London 1948 Summer Olympics - results & video highlights Official Reports arrow Rising to the challenge The Olympic Games had not been held in either 1940 or 1944 due to World War II, and London was called upon at short notice to host them. Despite shortages of essential products due to rationing, the city rose magnificently to the challenge - a true victory over dark times. Innovation and progress The London Games were the first to be shown on home television, although very few people in Great Britain actually owned sets. Starting blocks for athletes in sprint races were introduced for the first time, and the Empire Pool was the first covered Olympic pool to be used at the Games. Memorable performances Seventeen-year-old American Bob Mathias won the decathlon only four months after taking up the sport. He remains the youngest athlete in Olympic history to win a men’s athletics event. The dominant woman of the Games was sprinter Fanny Blankers-Koen of the Netherlands. She entered four sprint events and won all four. Overcoming adversity Karoly Takacs was a member of the Hungarian world champion pistol shooting team in 1938 when a grenade shattered his right hand - his pistol hand.

Takacs taught himself to shoot with his left hand and, 10 years later, he won an Olympic gold medal in the rapid-fire pistol event. NOCs: 59 Athletes: 4,104 (390 women, 3,714 men) Events: 136 Media: n/a Participation Many countries, including Burma, Ceylon, Lebanon, Puerto Rico, Syria and Venezuela, were represented for the first time. On the other hand, there were no athletes from Japan, Germany or the USSR. Innovation in athletics Introduction of blocks to facilitate the start for athletes in sprint races (100m to 400m). Recognition Diplomas awarded to the first six athletes. Swimming under cover The Empire Pool was the first covered Olympic pool in history. Located not far from Wembley, it could house 8,000 spectators. As its length exceeded the regulatory 50m for an Olympic pool, a wooden platform was constructed to shorten it and to house the judges and officials.

Ceremonies London, Wembley Stadium, 29 July 1948, Opening Ceremony: last torch-bearer John Mark passing the Tribune of Honour, is applauded by members of the Organising Committee. Official opening of the Games by: His Majesty King George VI Lighting the Olympic Flame by: John Mark (athletics) Official Oath by: The officials' oath at an Olympic Summer Games was first sworn in 1972 in Munich. It is composed of the clock tower of the Houses of Parliament. The hands of the famous "Big Ben" are pointing to 4 o'clock, the time at which the opening of the Games was planned. In the foreground, the Olympic rings. The Games Organising Committee wanted a typically English emblem, but one that would have significance not only for the generation of that time, but for future generations as well. On the obverse, the traditional goddess of victory, holding a palm in her left hand and a winner’s crown in her right. A design used since the 1928 Games in Amsterdam, created by Florentine artist Giuseppe Cassioli (ITA -1865-1942) and chosen after a competition organised by the International Olympic Committee.

For these Games, the picture of victory is accompanied by the specific inscription: "XVIII OLYMPIAD LONDON 1948". On the reverse, an Olympic champion carried in triumph by the crowd, with the Olympic stadium in the background. N.B: From 1928 to 1968, the medals for the Summer Games were identical. The Organising Committee for the Games in Munich in 1972 broke new ground by having a different reverse which was designed by a Bauhaus representative, Gerhard Marcks. Number of torchbearers: 1 416 (sources may differ) Total distance: 3 365 km Countries crossed: Greece, Italy, Switzerland, France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and United Kingdom More info It takes up the theme of the emblem i.e. the clock tower of the Houses of Parliament. The hands of the famous "Big Ben" are pointing to 4 o'clock, the time at which the opening of the Games was planned- accompanied by the Olympic rings. In the foreground, there was the drawing of the statue of the "Discobolus" (classical icon of the discus thrower from Ancient Greece).

