On July 25, 1992, The Olympic Games opened in Barcelona with all countries present for the first time in modern history. It was the first Olympics since 1972 that no country had boycotted the Games.

More about protests and politics from the Olympics

In 1976: more than 20 African countries refused to send teams to the Montreal Games in protest against New Zealand sending its rugby team to play in apartheid South Africa, at the time subject to an international sports boycott.

In 1980: the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in December 1979 led to the largest boycott in the history of the Olympic movement. U.S. president Jimmy Carter took the lead in the call for a boycott of the 1980 Olympics, and approximately 60 other nations joined the Americans in staying away from Moscow.

In 1984: many communist nations, including the Soviet Union, East Germany, and Cuba, retaliated for the U.S.-led boycott of the 1980 Games by staying away from the 1984 Games which were held in Los Angeles.

Get recent stories on the Olympics here