A Brief History of the Opening Ceremonies

Moscow, 1980
On March 21, 1980, then President Jimmy Carter told the 150 athletes of the U.S. Olympic squad that their country would not be participating in the 1980 Moscow Summer Olympics. Carter was standing by his promise to boycott the Moscow Games in protest of the Soviet Union's incursion into Afghanistan. In total, 65 countries refused to participate in the Games; 80 nations sent athletes to compete.

• What Becomes of Olympic Stadiums?