There were 100,000 copies made, 50,000 large format and 25,000 small and regular formats. The general lack of resources for these first post-war Olympic Games had an impact on the official report, “The official report of the Organising Committee for the XIV Olympiad”. Published finally in 1951, its emphasis was on content rather than form, with a more modest approach than previous editions. It was produced only in English. Olympic Games Summer and Winter Locations and History of the Games Olympic games summer and winter locations and history of the games Olympic games summer and winter locations and history of the games Olympic History The Olympic Games took their name from the Greek city of Olympia and though there were important athletic competitions held in other Greek cities in ancient times, the Olympic Games were regarded as the most prestigious. The games were held every four years during August and September and the word "Olympiad", which referred to the four year intervals between competitions, was commonly used to measure time. The first documented Olympic champion was a man named Coroebus, a cook from Elis who won the sprint race in 776 BC.

Historians believe that the games had already existed for at least 500 years prior to that date. The Olympic Games originally featured only one event: a race called the "stade", equal to a distance of about 210 yards. By 728 BC two additional races had been added, comparable to the 400 meter and 1,500 meter races of the modern games. The Olympics came to include wrestling, boxing and the pentathlon, as well as specialized events for soldiers and heralds. It was only in 472 BC that the events were spread out over a period of four to five days, previously they had all taken place on a single day. Participation in the Olympic Games was originally limited to free born Greeks, but as Greek civilization was spread by the conquests of Alexander the Great, the Games drew entrants from as far away as Antioch, Sidon and Alexandria. While the only official prize was a wreath or garland, successful athletes were supported by the governments of their cities and devoted much time to training. Most of the competitors were, in fact, professionals.

After the Roman conquest of Greece in the second century BC, the Olympic Games suffered a decline in popularity and importance, but the Games persisted until AD 393, when the Roman emperor Theodosius I ordered their abolition. The idea of reviving the Olympic Games originated with Baron Pierre de Coubertin, a 29 year old French aristocrat who first publicly raised the issue in 1892. At a conference on international sport held in Paris in 1894, Coubertin managed to convince delegates from 49 organizations representing nine countries to vote in favor of an Olympic revival. His chief allies in this effort were Dimitrios Vikelas of Greece and Professor William M. Sloane of the United States. The organizers had planned the first modern Olympics for 1900 in Paris, but later decided to move the date forward to 1896 and to change the venue to Athens, though the local government of the Greek capital was initially hostile to the idea. Coubertin and his colleagues of the newly formed International Olympic Committee eventually prevailed, and the first Olympic Games of the modern era were inaugurated by the King of Greece in the first week of April 1896.

The Games of 1896, 1900 and 1904 were loosely organized and did not feature national teams produced by rigorous selection. The 1908 Games, held in London in a newly built 66,000 seat stadium, were the first where the events were organized by the relevant authorities in each athletic discipline. More than 2,000 athletes from 22 nations competed in 100 events. The 1912 Olympic Games in Stockholm drew more then 2,500 competitors from 28countries and featured the first women's swimming events. No Games were held in 1916 due to World War I, but the Games enjoyed strong growth after the war, with 44 nations participating in the 1924 Olympics in Paris. At the1928 Games in Amsterdam there were more than 290 women among the 3,000athletes, more than double the number that took part in 1924. The Olympic Games were suspended again for 12 years because of World War II, resuming in 1948 in London.

The post-war era saw steady growth in the number of countries and athletes competing and a dramatic increase in women's events. Politics began to intrude on the Games in a serious way at the 1972 Olympics in Munich, where Palestinian terrorists attacked Israeli athletes in the Olympic Village. Sixty nations boycotted the 1980 Moscow Olympics to protest the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, while the Soviets and some of their allies retaliated by declining to take part in the 1984 Games in Los Angeles. The end of the Cold War has eliminated the largest source of political conflict, and most Olympic controversies in recent years have centered on accusations. Olympic Games Location (modern day) The IOC, headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland, sets and enforces Olympic policy. The site of the games is chosen, usually at least six years in advance. The Olympic Flag Putting five colored interlocking rings on a white background was conceived by Pierre de Coubertin. Almost a century after the flag's creation, the six colors, those of the rings (blue, yellow, black, green, red) and that of the background (white), still maintain their symbolism today.

