Global: “When World Events Disrupted the Olympics”

Only world wars have led to cancellation of the Olympics, but other events, including politics, terrorism—and now pandemics—have encroached upon the games.

Since the opening of the first modern Olympic Games in 1896, the international sports competition has only been canceled three times: once during World War I (1916) and twice during World War II (1940, 1944). Until the 2020 COVID-19 outbreak, which postponed the Summer Olympic games for a year, the Olympics weathered politically charged boycotts and two separate terrorist attacks without being canceled or postponed during peacetime.