In April, pro-Palestinian protesters gathered outside the Parisian Olympics headquarters, calling on officials to limit Israel’s participation in response to the ongoing conflict in Gaza.
The International Olympic Committee also previously banned the Russian Olympic Committee in 2023 in response to its invasion of Ukraine the year prior.
Athletes from Russia and ally Belarus are still allowed to participate, but only as individual athletes.
Protests, bans and boycotts at the Olympics are nothing new. And the Paris 2024 games is no exception.
1956 Melbourne Games Boycott
The first-ever Olympic boycott took place in Melbourne, Australia, in 1956. It was Australia’s first time hosting.
Several countries refused to participate for a myriad of reasons.
The Netherlands, Spain and Switzerland boycotted the games after the Soviet Union invaded Hungary just a few weeks prior.
Hungary competed in the games. A waterpolo match between Hungary and the Soviet Union turned violent, with Hungary eventually winning the match and taking home the gold medal.
Egypt, Iraq and Lebanon also boycotted the games in response to the Suez Canal crisis – when British, Israeli and French troops invaded Egypt to control the waterway.
The People’s Republic of China did not participate in the Olympics because Taiwan was allowed to participate as a separate country. China would not compete in the Games until the 1980 Winter Olympics.
1976 Montreal Games Boycott
In 1976, 28 African nations boycotted the summer games in Montreal. Those nations refused to compete alongside New Zealand, whose national rugby team defied an international sports embargo against South Africa.
South Africa was banned from the Olympics in 1964 due to its racial segregation policy known as Apartheid. They would not return to compete in the Olympics until 1992.
1980 Moscow Games Boycott
The largest boycott in Olympic history took place at the 1980 Olympics in Moscow.
Led by the United States, over 60 nations participated in the boycott. This was in response to the games’ host, the Soviet Union, which had invaded Afghanistan one year prior to the games.
1984 Los Angeles Games Boycott
When the U.S. hosted the following Olympics in 1984, the Soviet Union, along with 14 of its allies, including Eastern Germany, retaliated by boycotting.
1968 Mexico City Games Boycott
The most iconic protest was in the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City.
After winning the gold and bronze medals after the 200-meter race, African-American athletes Tommie Smith and John Carlos raised their fists while the United States national anthem was playing during their award ceremony.
The two athletes protested to raise awareness of the Black Power movement in the United States.
While a fundamental goal of the Olympic games is to bring nations together through the collective love of athletic competition, it has been — and continues to be — an avenue for raising awareness of important political issues.