Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff production of iHeart Radio. Hey brain Stuff,
Speaker 1: Lauren bogebam here. Oh. With the Olympic Games postponed until one,
Speaker 1: we got to wondering have the Games ever been canceled?
Speaker 1: The answer is yes. The Games scheduled to be held
Speaker 1: in nineteen sixteen, nineteen forty, and nineteen forty four, all
Speaker 1: years when lots of countries were embroiled in World Wars
Speaker 1: one and two, were canceled due to the massive conflicts
Speaker 1: being carried out. That's not a decision that the buttoned
Speaker 1: up International Olympic Committee or IOC takes lightly. Even when
Speaker 1: the IOC decided in ninety six to begin staggering the
Speaker 1: Games so that Winter and Summer Olympics were not held
Speaker 1: in the same year, but rather in two year intervals,
Speaker 1: the games were never skipped. Instead, the Olympics went on
Speaker 1: as scheduled in night and nine two, and a second
Speaker 1: Winter Olympics was held in nineteen nine four to put
Speaker 1: the international of events apart. But nineteen sixteen, nineteen forty
Speaker 1: and nineteen forty four were grim years and holding the
Speaker 1: Olympics ended up taking a back burner due to the
Speaker 1: very dire circumstances playing out on the world stage. In
Speaker 1: the first case, let's set that stage. The year was
Speaker 1: nineteen fourteen and much Olympic preparation was afoot as directed
Speaker 1: by the members of the IOC. The flag with its
Speaker 1: iconic rings was unveiled for the first time that year,
Speaker 1: along with the choice of the host city for the
Speaker 1: nineteen sixteen Games. Back then, the host city didn't get
Speaker 1: the seven years notice it does now. Ironically, the choice
Speaker 1: was Berlin. While the IOC was busy getting ready, Austria
Speaker 1: Hungary declared war on Serbia, and the Germans were quick
Speaker 1: to join the battle. Although their targets were primarily Russia
Speaker 1: and France, Belgium, a neutral nation, was the next target.
Speaker 1: In response, Britain joined in and the Great War now
Speaker 1: known as World War One, was well under way. Given
Speaker 1: the state of world affairs, British members of the IOC
Speaker 1: protested the fact that Berlin was still the top choice
Speaker 1: for hosting the nineteen sixteen Games, and they resigned when
Speaker 1: their demands for an alternative location were not met. At
Speaker 1: the same time, the Germans were adamant and continued planning.
Speaker 1: The Germans did issue a caveat, though only nations who
Speaker 1: were on their side or neutral could participate, and several
Speaker 1: US cities offered themselves as replacement sites, while other IOC
Speaker 1: members said there could be no games until ninety Pierre Couberton,
Speaker 1: founder of the IOC and widely recognized father of the
Speaker 1: modern Olympics, had this to say on the matter. The
Speaker 1: IOC could not withdraw the games without consulting the designated city,
Speaker 1: which presumably would have to give its consent. At the time,
Speaker 1: Kuberton noted that it was possible that these particular games
Speaker 1: would not occur as the war trudged on. Kuber CON's
Speaker 1: prediction proved accurate. The nineteen sixteen games were not held.
Speaker 1: It was, after all, the war to end all wars.
Speaker 1: The stadium stood silent. Fast forward a few decades, and
Speaker 1: Germany finally got the chance to hold the Games in
Speaker 1: Berlin in nineteen thirty six, although those games went down
Speaker 1: in history as the ones that then German Chancellor Adolf
Speaker 1: Hitler used to showcase Nazi propaganda. Meanwhile, the IOC declared
Speaker 1: an Asian nation as the future site of an Olympics
Speaker 1: in nineteen forty. Japan was slated to become the first
Speaker 1: country in Asia to host the games. Rumor has it
Speaker 1: that Tokyo won the role of host city because of
Speaker 1: a bit of skullduggery. One of Japan's IOC members, Michimas Sosayeshima,
Speaker 1: reportedly met with Benito Mussolini and promised him the Japanese
Speaker 1: contingents backing for the nineteen forty four Games to be
Speaker 1: held in Rome if he would weigh in on Japan's
Speaker 1: bid for nineteen forty He may have tampered with the
Speaker 1: opinions of other members too. Of all, this effort was
Speaker 1: for not, as the nineteen forty four Games never happened either.
Speaker 1: Here's how it went down again. The IOC refused the
Speaker 1: idea of moving the nineteen forty Games, which became a
Speaker 1: matter of exacerbated controversy when Japan invaded China. Eventually, though
Speaker 1: it became apparent that the Games would not go forward,
Speaker 1: Martial law at that point ruled Japan and decreed that
Speaker 1: the Games were not going to happen, and World War
Speaker 1: Two was still raging in nineteen forty four, causing the
Speaker 1: cancelation of the nineteen forty four Games. The Olympics would
Speaker 1: not again see the world stage until nineteen forty eight,
Speaker 1: when they took place in London. However, although official Olympics
Speaker 1: didn't occur in nineteen forty or nineteen forty four, they
Speaker 1: didn't go completely unheralded. Prisoners of war in a few
Speaker 1: European camps held covert Olympiads. Only a handful of relics
Speaker 1: survived from these clandestine games, including a flag small and
Speaker 1: drawn on a Polish prisoner's shirt in crayon. In nineteen
Speaker 1: forty four. The flag of those surreptitious games was made
Speaker 1: of a bedsheet and scarves. The Olympic oath for these
Speaker 1: games began in the name of all the sportsmen whose
Speaker 1: stadiums are fenced with barbed wire. After World War Two,
Speaker 1: all Summer Olympic Games took place as scheduled until the
Speaker 1: twenty Tokyo Summer Olympics. The IOC president announced in March
Speaker 1: of twenty that, due to the COVID nineteen pandemic, the
Speaker 1: games quote must be rescheduled to a date beyond twenty
Speaker 1: but not later than summer one, to safeguard the health
Speaker 1: of the athletes, everybody involved in the Olympic Games, and
Speaker 1: the international community. As of this writing, the Tokyo Games
Speaker 1: are still scheduled to take place July twenty three through
Speaker 1: August eighty one under strict guidelines to ensure the safety
Speaker 1: of athletes and attendees. Interestingly, the games are still referred
Speaker 1: to as the twenty Olympics even though they're being held
Speaker 1: in one. Billions of dollars from TV rights and merchandizing
Speaker 1: are at stake, so an outright cancelation is unlikely. However,
Speaker 1: the only spectators allowed will be those who live within
Speaker 1: Japan's borders. The Japanese government has barred overseas visitors from
Speaker 1: entering the country, and one a pole showed of Japanese
Speaker 1: residents still think the games should be canceled or further postponed.
Speaker 1: Today's episode is based on the article are the Olympics
Speaker 1: ever canceled? On how stuff works dot com written by
Speaker 1: Jessica Tuthman. Brain Stuff is production of I Heart Radio
Speaker 1: in partnership with how stuff works dot Com and is
Speaker 1: produced by Tyler Klang. Four more podcasts from my heart Radio.
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