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Boycotts of the Olympics are one of the biggest statements any country can make on a geopolitical scale. It is a sacrifice that shows a country is truly committed to the cause, whatever it may be.
They were most prominent in the 1980s. Most notably, the USA boycotted the 1980 Summer games in Moscow, while the Soviets boycotted the Summer edition in 1984 in Los Angeles.
Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in the early months of 2022, Russian and Belarussian athletes have been banned from most international sporting competitions. This differs from the policy that allowed Russian athletes to compete under neutral flags following the Russian doping scandal. Of course, everyone still knew they were competing for Russia, underscoring the absolute fecklessness of the International Olympic Committee.
Now, the IOC is trying to make it so Russian and Belarussian athletes can compete in Paris under that neutral flag. But, a lot of countries are understandably not happy with this.
Up to 40 countries could boycott 2024 Olympics, says Poland sports minister https://t.co/vpxeawmGY9
— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) February 3, 2023
The article went into further detail.
Up to 40 countries could boycott the next Olympic Games, making the whole event pointless, said Poland’s sport and tourism minister Kamil Bortniczuk.
His comments came after Poland, Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia jointly rejected an International Olympic Committee (IOC) plan to allow Russians and Belarusians to compete in 2024.
Ukraine has threatened to boycott the Paris Olympics if that occurs.
But the IOC said on Thursday that any boycott would only “punish athletes”.
Bortniczuk said he believed it would be possible to build a coalition of 40 countries, including Great Britain, the United States and Canada, to support a block on the IOC’s plans before a meeting on 10 February.
He added: “Considering this I don’t think we will face tough decisions before the Olympics and, if we were to boycott the Games, the coalition we will be a part of will be broad enough to make holding the Games pointless.”
It will be interesting to see how this plays out.