The Friendship Games or Friendship-84 (Russian: Дружба-84, Druzhba-84) was an international multi-sport event held between 2 July and 16 September 1984 in the Soviet Union and eight other socialist states which boycotted the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
Although Friendship Games officials denied that the Games were to be a counter-Olympic event to avoid conflicts with the International Olympic Committee, the competition was often dubbed the Eastern Bloc's "alternative Olympics". Some fifty states took part in the competition. While the boycotting countries were represented by their strongest athletes, other states sent their reserve teams, consisting of athletes who failed to qualify for Los Angeles.
Read more about Friendship Games: Background, Participating Nations, Opening Ceremony, Summary, Medal Table, Comparisons To The Olympic Games, Aftermath, Venues
Famous quotes containing the words friendship and/or games:
“Friendship should be surrounded with ceremonies and respects, and not crushed into corners. Friendship requires more time than poor busy men can usually command.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“Intelligence and war are games, perhaps the only meaningful games left. If any player becomes too proficient, the game is threatened with termination.”
—William Burroughs (b. 1914)