Can the Olympics and Sports Stop Wars?
The Olympics are one of the most important sports organizations of the world’s nations. Hundreds of countries, thousands of athletes and thousands of competitions. Although the Olympics are held every 4 years, they never lose their popularity. So why? What are the factors that make the Olympics so exciting? What is the power of the Olympics? Does it have the capacity to affect war or peace? Can the power of sport bring nations together?
The Olympics lose nothing in terms of popularity. Because the Olympics are perceived as an arena where nations fight against each other in the field of sports. States that do not reconcile with each other politically regard it as a political success to dominate each other with the Olympic Games. For these reasons, the Olympics are considered the most comprehensive sports event of its kind in the world. The moments when the Olympics turned into an arena of political struggle have been quite noticeable in recent years. Although it is stated in the rules of the Olympic Games that no political, religious or spiritual propaganda will be allowed, many political events have occurred in the history of this giant organization. The most politically tense Olympics were the 1936 Berlin Olympics.
Adolf Hitler used the Olympics as a tool for his own political propaganda. Another example is the 1980 Moscow Olympics, 50 countries boycotted the games, citing the Soviet Union’s invasion of Afghanistan as the reason. In fact, all of these are among the attractive clan factors of the Olympics. The Olympics are followed with great interest because people witness the struggle of countries against each other through the Olympics. The Olympics are an arena where countries fight against each other, but there are no guns, bombs and deaths in this arena. There is sportsmanship, sportsmanship and tolerance. This detail is the biggest point that makes the Olympics attractive.
So what is the power of the Olympics? In my opinion, the Olympics are very strong organizations. It may not be enough to postpone or stop a war, but the Olympics always find a place among the top topics of the world agenda from the moment they start. The Olympics are not just an arena where sports competitions are resolved. At the same time, it is also an environment where politics is resolved and political blockages end. Politicians want to benefit from the mass interest in sports competitions and sometimes try to take on the responsibility of directing sports themselves. They aim to maintain their political regime through sports. In this context, sports are used as a tool to influence the masses.
United States of America, Russia, China, England, France, North Korea, Iran, Germany, Australia, Turkey. Under normal circumstances, the possibilities of these countries coming together vary periodically. Some always act together, some periodically act in different ways, but in general they always defend their own interests first. States that are in conflict with each other politically compete with each other in their Olympic competitions within the framework of respect and love. Even if they fight against each other, the athletes of that country have to respect each other in sports competitions. When an American and a North Korean or an Iranian and a British face each other, they have to act regardless of the political positions of the countries. When a Turk and a Greek or a Russian and a Ukrainian come face to face, they have to ignore the historical struggles of their countries. Within the framework of the Olympics, political neutrality, sportsmanship and tolerance can be considered as the main element that brings sports and athletes, countries and nations together.
In this context, sports and the Olympics can be considered the only successful organization in the world in bringing the people of the world together, even for a short time. The power of sports to unite and the respect and love it brings carry nations to the level of civilization, even if only for a short time.