The Olympic symbol, the five interlocking rings, represents the union of the five continents and the meeting of the athletes of the world at the Olympic Games. Sites of the Summer Olympic Games 1896 - Athens, Greece 1904 - St. Louis, Missouri USA 1906 - Athens, Greece* 1932 - Los Angeles, California USA 1936 - Berlin, Germany 1984 - Los Angeles, California USA 1988 - Seoul, South Korea 2016 - Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 2020 - Tokyo, Japan 1948 Olympics: Fascinating images from when London last hosted the games...on a budget of just £70,000 | Daily Mail Online Share this article Share And in the place of the purpose-built accommodation blocks of London 2012, those who took part in the 1948 games were put up in makeshift RAF camps and even schools.

The Olympic torch is presented at the 1948 Summer Olympic Games at Wembley Stadium in London Veteran runner H J Bignall (right) hands over the Olympic torch to Fred Prevett at Redhill, Surrey Even the Olympic Torch relays for both the 1948 and 2012 were very different. For a start, the 1948 Relay - which only involved male torchbearers - snaked its way on an overnight journey directly from Dover to London straight after it arrived in the country. And the scenes of crowds lining up in orderly fashion that have mostly greeted the flame this year were replaced instead by people converging on the road making it impossible for the torch to pass through. The Games of the 14th Cultural Olympiad back in 1948, although evidently difficult to compare to this year's Olympics which are yet to get underway, are also likely to be more notable for their differences to this summer's events than their similarities.

AA patrols with signs at Olympic Way, the new road which was constructed to the Wembley Stadium The Opening Ceremony for the 1948 Olympics at Wembley Stadium The previous Olympic Games in London took place in 1948, and like this summer's festivities took place in an age of austerity. The budget for that year of £70,000 has been dwarfed by the multibillion-pounds worth of funds allocated to London 2012 Cyclists at the mass start of one of the men's road races at Smith's Lawn, Windsor Great Park Cyclist Reg Harris, right, cycles around the velodrome at Herne Hill during the 1948 Olympiad, whilst Fritz Hegner of Switzerland aims for gold in the modern pentathlon The 1948 Games involved less than 50 countries whilst London 2012 has competitors from 204 different nations participating. As well as boasting a far broader selection of people from across the world taking part, the sheer number of competitors also dwarfs the number who came to London in 1948. Back then, around 4,000 athletes took to the track and field.

Whilst in London 2012, an estimated 10,500 people will be going for gold, silver or bronze. McDonald Bailey (centre) of Great Britain wins heat six of the men's 100m event at Wembley Stadium Members of the British gymnastics team practising on the high bar in Hyde Park Although there are many differences between the two Games, the weightlifting event in both 1948 and 2012 will be held in the same place - Earl's Court The floating boxing ring was installed at the Empire Pool at Wembley Back in 1948, the number of sports on display in which athletes and participants could win medals was far fewer than today. There were 136 events in around 17 sports then, whereas this summer tickets have gone on sale for 302 events in 26 sports. Although the similarities between the two events seem few and far between, organisers of London 2012 will be hoping for weather conditions to match the sunshine that greeted the start of the games at Wembley Stadium.

85,000 witnessed the King open the Games in 1948 in a stadium bathed in sunshine and warm weather. A Curtis of the USA, the winner, is leading on the last lap of the final of the women's 400m freestyle Andre Marie of France wins the 110m hurdles trial, left, whilst the fencing event photographed right, saw Britain eventually go on to win gold Crowds watching the 1948 London Olympics in the rain at Wembley Stadium A Coca-Cola stall at Wembley Stadium during the Olympic Games in London, August 1948 The Indian hockey team launches an attack on the Spanish goalmouth during a hockey match at Chiswick, right, whilst Fanny Blankers-Koen, nearside right, competes in the hurdles During the 1948 Games, Great Britain came 12th overall after managing an impressive 23 gold, silver and bronze medals. Even over sixty years ago, however, American remained dominant in the leaderboard for gold medals. The country clocked up an impressive 38 gold medals.

