Understanding the ‘Diplomatic’ Boycotts of the Winter Olympics
Every week in our Sunday Newsletter, Noa editor Lisa Kennedy writes an explainer column to provide background information on a developing news story.
The Olympics Games have a reputation for uniting nations and promoting diversity, all in the spirit of friendly athletic competition. The pandemic-related controversies surrounding the postponed 2020 Olympics, held in Tokyo in summer 2021, tested this reputation.
Now, international boycotts against the Winter Olympics, beginning this weekend in Beijing (the capital city of China), are straining the prestige of the games even further.
The Background…
The first known Olympics were held in Greece as many as 3000 years ago. Now, with more than 200 nations participating, the Olympics have arguably become the highest-status global sporting event. They are normally held every four years, with the Summer and Winter Olympics alternating every two years.
The Story…
In December 2021, the U.S. announced a diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Winter Olympics. Other countries, including Australia, Britain and Canada, swiftly followed suit — although some were more hesitant to term it a “boycott”.
The boycott precludes government officials from attending the games, although the athletes from these countries will still compete.
Jen Psaki, the White House press secretary, explained that the decision had been undertaken due to “genocide and crimes against humanity”. This refers to the Chinese government’s violation of the human rights of Uyghur Muslims, including mass detentions and forced sterilizations.
Pressure for an Olympic boycott increased after Chinese tennis champion Peng Shuai accused a former government official of sexual assault, followed by her temporarily disappearance from public life.
China has accused the U.S. of taking actions intended to “politicise sports” and “provoke confrontation.”
Any chance of de-politicising the Winter Olympics appears far out of reach.
Our Coverage…
If you want to learn more about this issue, Noa has it covered in our Series about why boycotts rarely work. We also have a longform article on a previous attempted boycott against the 1936 ‘Nazi Olympics’, as well as a profile of Chinese-American Olympic freestyle skier Eileen Gu.
