Despite the fact that the athletes of the Soviet Union won the lion's share of medals at every Olympics for forty years, the largest sports forum on the planet was held in the USSR only once. This happened in 1980, when the Games of the XXII Summer Olympics were held in Moscow and several other cities of the Soviet Union.
Moscow was able to obtain the right to host the Summer Olympians Forum the second time around. The first attempt was made in 1970 at the 69th session of the IOC, but then in the final vote, the victory went to the Canadian Montreal. It is noteworthy, however, that both of the Canadians' rivals in voting - Moscow and Los Angeles - became the capitals of the next two Olympiads. Moscow was officially named the venue for the XXII Summer Games in 1974 in Vienna, at the 75th session of the IOC.
Soon after Moscow was chosen as the capital of the future Olympics, major programs for the construction of new sports facilities and the modernization of urban infrastructure began to be implemented in the city. A total of 78 new sports facilities were built. On the site of the Burevestnik stadium, the Olympic sports complex was built, equal to which in the world did not exist then, and even now it remains the largest building of this kind in Europe. A unique coating was laid on the new Krylatskoye cycle track, which allowed the Olympians to set 13 world records. In addition to sports facilities, the Olympic Village, the Cosmos hotel complex, the second terminal of the international airport at Sheremetyevo, the Olympic Press Center on Zubovsky Boulevard and other facilities were built.
In addition to Moscow, the Moscow Region Mytishchi and four other cities of the USSR took part in the 1980 Summer Games. Shooting competitions were held in Mytishchi, sailing competitions were held in Tallinn, and matches of preliminary Olympic football tournaments were held at stadiums in Minsk, Kiev and Leningrad.
The opening ceremony of the Olympics in Moscow took place on July 19, 1980, and the games ended on August 3. Due to the official boycott of the games for political reasons by several dozen countries, the number of athletes who took part in it (about 5,200) turned out to be less than expected. At the XXII Summer Games, 203 sets of awards were played, 36 world and 74 Olympic records were set.
