The Olympic Truce is a tradition originating from

ancient Greece Ancient Greece () was a northeastern Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of classical antiquity (), that comprised a loose collection of culturally and linguistically r ...

that dates back to 776 BC. A " truce" () was announced before and during the

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a Multi-s ...

to ensure the host city state ( Elis) was not attacked and athletes and spectators could travel safely to the Games and peacefully return to their respective countries. In 1992, the

International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; , CIO) is the international, non-governmental, sports governing body of the modern Olympic Games. Founded in 1894 by Pierre de Coubertin and Demetrios Vikelas, it is based i ...

(IOC) renewed this tradition by calling upon all nations to observe the Truce during the modern Games. The Truce was revived by

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

Resolution 48/11 of 25 October 1993, as well by the United Nations Millennium Declaration relating to the world peace and security. Every two years since the 1993 resolution the United Nations has adopted, with varying levels of consensus, a resolution reaffirming the ideals of the Olympic Truce. In 1996, the Athens Bid Committee committed to revive the Olympic Truce and promoting it to the world through the Olympic flame relay. Three years later, the IOC announced the establishment of the International Olympic Truce Foundation and the International Olympic Truce Centre in cooperation with Greece. The vision was to protect the interests of athletes and sport, and to promote peaceful principles in modern day. Each host city was encouraged to embrace the meaning and spirit of the Olympic Truce in the planning and staging of the Games. As of 2022, the modern Olympic Truce starts one week before the main opening ceremony of the Olympic Games and ends one week after the closing ceremony of the Paralympic Games. The Truce has been violated multiple times in the modern history of the Games, including multiple violations committed by

the United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and the Russian Federation, with the most recent breach coming in 2022 with the

Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...

Goals

Through this global and symbolic concept, the goal of the Olympic Truce movement is to: * Mobilize youth for the promotion of the Olympic ideals * Use sport to establish contacts between communities in conflict * Offer humanitarian support in countries at war * Create a window of opportunities for dialogue and reconciliation

Initiatives

* 1994 Lillehammer Winter Games: the former

Federal Republic of Yugoslavia The State Union of Serbia and Montenegro or simply Serbia and Montenegro, known until 2003 as the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and commonly referred to as FR Yugoslavia (FRY) or simply Yugoslavia, was a country in Southeast Europe locate ...

was allowed to participate in the Games of the XXV Olympiad in Barcelona and the XVII Olympic Winter Games in Lillehammer despite ongoing wars. A delegation from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) visited Sarajevo in 1994 to extend its solidarity to the city that had organized the XIV Olympic Winter Games in 1984. * 1998 Nagano Winter Games: During a time when tension in the Persian Gulf region was high, United Nations Secretary General

Kofi Annan Kofi Atta Annan (8 April 193818 August 2018) was a Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh secretary-general of the United Nations from 1997 to 2006. Annan and the UN were the co-recipients of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize. He was the founder a ...

intervened to seek a diplomatic resolution to the crisis in Iraq. In a release from the International Olympic Committee, the Secretary General was quoted, "I call upon all nations to observe the Olympic truce." * 2000 Sydney Summer Games: During the Opening Ceremony, South and North Korean delegations walked in the stadium together, under the same flag. It was the first Olympic Games event where the two divided countries walked side by side. * 2004 Athens Summer Games: The Olympic Truce was promoted through Olympic Flame Relay events. The UN supported the IOC in asking the nations of the world to stop all wars for 16 days during the Games. * 2006 Turin Winter Games: During the games, athletes and officials showed support for the Olympic Truce by signing one of the three walls situated in the three Olympic Villages (Turin, Sestriere and Bardonecchia). *

2010 Vancouver Winter Games The 2010 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XXI Olympic Winter Games () and also known as Vancouver 2010 (), were an international winter multi-sport event held from February 12 to 28, 2010 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with ...

: Truce projects were rooted in an open invitation for people to "Make Your Peace" which asked individuals to create everyday peace at home, schools, work, and in the community. Projects included: delivering Olympic Spirit Boxes filled with hockey, soccer, lacrosse, baseball, and basketball equipment to 20 Aboriginal communities in Northern Canada; an Olympic Truce Youth Dialogue with Canada's Governor General; and an art installation titled "Room to Make your Peace". * 2012 London Summer Games: From 22 April 2011 to 15 February 2012, Lord Michael Bates walked over 3000 miles from Olympia to London to highlight the opportunity to bring the Olympic Truce into reality during the games. With the Walk for Truce, Lord Bates was successful in securing pledges from a number of governments to both sign and implement the Truce, supported on his journey by the

British Foreign Office The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) is the ministry of foreign affairs and a ministerial department of the government of the United Kingdom. The office was created on 2 September 2020 through the merger of the Foreign an ...

Logo

The official Olympic Truce logo is a graphic with three elements: a dove, flames, and the Olympic rings. The meaning behind the logo is as follows:

United Nations support

The

is in support of the Olympic Truce and adopts a resolution called "Building a peaceful and better world through sport and the Olympic ideal" prior to each Summer and Winter Olympic Games.