And this summer, America will likely be hoping to repeat such an imprevvie haul - although China is likely to prove stiff competition. Great Britain came 12th in the 1948 Olympics, after managing an impressive haul of 23 gold, silver and bronze medals The start of the fifth heat of the men's 100m freestyle event at the Empire Pool in Wembley Australian Mervyn Wood wins the single sculls final at Henley on Thames ahead of Eduardo Risso Despite having a budget of just £70,000 the Olympic Games in 1948 were largely deemed a rip-roaring success Winter Olympic Games Winter Olympic Games Hallgeir Brenden (1929 - 2007) Skiløper. Foreldre: Bileier Halvor Brenden og Magda Nordlie. Gift med Ella Kjærnet (13.3.1932–). Hallgeir Brenden var Norges fremste langrennsløper i 1950-årene. Ha...

Maribel Vinson (1911 - 1961) Maribel Yerxa Vinson-Owen (October 12, 1911 – February 15, 1961) was an American figure skater and coach. She competed in the disciplines of ladies singles and pair skating. As a single skat... Sonja Henie (1912 - 1969) From Wikipedia : Sonja Henie (8 April 1912 – 12 October 1969) was a Norwegian figure skater and film star. She was a three-time Olympic Champion (1928, 1932, 1936) in Ladies' Singles, a ten-time... history The Winter Olympic Games occurs every four years. The first celebration of the Winter Olympics was held in Chamonix, France, in 1924. The Games were held every four years from 1924 until 1936 and then were interrupted by World War II. They resumed in 1948 and were celebrated every four years.

The Winter and Summer Olympic Games were held in the same years until 1992, when the governing body for the Olympic Games, the International Olympic Committee (IOC), decided to place the Summer and Winter Games on separate four-year cycles in alternating even-numbered years. How the Games evolved The first international multi-sport event for winter sports was the Nordic Games held in Sweden in 1901. Organised by General Viktor Gustaf Balck, these were held again in 1903 and 1905 and then every fourth year until 1926. Balck was a charter member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and a close friend of Olympic Games founder Pierre de Frédy de Coubertin , who tried to have winter sports, figure skating in particular, added to the Olympic programme. He was not successful until the 1908 Summer Olympics in London, when Four figure skating events were contested. Ulrich Salchow (10-time world champion) and Madge Syers won the individual titles.

In 1912 count Eugenio Brunetta d'Usseaux proposed that the IOC stage a week of winter sports included as part of the 1912 Summer Olympics in Stockholm, Sweden. This was opposed to protect the Nordic Games. The 1916 games were held in Berlin, Germany, after which there was an interruption during the 1st World War years. Figure skating and an ice hockey tournament were featured at the first Olympic games after the war which were held in Antwerp, Belgium - 1920. At the IOC Congress held in 1921 it was decided that the host nation of the 1924 Summer Olympics, France, would host a separate "International Winter Sports Week" under the patronage of the IOC. At the games in Chamonix more than 250 athletes from 16 nations competed in 16 events. In 1925 the IOC decided to create a separate Olympic Winter Games and the 1924 Games in Chamonix were designated as the first Winter Olympics. Winter Olympic Games Hosts 1928 St. Moritz, Switzerland hosted the second Olympic Winter Games.

1932 Lake Placid, New York, United States. 1936 (AKA Hitler Olympics) - Garmisch-Partenkirchen in Bavaria, Germany. This was the last time the Summer and Winter Olympics were held in the same country in the same year. 1940 to 1948 - Interrupted by World War II 1948 St. Moritz, Switzerland. 1980 Lake Placcid, New York, USA 1984 Sarajevo, Yugoslavia 1988 Calgary, Canada 1992 Albertville, France - the last Winter Olympics to be held in the same year as the Summer Games. 1994 Lillehammer, Norway 2002 Salt Lake City, Utah, USA 2006 Turin, Italy 2018 will be held at Pyeongchang, South Korea Famous Winter Olympians Olympic Games | Olympics Wiki | Fandom powered by Wikia Main article: Summer Olympic Games After the initial success, the Olympics struggled. The celebrations in Paris (1900) and St.

