1976 Summer Olympics boycotted the Montreal Games when the International Olympic Committee (IOC) refused to ban New Zealand, after the New Zealand national rugby union team had toured South Africa earlier in 1976 in defiance of the United Nations' calls for a sporting embargo. The vote occurred on May 12, 1970, at the 69th IOC Session in Amsterdam, Netherlands. While Los Angeles and Moscow were viewed as the favourites given that they represented the world's two main powers, many of the smaller countries supported Montreal as an underdog and as a relatively neutral site for the games. Los Angeles was eliminated after the
South African Games Black games from 24 April to 10 May. The 1969 South African Open Games were held in Bloemfontein, beginning on 15 March. That month U Thant, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, called on all members to break all sporting links with South Africa. Invitations were extended to white athletes from mostly-white countries. The games were organised by the South African National Olympic Committee (SANOC), which used the Olympic rings in its publicity material, without the approval of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). This violation of the Olympic Charter was added to multiple counts of sporting segregation, for which the