UN member states The United Nations comprise sovereign states and the world's largest intergovernmental organization. All members have equal representation in the UN General Assembly. The Charter of the United Nations defines the rules for admission of ...

are asked to observe the Olympic Truce, and work towards the settlement of international disagreements by peaceful and diplomatic means. The

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

was the first ever nation to get all 193 UN member states to sign the Olympic Truce resolution for the

2012 Olympic Games The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

.Resolution A/RES/66/5
Olympic Truce Resolution. United Nations. 11 October 2011. UN support is mainly shown through the resolution. It is also shown by the Solemn Appeals for Truce made by the UN Secretary General and the President of the General Assembly shortly before the Summer Olympic and Winter Olympic Games. The lead office within the UN system is The United Nations Office on Sport for Development and Peace (UNOSDP). The current UN Special Adviser on Sport for Development and Peace is Wilfried Lemke from Bremen, Germany. UNOSDP is situated at the UN Office at Geneva plus a liaison office at UN HQ in New York. On 17 October 2011, the United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution, entitled "Sport for Peace and Development: Building a Peaceful and Better World through Sport and the Olympic Ideal", for member states to observe the Olympic Truce, individually and collectively. The resolution, introduced by LOCOG chairman

Sebastian Coe Sebastian Newbold Coe, Baron Coe, (born 29 September 1956), often referred to as Seb Coe, is a British sports administrator, former politician and retired track and field athlete. As a middle-distance runner, Coe won four Olympic medals, incl ...

, passed without a vote. The United Nations website recognizes the truce as "the cornerstone of the Olympic Games in ancient times" and the "longest lasting peace accord in history". In 2021, twenty countries (including

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, and the

) refused to sign the Olympic Truce for the

2022 Winter Olympics The 2022 Winter Olympics, officially called the XXIV Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Beijing 2022 (2022), were an international winter multi-sport event held from 4 to 20 February 2022 in Beijing, China, and surrounding areas wit ...

. Australia and the United States considered this part of their diplomatic boycotts due to the host nation China's

human rights abuses Human rights are universally recognized moral principles or norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both national and international laws. These rights are considered inherent and inalienable, meaning t ...

, and as a protest regarding the portion of the truce requiring signers to recognize the Olympic Games as promoting human rights and peace.

Violations

Historical failures to observe the Olympic Truce include: * 2002: The United States, as the host of the

2002 Winter Olympics The 2002 Winter Olympics, officially the XIX Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Salt Lake 2002 (; Gosiute dialect, Gosiute Shoshoni: ''Tit'-so-pi 2002''; ; Shoshoni language, Shoshoni: ''Soónkahni 2002''), were an international wi ...

, introduced a Truce resolution at the UN which did not call for a cessation of its hostilities with Afghanistan, exempting itself from the Truce. * 2008:

Russo-Georgian War The August 2008 Russo-Georgian War, also known as the Russian invasion of Georgia,Occasionally, the war is also referred to by other names, such as the Five-Day War and August War. was a war waged against Georgia by the Russian Federation and the ...

* 2014: Russian annexation of Crimea ** In response, the United States and United Kingdom diplomatically boycotted the

2014 Winter Paralympics The 2014 Winter Paralympics (), the 11th Paralympic Winter Games, and also more generally known as the Sochi 2014 Paralympic Winter Games, were an international multi-sport event for athletes with disabilities governed by the International Par ...

, and the entire Ukrainian delegation except for their flagbearer boycotted the opening ceremony. * 2022:

, which began on 24 February, in the period between the closing of the Winter Olympics and the opening of the Winter Paralympics. ** In response, Russia and Belarus (which provided military support) were banned from the

2022 Winter Paralympics The 2022 Winter Paralympics (), also known as XIII Paralympic Winter Games, commonly known as Beijing 2022 (), were an international winter multi-sport parasports event held in Beijing, China, from 4 to 13 March 2022. This was the 13th Winter ...

. * 2024: Russian invasion of Ukraine and

Gaza war The Gaza war is an armed conflict in the Gaza Strip and southern Israel fought since 7 October 2023. A part of the unresolved Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Israeli–Palestinian and Gaza–Israel conflict, Gaza–Israel conflicts dating ...

** Violations of the truce period continued when it began on 19 July. Russian and Belarusian athletes were not allowed to compete under their own flags in the

2024 Summer Olympics The 2024 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad () and branded as Paris 2024, were an international multi-sport event held in France from 26 July to 11 August 2024, with several events started from 24 July. P ...

, and calls were made to have Israel excluded from the 2024 Olympics. The head of the

Palestine Olympic Committee The Palestine Olympic Committee () is the National Olympic Committee of the State of Palestine. The State of Palestine has been recognized as a member of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) since 1986, and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) ...

and French left-wing lawmakers accused the IOC of having a

double standard A double standard is the application of different sets of principles for situations that are, in principle, the same. It is often used to describe treatment whereby one group is given more latitude than another. A double standard arises when two ...

for failing to take action against Israel.

References

{{Reflist

External links

United Nations

History of the Olympics Ceasefires