# Have The Olympic Games Ever Been Stopped? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [July 31, 2015, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-the-olympic-games-ever-been-stopped/726651 "2015-07-31T15:17:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2015, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-the-olympic-games-ever-been-stopped/726651/1 "2015-07-31T15:17:54Z")
I ask because the 2016 Summer Game (in Rio de Janeiro) will feature sailing events in some of the most polluted waters on earth. Supposedly, the waters of Guanabara Bay contain millions of tomes the safe levels of bacteria. My question: if a lot of people get very sick because of this, could the games be halted? ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2015, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-the-olympic-games-ever-been-stopped/726651/2 "2015-07-31T15:22:42Z")
You assume the IOC cares about the health and safety of athletes or spectators. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2015, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-the-olympic-games-ever-been-stopped/726651/3 "2015-07-31T15:23:07Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > Supposedly, the waters of Guanabara Bay contain millions of **tomes** the safe levels of bacteria. That’s one for the record books! 😛 Munich and Atlanta were suspended, but it was decided ‘the games must go on’. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2015, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-the-olympic-games-ever-been-stopped/726651/4 "2015-07-31T15:23:34Z")
393-1896. 😃 1916, 1940, 1944 due to the World Wars. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2015, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-the-olympic-games-ever-been-stopped/726651/5 "2015-07-31T15:23:55Z")
The 1940 and 1944 Games were cancelled outright. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2015, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-the-olympic-games-ever-been-stopped/726651/6 "2015-07-31T15:27:34Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > You assume the IOC cares about the health and safety of athletes or spectators. **Moderator Note** **Smapti** , this being GQ, let’s avoid jabs like this, especially as the first response. No warning issued. Colibri General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2015, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-the-olympic-games-ever-been-stopped/726651/7 "2015-07-31T15:31:15Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > Munich and Atlanta were suspended, but it was decided ‘the games must go on’. Right. I can’t see the games themselves being halted over such a relatively trivial issue (except for those who have to participate in the specific events). I would think that the first response would be to move the sailing and other aquatic events to another venue if one were available. If they weren’t, and a significant number of competitors became ill, I would expect only those events would be canceled, not the entire Olympics. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2015, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-the-olympic-games-ever-been-stopped/726651/8 "2015-07-31T15:39:29Z")
[Here](http://www.sailing.org/news/40477.php) is a statement by the International Sailing Federation. Some steps are being taken to mitigate the problem before the games begin. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2015, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-the-olympic-games-ever-been-stopped/726651/9 "2015-07-31T15:44:38Z")
A bit nitpicky, but the most concerning tests – with levels over a million times above that considered acceptable at U.S. beaches – are for _viruses_, not bacteria. The bacteria levels were “only” 10 times acceptable levels. It’s especially concerning because the IOC has indicated they have no plans to include tests for viruses in their assessment of water quality. ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2015, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-the-olympic-games-ever-been-stopped/726651/10 "2015-07-31T15:45:40Z")
In the wake of the hostage-taking, competition was eventually suspended for the first time in modern Olympic history… ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2015, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-the-olympic-games-ever-been-stopped/726651/11 "2015-07-31T15:45:54Z")
In 1956, the Summer Games were in Melbourne Australia, but because of quarantine regulations, they held the equestrian events in Stockholm. So next year, they could move the sailing events to another location in or out of Brazil. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2015, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-the-olympic-games-ever-been-stopped/726651/12 "2015-07-31T16:36:44Z")
Not a full cancellation, but just last year in Sochi, the men’s snowboard cross event was changed due to fog. All of the seeding runs were cancelled. They still held the finals, but with a modified format. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2015, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-the-olympic-games-ever-been-stopped/726651/13 "2015-07-31T16:49:46Z")
Moved to the Game Room. Colibri General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2015, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-the-olympic-games-ever-been-stopped/726651/14 "2015-07-31T17:23:43Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > In 1956, the Summer Games were in Melbourne Australia, but because of quarantine regulations, they held the equestrian events in Stockholm. So next year, they could move the sailing events to another location in or out of Brazil. Did they make arrangements for Sydney? ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2015, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-the-olympic-games-ever-been-stopped/726651/15 "2015-07-31T17:25:01Z")
> [@dalej42](#): > > Did they make arrangements for Sydney? Presumably the laws changed after many decades had passed. ---
**Author:** ![kurtisokc](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bbce88/32.png) [@kurtisokc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kurtisokc)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2015, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-the-olympic-games-ever-been-stopped/726651/16 "2015-07-31T23:58:27Z")
> [@dalej42](#): > > Did they make arrangements for Sydney? I remember watching NBC’s olympic coverage, and hearing Jim Lampley explain that its wasn’t necessarily this time around due to “advances in veterinary medicine.” In response to the OP’s question: they might possibly cancel the sports which are affected, though only as a last resort. (I think they would first look to move them to new location, even if it had to be in another country.) They definitely would not cancel the whole Olympics. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2015, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-the-olympic-games-ever-been-stopped/726651/17 "2015-08-01T01:03:42Z")
> [@glee](#): > > In the wake of the hostage-taking, competition was eventually suspended for the first time in modern Olympic history… [But only for one day.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Munich_massacre#Effect_on_the_Games) > [@](#): > > Willi Daume, president of the Munich organizing committee, initially sought to cancel the remainder of the Games, but in the afternoon Brundage and others who wished to continue the Games prevailed, stating that they could not let the incident halt the Games. ---
**Author:** ![russian\_heel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f05b48/32.png) [@russian\_heel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/russian_heel)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2015, 8:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-the-olympic-games-ever-been-stopped/726651/18 "2015-08-01T08:47:35Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > I ask because the 2016 Summer Game (in Rio de Janeiro) will feature sailing events in some of the most polluted waters on earth. Supposedly, the waters of Guanabara Bay contain millions of tomes the safe levels of bacteria. My question: if a lot of people get very sick because of this, could the games be halted? As long as the sailors aren’t swimming in it, I don’t see how they could get sick. ---
**Author:** ![russian\_heel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f05b48/32.png) [@russian\_heel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/russian_heel)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2015, 8:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-the-olympic-games-ever-been-stopped/726651/19 "2015-08-01T08:53:24Z")
check that Disgusting > **[Athletes at Rio Olympics to compete in 'basically raw sewage', study reveals](https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2015/jul/30/athletes-at-rio-olympics-to-compete-in-basically-raw-sewage-study-reveals)** > > Study reveals Olympic athletes are almost certain to come into contact with water that’s equivalent to ‘raw sewage’ at 2016 Games ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2015, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-the-olympic-games-ever-been-stopped/726651/20 "2015-08-01T14:09:19Z")
> [@kurtisokc](#): > > I remember watching NBC’s olympic coverage, and hearing Jim Lampley explain that its wasn’t necessarily this time around due to “advances in veterinary medicine.” > > In response to the OP’s question: they might possibly cancel the sports which are affected, though only as a last resort. (I think they would first look to move them to new location, even if it had to be in another country.) They definitely would not cancel the whole Olympics. If you look at the link I provided above you will see what their first resort is. They are making infrastructure improvements to help clean up the water.