycott the games, but Great Britain and France sent a much smaller delegation of athletes than usual. Because of this, Italy became the principal nation representing western Europe. The boycott severely affected many events.
In the Opening Ceremony, 16 nations (among those Great Britain and Australia) chose to march under the Olympic Flag - rather than their national flags and the Olympic Anthem replaced their national anthems at medal ceremonies. New Zealand's team marched under their Games Association flag. There were a few ceremonies where three Olympic Flags were raised as a result.
Another victim of the boycott was NBC, which had paid $87 million for the U.S. broadcast rights to the games, almost four times the amount paid four years earlier. It had to cut back on the planned 150 hours of coverage. [2]
But even though only 80 nations participated, the Games were very well-organized and there were more world records set in Moscow than in 1976 in Montreal.