The 1972 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from August 26 to September 11, 1972.

On the morning of 5 September, the Games were interrupted when eight Arab terrorists, representing the militant group "Black September" entered the Olympic Village, took hostage and then killed 11 members of the Israeli Olympic team - all this only 20km from Dachau. The Olympic Games were suspended for 34 hours and a mass was held in the main stadium to commemorate the victims. But the Games continued at the insistence of the IOC President Avery Brundage, who famously said "The Games must go on!"

As was tradition for the Olympic Games, numerous posters were created, notably a series on the theme of sports competitions and cultural events. The official poster was meant to promote not one specific sports event, but the whole of the Munich Games. It was supposed to express the specific spirit of the Games. Here, the design evokes the modern architecture of the sporting venues in a style and using colours which are purposefully simple and pure. In the centre of the background, the famous Olympic tower. (Official Olympics website)