or1980v2pt1

Introduction
From the outset, the organisers of the Games of the XXII Olympiad had been
certain of the success of that worldwide celebration of sport, peace, and
friendship. Their assurance reposed on the immense popularity of sports in the
Soviet Union, and the devotion of Soviet people to the noble Olympic ideals.
Moscow and other Soviet cities had hosted many a competition of the world's
leading athletes and many other international public functions.
The Soviet state encourages physical education and sport, as this is indeed
recorded in the Constitution of the USSR. More than 70 different sports
recognised by the international sports community are practised in the Soviet
Union. Physical education is entrusted to some 320,000 professional instructors.
More than 220 higher and secondary specialised educational establishments,
including 24 institutes of physical culture, train PT instructors, coaches, and
trainers. By the time of the Moscow Games, the state's allocations to health and
physical culture had climbed to an annual 14,400 million roubles.
In the period of preparations for the Games building of sports complexes
went on all over the country on an unprecedented scale, including the simplest
of facilities by chiefly the sportsmen themselves. During the pre-Olympic years
mass competitions were held in all parts of the Soviet Union under the motto,
Olympics Aren't For Olympians Only. Contestants were people of practically all
age groups, with whole families participating. Many more millions of people
joined the sports movement.
Backed by the planned socialist economy, the organisers of the 1980
Olympics had considerable advantages over their predecessors. The Soviet state
had supported the idea of holding the Games of the XXII Olympiad in Moscow
from the outset. The presidium of the USSR Supreme Soviet addressed a
message to the president of the IOC pledging all due aid and support to the city
authorities, the USSR Olympic Committee and all sports organisations of the
Soviet Union in ensuring the success of the Games in accordance with the rules
and regulations of the IOC. Construction of competition sites and other Olympic
projects, manufacture of requisite equipment, apparatus and gear, and
allocations for infrastructural expansion in Moscow and other Olympic cities,
were worked into the State Economic and Social Development Plan of the
USSR for 1976-1980. The USSR Council of Ministers and the councils of
ministers of the Russian Federation, Estonia, the Ukraine, and Byelorussia
instructed ministries and government departments to take charge of measures
and projects related to the preparation and holding of the Olympics.
The Organising Committee for the Games of the XXII Olympiad laid
emphasis on economy and effective use of competition sites and other projects
after the Olympics. Furthermore, to cover organisational expenses and recoup
the cost of Olympic projects, it drew up an economic-financial programme
under which a set of money-gathering functions was carried out at home and
abroad.
The enthusiasm of Soviet people had in many ways helped the organisers to
cope with the preparations for the Games within the allotted time. Millions of
hours of work was volunteered on Olympic building sites by the people of
Moscow, Tallinn, Leningrad, Kiev, Minsk and other cities. They contributed their
labour free, during off hours. The country's various youth organisations
assumed responsibility for the Olympic construction, and brought out tens of
thousands of volunteers. Building teams pledged to finish building ahead of
schedule, and kept their promises without fail. The hundreds of enterprises in
the country filling Olympic orders gave them top priority.
More than 70,000 Soviet citizens took part in the contests held by the
Organising Committee for the official emblem and mascot of the Games, and
that, too, was an illustration of the nationwide support of the Games of the XXII
Olympiad.
Soviet people wanted to show hospitality to all who came to the Games. And
did so in the true Soviet spirit—sincerely and amicably. Guests of the Moscow
Olympics were afforded good opportunities to see the life of Soviet people, and
to travel across the country. A lavish Cultural Programme had been prepared,
reflecting the cultural achievements of the multinational Soviet Union. As
planned, the festival of arts, became an organic supplement to the sports
celebrations.
From the outset, the Organising Committee did its best to keep the world
public informed of the progress of preparations for the Games, and to
popularise the Olympic ideals. Close contacts were made with the mass media,
whose personnel were afforded the best possible conditions to work in.
The Olympiad-80 organisers took account of the experience of the
organisers of the previous Games. An OCOG-80 delegation attended the Games
of the XXI Olympiad in Montreal and the Winter Games in Innsbruck and Lake
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