Louis (1904) were overshadowed by the World's Fair exhibitions in which they were included. The 1906 Intercalated Games (so-called because of their off-year status, as 1906 is not divisible by four) were held in Athens, as the first of an alternating series of Athens-held Olympics. Although originally the IOC recognised and supported these games, they are currently not recognised by the IOC as Olympic Games, which has given rise to the explanation that they were intended to mark the 10th anniversary of the modern Olympics. The 1906 Games again attracted a broad international field of participants—in 1904, 80% had been American—and great public interest, thereby marking the beginning of a rise in popularity and size of the Games. From the 241 participants from 14 nations in 1896, the Games grew to nearly 11,100 competitors from 202 countries at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens .

The number of competitors at the Winter Olympics is much smaller than at the Summer Games; at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin Italy, 2,633 athletes from 80 countries competed in 84 events. The Olympics are one of the largest media events. In Sydney in 2000, there were over 16,000 broadcasters and journalists, and an estimated 3.8 billion viewers watched the games on television. The growth of the Olympics is one of the largest problems the Olympics face today. Although allowing professional athletes and attracting sponsorships from major international companies solved financial problems in the 1980s, the large number of athletes, media and spectators makes it difficult and expensive for host cities to organize the Olympics. For example, the 2012 Olympics (which were held in London), is based on an updated budget of over £9bn—one of the biggest budgets for an Olympics to date. Even if sponsorships do lighten the load in terms of the debt that these countries take on, one of the biggest problems faced is how their economies will cope with the extra financial burdens put on them.

Despite the Olympics usually being associated with one host city, most of the Olympics have had events held in other cities, especially the football and sailing events. There were two Olympics where some events were held in a different country: during the 1920 Antwerp Olympics two sailing races were held in the Netherlands; and during the Melbourne Olympics equestrian events were held in Sweden. The 2008 Beijing Olympics marked the third time that Olympic events have been held in the territories of two different NOC 's: at the 2008 Olympics, equestrian events were held in Hong Kong (which competes separately from mainland China.) 203 countries currently participate in the Olympics. This is a noticeably higher number than the number of countries belonging to the United Nations, which is only 193. The International Olympic Committee allows nations to compete which do not meet the strict requirements for political sovereignty that many other international organizations demand. As a result, many colonies and dependencies are permitted to host their own Olympic teams and athletes even if such competitors hold the same citizenship as another member nation.

Examples of this include territories such as Puerto Rico , Bermuda , and Hong Kong , all of which compete as separate nations despite being legally a part of another country. Also, since 1980, Taiwan has competed under the name " Chinese Taipei ", and under a flag specially prepared by the IOC. Prior to that year the People's Republic of China refused to participate in the Games because Taiwan had been competing under the name "Republic of China". The Republic of the Marshall Islands was recognised as a nation by the IOC on February 9, 2006, and competed in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing . [9] Youth Olympic Games Main article: Youth Olympic Games The Youth Olympic Games (YOG) [10] are planned to be a "junior" version of the Games, complementing the current "senior" Games, [11] and will feature athletes between the ages of 14 and 18. [12] The idea for such an event was envisioned in 2001 by IOC president Jacques Rogge , [13] and at the 119th IOC session in Guatemala City in July 2007, the IOC approved the Games.

[14] The Youth Games versions will be shorter: the summer version will last at most twelve days; the winter version will last a maximum of nine days. [15] [16] The IOC will allow a maximum of 3,500 athletes and 875 officials to participate at the summer games, while 970 athletes and 580 officials are expected at the winter games. [14] Each participating country would send at least four athletes. The sports contested at these games will be the same as those scheduled for the traditional Games, [13] but with a limited number of disciplines and events, and including some with special appeal to youth. Education and culture are also key components for this Youth edition. Estimated cost for the game are currently $30 million for the summer and $15–$20 million for winter games. [17] It has been stated the IOC will "foot the bill" for the Youth Games. The first host city will be Singapore in 2010; the first Winter Olympics is in 2012 in Innsbruk . Olympic problems Edit The 1956 Melbourne Olympics were the first Olympics to be boycotted.

