As 2026 begins, the world comes together once again for the Olympic Winter Games—this time in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy. The Olympics are often associated with “Olympic moments” for athletes who have worked and dreamed their entire lives to reach Olympic gold, silver, or bronze. Throughout his ministry, Billy Graham would see very different “Olympic moments” in the vast stadiums that housed the games. These moments carried significance far beyond medals, as decisions made in those arenas—when Graham extended an invitation to come to Christ—would count for eternity.

Berlin – 1954

Billy Graham had a humbling experience as he prepared to preach in Berlin’s Olympic Stadium in 1954. He awoke in agony one night, with intense pain from a kidney stone. The doctors offered painkillers, but Rev. Graham refused them since he didn’t want[OC1]  to be groggy when he preached in Berlin. He had no wish to disappoint the organizers of the event, who had worked for months to ensure every detail was in place for the venue that once housed the 1936 Olympic Games.  He [OE2] needed his mind to be clear to present the Gospel to those who desperately needed to hear it.

On a rainy night, more than 80,000 people filled the stadium, with newspapers reporting “There has been no such crowd since the days of Hitler.” But Billy Graham had a much different message to deliver than the hatred and politics of Adolf Hitler—he was coming to share about the love of Christ. Billy Graham remembers in his autobiography, Just As I Am:

“I began my message with an allusion to Hitler’s use of that same stadium: ‘Others have stood here and spoken to you,’ I said. Then I raised my Bible. ‘Now God speaks to you.’ I then spoke on Jesus’ story of the rich young ruler found in Mark 10.

Because of stadium regulations, we could not have people com forward to the platform. Five days later, on a ship in the Atlantic heading for home, came a radio phone message from Berlin: 16,000 Germans had filled out decision cards.”

Maracanã Stadium – Rio de Janeiro – 1960 and 1972

Billy Graham preached in two separate events in Maracanã Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, which later hosted the 2016 Olympic Games. In 1960, he gave the closing address for the Baptist World Alliance conference. He returned to the stadium in 1972 for a five-day evangelistic Crusade. The attendance on the final day broke single-day attendance records for the stadium.

In Just As I Am, Billy Graham recounts:

“A quarter-million people gathered for the concluding meeting in Maracanã Stadium, a record for that facility. During the service, I could hear people beating on the locked doors as tens of thousands more tried to get in. The closing meeting was televised on all the networks across the country on the orders of the president; Crusade director Henry Holley was told that up to 50 million people saw the program. When we were ready to leave the stadium, the police escort was reluctant to open the gates for fear the crowd, in their enthusiasm, might riot.”

Olympic Stadium, Moscow – 1992

In October 1992, more than 40 years after praying in that very stadium that he would be able to preach in Russia, Billy Graham stood at a pulpit in the heart of Olympic Stadium (formerly known as Lenin Stadium) in Moscow. The 38,000-seat arena that had housed the 1980 Olympic Games proved to be the perfect location for Billy Graham’s Crusade.

In Just As I Am, Billy Graham remembers:

“Every night the covered Olympic Stadium was packed beyond capacity. Overflow crowds in the thousands stood outside in the chilly, late-October air to watch over a large-screen television. At the final meeting, on a Sunday afternoon, and estimated 50,000 people jammed the stadium; an additional 20,000 watched outside…

Later in the service, I watched in awe as over half the audience—one of the highest percentages in my entire ministry—surged forward at the Invitation (even before Viktor Hamm could finish his translation into Russian!) to commit their lives to Jesus Christ.

After the final service, I stood in my hotel room overlooking the Kremlin and watched the snow falling and the lights illuminating the beautiful towers and churches of the Kremlin and Red Square. I couldn’t help but think back to the prayer I had uttered in Lenin Stadium when Grady and I first visited Moscow as tourists in 1959, asking God for an opportunity to preach the Gospel in that nation… beyond doubt, God had answered our prayer.”

Find out more about Billy Graham’s “Olympic moments” through The Journey of Faith tour at the Billy Graham Library. Admission is always free. Plan your visit today.