Sports, Politics & Crowncaps

Sports and politics are closely related, despite the fact that the original idea of the Olympic movement envisioned a competition between athletes, not countries.

Olympics 1980

At the 75th session of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on October 23, 1974 in Vienna, Moscow won the right to host the Olympic Games, defeating Los Angeles. Apparently, after this, the Americans nursed a grudge and subsequently made a political decision to boycott the games, the reason being the events in Afghanistan and Jimmy Carter's ultimatum. Be that as it may, the events could not be disrupted, and the Moscow Olympics became one of the best in history.

Symbols

Great efforts were expended on preparations, in particular on the creation of various kinds of souvenirs: ceramics, badges, clothing, stationery, etc. Many such artifacts from the past are now prized by collectors. The most common images were those of the bear and the Olympic rings, in various interpretations. Crowncaps were no exception. Oddly enough, the 1980 Olympics logo was featured on the American brand "Fanta," owned by the Coca-Cola Corporation. The company was under considerable pressure from American politicians, but found a loophole and remained in the promising Soviet market. Cooperation with the USSR was somewhat curtailed, transformed, and even paid a $2 million penalty, but production lines continued to be supported. One could say that money triumphed over evil.

The Moscow Olympics logo turned out quite well. It combines the Olympic rings, six running tracks, and a stylized version of the Kremlin's Spasskaya Tower. The history of the Coca-Cola Corporation's collaboration with the International Olympic Committee dates back to 1928. For many Olympics, they have produced products with corresponding symbols. It was mostly cola, but for the Moscow Olympics, given the boycott, they had to take a bold step and print the logo on Fanta.

Festival of Youth and Students 1985

With a series of boycotts, the leadership of the Soviet Union needed to demonstrate the absence of isolation, and an alternative path for the world's development. They decided to hold a large-scale cultural, sports, and political event - a festival of youth and students. A lot of paraphernalia with symbols was released, including the festival drink "Fiesta" with branded caps of different colors.

The logo is a chamomile flower with 5 petals symbolizing the continents. In the center is a globe and a stylized image of a dove as a symbol of peace.

Politics is politics, many things are forgotten, why certain events happened this way and not otherwise. Some factories have already vanished into oblivion, and even some countries have disappeared. Today, we have other boycotts in other forms. Only historians and we collectors can find some artifact and tell an interesting story about what it depicts and why.