Watch Danish Group Liima Find Inspiration From 1980 Olympic Games Boycott
Danish-Berlin based act Liima have taken an unusual leaf out of the history books for their debut single ‘Russians’, documenting the controversial story of the 1980 Olympic Games where more than sixty nations boycotted the Moscow event citing political protest for their invasion of Afghanistan.
Liima is the Nordic quartet formed by Finnish percussionist Tatu Rönkkö, plus Mads Brauer, Casper Clausen and Rasmus Stolberg of Danish act Efterklang. They invited the directing duo Jonas Bang and M.I.L.K to direct, who then tracked down one of the athletes who took part the 1980 boycott, retired West German javelin thrower Michael Wessing. A gold medal favourite, his story is central to ‘Russians’. He talks frankly about the protest and its lasting effect on his life, which ultimately led to him giving up his career and Olympic dream.
Russia has had a fraught history with the Olympics. With the recent doping scandal that saw 110 of 382 Russian Olympic athletes subject to a ban at the Rio games, reminding us that politics and sport have an uneasy relationship.
Watch ‘Russians’ below:
