O Olympics (1950–present) One of the goals of Baron Pierre de Coubertin—founder of the modern Olympic Games and organizer of the first modern games in 1896—was to encourage international understanding through sports, and help to create a more peaceful world But after 50 years and two world wars—the bloodiest and most violent wars the world had yet seen—the Olympic dream of de Coubertin seemed very distant indeed Too often the competition between nations would overshadow the competition of the athletes, and occasionally even the athletes themselves would be the center of controversy In fact the Olympic Games found themselves, in 1948, in the middle of the geopolitics of the cold war The world found itself poised on the brink of nuclear confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union, and it seemed the world needed the Olympic Games and de Coubertin’s vision of peace now more than ever Often, however, the Games would be just another proxy in the ideological battle between liberal democracy and communism One of the most famous incidents of the 1956 Melbourne Games was the water polo match between the Soviet Union and Hungary This match followed the Soviet quashing of the Hungarian uprising; because of political tension between the countries, the match was contested with such intensity that blood was seen in the swimming pool But in addition to political theater, the games also provided many moments of genuine human drama, Towering over the city, the Olympic Stadium in Montreal, Canada, was built for the 1976 Summer Olympics 325