5 Olympic Games that never happened

Hold your applause If the 2021 — er, 2020 — Tokyo Olympics are cancelled, it won’t be the first time. by Jennifer Walter Updated: Feb. 20, 2024 Originally Published: July 22, 2021 US National Archives

JUNG YEON-JE/AFP/Getty Images This year’s Olympics will be like no other . For starters, Tokyo 2020 is still the official name for the games, even though they’re happening in 2021 .

ANGELA WEISS/AFP/Getty Images As Olympians get situated in Japan, the COVID-19 pandemic is still raging worldwide, and a whopping 50 percent of Tokyo residents reportedly want the games cancelled.

ASANO IKKO/AFP/Getty Images At least 71 people involved with the Olympics have tested positive for COVID-19 in the weeks leading up to the games. Case numbers in Tokyo on the rise, as well.

Guinea withdrew from the competition the day before it started, joining North Korea as the only other country to decline participation this year — so far. PHILIP FONG/AFP/Getty Images

Olympics via Giphy If the games are cancelled at the 11th hour — an option that officials haven’t yet ruled out — it wouldn’t be the first time.

US National Archives Since the modern event’s inception, 5 Olympic games have been cancelled. Here’s a look back:

1. Summer 1916 The International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced in 1912 that the summer Olympic games would be held in Berlin, Germany in 1916. Giphy

ullstein bild/ullstein bild/Getty Images It was a long time coming for Germany. They’d wanted to host the games in 1912, but their head Olympics campaign leader died, and Berlin’s bid to host was withdrawn.

But by 1914, all preparations came to a halt. World War I broke out that summer. Though the games were never officially cancelled , it was painfully clear they just weren’t going to happen. Photo 12/Universal Images Group/Getty Images

2. Winter 1940 Sapporo, Japan was originally set to host the 1940 winter Olympics, but withdrew in 1938 due to the Second Sino-Japanese war. Giphy

Evgeniy Tumashov/NordicFocus/Getty Images Sport/Getty Images The games were then awarded to St. Moritz, Switzerland . However, a controversy broke out among the IOC and officials in Switzerland over whether slalom skiing and ski jumping should be considered amateur or professional events.

The 1940 winter games were pulled from Switzerland. Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, became the new destination for the Olympics. But after Germany invaded Poland in 1938, they announced they could no longer host, letting another games slip from their grasp. Tina Zupancic/E+/Getty Images

3. Summer 1940 World War II raged throughout 1940, with no end in sight. Before the conflict started, the IOC had awarded the summer games to Tokyo, Japan. Keystone-France/Gamma-Keystone/Getty Images

Keystone-France/Gamma-Keystone/Getty Images But Japan withdrew in 1938, as they had from the 1940 winter games, citing conflict with China.

Keystone-France/Gamma-Keystone/Getty Images Helsinki was then set to host — until the Soviet Union attacked Finland. Then Nazi Germany invaded neighboring Denmark and Norway in 1940. Finland and the IOC thought it best to just call the whole thing off.

4. Winter 1944 Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, was awarded the winter 1944 games in 1939 — a year before WWII officially began. primeimages/E+/Getty Images

Yuichi Yamazaki/Getty Images News/Getty Images Unlike the 1940 Olympics, which were cancelled at the last minute, officials chose to call off the 1944 games in 1941 in light of ongoing conflict.

SeM/Universal Images Group/Getty Images Almost a decade after the war ended, Cortina d’Ampezzo successfully hosted the 1956 Olympic winter games. So it wasn’t a total loss — just delayed gratification.

5. Summer 1944 London was the final city to lose its opportunity to host the Olympics due to WWII. Giphy

Mirrorpix/Mirrorpix/Getty Images London’s story is similar to Cortina d’Ampezzo’s: hopes were dashed shortly after WWII began, but the city was able to host the games after the war, in 1948.

ullstein bild Dtl./ullstein bild/Getty Images The IOC hosted a small Olympic ceremony in 1944 in Switzerland, which stayed neutral during the war. It was meant to inspire hope for peaceful, global sporting events in the future — but hardly anyone took notice.

Tim Clayton - Corbis/Corbis Sport/Getty Images This year’s Olympics represent history in the making. Even if they play out as planned, the uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic will overshadow everything that happens at the games — and leave a lasting impression.

JEFF PACHOUD/AFP/Getty Images Now read: 11 ways the summer olympics will be different this year.

5 Olympic Games that never happened

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