The Netherlands , Spain , and Switzerland refused to attend because of the repression of the Hungarian Uprising by the Soviet Union ; additionally, Cambodia , Egypt , Iraq , and Lebanon , boycotted the games due to the Suez Crisis. [18] In 1972 and 1976 , a large number of African countries threatened the IOC with a boycott, to force them to ban South Africa , Rhodesia , and New Zealand . The IOC conceded in the first two cases, but refused in 1976 because the boycott was prompted by a New Zealand rugby union tour of South Africa, and rugby was not an Olympic sport. The countries withdrew their teams after the games had started; some African athletes had already competed. A lot of sympathy was felt for the athletes forced by their governments to leave the Olympic Village; there was little sympathy outside Africa for the governments' attitude. Twenty-two countries ( Guyana was the only non-African nation) boycotted the Montreal Olympics because New Zealand was not banned.

[19] Also in 1976, due to pressure from the People's Republic of China ( PRC ), Canada told the team from the Republic of China ( Taiwan ) that it could not compete at the Montreal Summer Olympics under the name "Republic of China" despite a compromise that would have allowed Taiwan to use the ROC flag and anthem . The Republic of China refused and as a result did not participate again until 1984, when it returned under the name " Chinese Taipei " and used a special flag. [20] In 1980 and 1984, the Cold War opponents boycotted each other's games. Sixty-five nations refused to compete at the Moscow Olympics in 1980 because of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, but 16 nations from Western Europe did compete at the Moscow Olympics. The boycott reduced the number of nations participating to only 81, the lowest number of nations to compete since 1956.

The Soviet Union and 14 of its Eastern Bloc partners (except Romania ) countered by skipping the Los Angeles Olympics in 1984 , arguing the safety of their athletes could not be guaranteed there and "chauvinistic sentiments and an anti-Soviet hysteria are being whipped up in the United States". [21] The 1984 boycotters staged their own Friendship Games in July-August. [22] [23] There have been growing calls for boycotts of the 2008 Olympics in Beijing in protest of China's poor human rights record and response to the recent disturbances in Tibet, Darfur, and Taiwan. There are also campaigns calling for Chinese goods to be boycotted. [24] [25] [26] Olympic Problems Edit One of the main problems facing the Olympics (and international sports in general) is doping , or performance enhancing drugs. In the early 20th century, many Olympic athletes began using drugs to enhance their performance. For example, the winner of the marathon at the 1904 Games , Thomas J. Hicks , was given strychnine and brandy by his coach, even during the race.

As these methods became more extreme, gradually the awareness grew that this was no longer a matter of health through sports. In the mid-1960s, sports federations put a ban on doping, and the IOC followed suit in 1967. The first and so far only Olympic death caused by doping occurred in 1960. At the cycling road race in Rome the Danish rider Knud Enemark Jensen fell from his bicycle and later died. A coroner's inquiry found that he was under the influence of amphetamines. The first Olympic athlete to test positive for doping use was Hans-Gunnar Liljenwall , a Swedish pentathlete at the 1968 Summer Olympics , who lost his bronze medal for alcohol use. Seventy-three athletes followed him over the next 38 years, several medal winners among them. The most publicised doping-related disqualification was that of Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson , who won the 100m at the 1988 Seoul Olympics , but tested positive for stanozolol. Despite the testing, many athletes continued to use doping without getting caught.

