For the first time in 124 years of modern history, an Olympic Games has been moved to a later date due to the threats of global pandemic in 2020. The International Olympics Committee (IOC) along with the Tokyo organizers and Japanese government have agreed to postpone the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and Paralympics Games that was scheduled to commence on July 24 and instead took place in 2021.
Before the pandemic, there were three Olympics that have been cancelled due to war – World War I in 1916 and World War II in 1940 extending to 1944. Here’s what happened to those games. Follow 12BETInfo for more sports stories and news!
1916: The First World War
In 1916, the German Empire beat bids from Alexandria, Amsterdam, Brussels, Budapest and Cleveland to host the as the Games of the VI Olympiad. Berlin boasted their newly constructed 30,000 capacity “Deutsches Stadion”, now the German Stadium, built in 1913 in Berlin for the event.
However, with the outbreak of war in 1914, rooted from the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, and the eventual involvement of many nations who sent athletes to the Olympics, the 1916 Games were cancelled. It was the first time that the Olympics have been cancelled.
Organizers initially thought that the war would be “over by Christmas” but it did not end until November 1918. The German Empire and its allies during the war were also banned from participating in the 1920 and 1924 games as many felt it was responsible for World War I.
Berlin returned to Olympic bidding in 1931 and got its next chance to host. The “Deutsches Stadion” was torn down to later use for the 1936 Summer Games, two decades after the war. That Olympics happened with roughly 5,000 athletes from 51 countries competing and 10,000 spectators participated.
1940: Japan’s supposed Olympic debut
Originally, Tokyo and Sapporo, Japan were awarded the 1940 Winter and Summer Games of the XII Olympiad, the first non-Western country to host the games. It was supposed to be the first time that an Asian country will host the Olympics. However, Japan pulled out after war broke out with China in 1937.
New hosts were selected with the Winter Games then awarded to Garmisch-Partenkirchen in Germany, while the Summer Games went to Helsinki, Finland. Unfortunately, both Games were decided to be cancelled in 1939 following the events of Hitler’s invasion of Poland.
Japan was slated to host the Games two decades after the war. Meanwhile, Helsinki held the 1952 Summer Olympics, while Tokyo held the 1964 Summer Olympics. Japan was the only country in Asia that hosted two Olympic Games as they won the bid for 2020 Olympics, which was recently moved.
1944: The Second World War
London was supposed to host the Games of the XIII Olympiad in 1944. However, the rise of Nazi leader Adolf Hitler set World War II that extended the cancellation of the Games. The selection was made at the 38th IOC Session in London in 1939.
The same fate happened to the Winter Games in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy as the war raged through Europe and other parts of the world. London went on to host the 1948 Summer Olympics, while St. Moritz, Switzerland hosted the Winter Games in the same year.
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