Sochi 2014: Propaganda, Olympic principles and social media

Sochi is upon us and reading Mark James and Guy Osborn's article referring to the LGBT protests against Russia’s homosexual propaganda laws got me thinking about some other occasions when protesters, campaigners and agitators have targeted major sports events.

The history of high profile sporting competitions being used as platforms for political or social statements is a markedly chequered one. Noble causes such as the anti-apartheid movement in the 1970s and 1980s and, more recently, LGBT rights have received important publicity in this way. But we have also seen nefarious crimes such as the assassination of Israeli athletes at the 1972 Olympics in Munich or the IRA Bomb threat against the Grand National in 1997 placing their perpetrators’ “causes” in the public eye.