The city of Paris turned into a colossal amphitheatre, and the iconic river Seine served as a track for the athletes' parade as France showcased its cultural diversity, spirit of revolution, impeccable craftsmanship and architectural heritage in a riveting opening ceremony for the 33rd Olympic Games on Friday.
French President Emmanuel Macron declared the Games open, marking the formal beginning of competitions for the next 16 days.
As per the IOC, there are no countries participating in the Olympics but their respective National Olympic Committees join the Games. This year, athletes from 206 National Olympic Committees will be participating in the Games.
Russia and Belarus have been banned from participating in the Paris Games this year owing to their involvement in the Ukraine war.
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While each athlete will try to make their country proud, let us take a look at the countries which were banned from being represented in the Olympics in the past.
(With PTI inputs)
The first-ever ban in the Games was imposed in the 1920 summer Olympics which was held in Antwerp, Belgium. Here, Germany, Austria, Hungary, Bulgaria and Turkey were banned for their involvement in the World War I.
In 1924, Germany was again banned from the Paris Games in continuation of the ramifications of the war.
Japan and Germany were banned from the 1948 Summer Olympics owing to their involvement in the World War II.
Due to the apartheid regime, South Africa was banned from the Olympics from 1964 to 1992.
Meanwhile, Zimbabwe was banned from the games in 1972 owing to the country's policies of racial segregation.
Due to the ruling Taliban's take on women's participation in sports, Afghanistan was banned from the Melbourne games in 2000.
International Olympic Committee suspended Kuwait in 2015 since the country's government interfered with its Olympic committee. In response, athletes from Kuwait participated in the Rio de Janeiro Olympics in 2016 as independent athletes.
North Korea was banned from the Beijing Winter Games in 2022 as a repercussion of their decision to withdraw from the Tokyo Olympics in 2020, a move that reportedly violated the Olympic Charter.