40th Anniversary of 1980 Summer Olympics in USSR

The 1980 Summer Olympics, also known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad, were held in the Grand Arena of the Central Lenin Stadium, now known as the Luzhniki Stadium, and were the first Olympic Games to be staged in Eastern Europe, and remain the only Summer Olympics to have been there.

Despite the spirit of friendly sports rivalry, the 1980 games were boycotted by 66 nations led by the United States amid the Soviet-Afghan War, although some athletes from the boycotting countries participated under the Olympic Flag.

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Representative of the Italian National Olympic Committee during the opening of the 1980 Olympics in Moscow.

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Athletes performing at the opening ceremony of the XXII Olympic Games in Moscow.

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Gosha the bear arrived to participate during the opening ceremony of the Olympic cycling competition at the stadium in Krylatskoye, Moscow. A bear (Misha) was the mascot of the 1980 Summer Olympics.

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A torch with the Olympic flame being carried during the opening ceremony of the XXII Summer Olympic Games.

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The mascot of the1980 Olympics displayed during the opening ceremony.

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Three visitors hold an American flag in the stands at Moscow's Lenin Stadium before the start of the opening ceremony of the XXII Summer Olympics, 19 July 1980.

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The opening ceremony of the 1980 Olympics in Moscow.

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Dancing suite the "Fraternity of Peoples" at the opening ceremony of the XXII Olympic Games in Moscow.

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Young people dressed as the Olympic bear perform at the opening ceremony of the XXII Olympic Games.

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British track and field athlete Sebastian Coe taking photos during the opening ceremony of the XXII Olympic Games.

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The opening ceremony of the 1980 Moscow Summer Olympic Games, 19 July 1980.

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Representatives of the fifteen republics of the USSR greet guests at the XXII Summer Olympic Games in Moscow, 1980

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The Olympic flame in Moscow. It was lit on 19 June 1980 in Olympia at the steps of the ruins of the Temple of Hera and brought to Moscow by athletes.

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A festive procession of athletes during the opening of the XXII Summer Olympic Games in Moscow, 1980

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A chariot pulled by horses at the opening ceremony of the XXII Summer Olympic Games in Moscow, 1980

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