In 1990, documents were revealed that showed many East German female athletes had been unknowingly administered anabolic steroids and other drugs by their coaches and trainers as a government policy. In the late 1990s, the IOC took initiative in a more organised battle against doping, leading to the formation of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) in 1999. The recent 2000 Summer Olympics and 2002 Winter Olympics have shown that this battle is not nearly over, as several medalists in weightlifting and cross-country skiing were disqualified due to doping offences. One innocent victim of the anti-doping movement at the Olympics was the Romanian gymnast Andreea Răducan who was stripped of her gold medal-winning performance in the All-Around Competition of the 2000 Sydney games. Test results indicated the presence of the banned-stimulant pseudophedrine which had been prescribed to her by an Olympic doctor. Raducan had been unaware of the presence of the illegal substance in the medicine that had been prescribed to her for a cold she had during the games. During the 2006 Winter Olympics , only one athlete failed a drug test and had a medal revoked.

The only other case involved 12 members with high levels of haemoglobin and their punishment was a five day suspension for health reasons. The International Olympic Committee introduced blood testing for the first time during these games. Politics Main article: Politics in the Olympics Politics interfered with the Olympics on several occasions, the most well-known of which was the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin , where the games were used as propaganda by the German Nazis. At this Olympics, a true Olympic spirit was shown by Luz Long , who helped Jesse Owens (a black athlete) to win the long jump, at the expense of his own silver medal. [27] The Soviet Union did not participate in the Olympic Games until the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki . Instead, the Soviets organized an international sports event called Spartakiads, from 1928 onward. Many athletes from Communist organizations or close to them chose not to participate or were even barred from participating in Olympic Games, and instead participated in Spartakiads. [28] A political incident on a smaller scale occurred at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City .

Two American track-and-field athletes, Tommie Smith and John Carlos , performed the Black Power salute on the victory stand of the 200-meter track and field race. In response, the IOC's autocratic president Avery Brundage told the USOC to either send the two athletes home, or withdraw the complete track and field team. The USOC opted for the former. [29] The government of the Islamic Republic of Iran specifically orders its athletes not to compete in any olympic heat, semi-final, or finals that includes athletes from Israel . At the 2004 Olympics, an Iranian judoka who had otherwise earned his place, did not compete in a heat against an Israeli judoka. [30] Violence Edit Despite what Coubertin had hoped for, the Olympics did not bring total peace to the world. In fact, three Olympiads had to pass without Olympics because of war: due to World War I the 1916 Games were cancelled, and the summer and winter games of 1940 and 1944 were cancelled because of World War II. During the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, a massacre of 11 members from the Israeli Olympic team occurred.

The team members were taken hostage and eventually killed, along with a German police officer, by the Palestinian group Black September. During the Summer Olympics in 1996 in Atlanta , a bombing at the Centennial Olympic Park killed two and injured 111 others. The bomb was set by Eric Robert Rudolph, an conservative American domestic terrorist, who is currently serving a life sentence. [31] The 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City were the first Olympic Games since the September 11, 2001 attacks. Olympic Games since then have required an extremely high degree of security due to the fear of possible terrorist activities. [32] There have been pro-Tibet / pro-human rights protests during the Beijing Olympic Games Torch Relay, some of which included violent incidents Olympic Movement Edit A number of organizations are involved in organizing the Olympic Games. Together they form the Olympic Movement. The rules and guidelines by which these organizations operate are outlined in the Olympic Charter . At the heart of the Olympic Movement is the International Olympic Committee (IOC), currently headed by Jacques Rogge .

It can be seen as the government of the Olympics, as it takes care of the daily problems and makes all important decisions, such as choosing the host city of the Games, and the programme of the Olympics. Three groups of organisations operate on a more specialised level: International Federations (IFs), the governing bodies of a sport (e.g. FIFA , the IF for football (soccer) , and the FIVB , the international governing body for volleyball .) National Olympic Committees (NOCs), which regulate the Olympic Movement within each country (eg. USOC , the NOC of the United States ) Organizing Committees for the Olympic Games (OCOGs), which take care of the organisation of a specific celebration of the Olympics. At present, 202 NOCs and 35 IFs are part of the Olympic Movement. OCOGs are dissolved after the celebration of each Games, once all subsequent paperwork has been completed. More broadly speaking, the term Olympic Movement is sometimes also meant to include everybody and everything involved in the Olympics, such as national sport governing bodies, athletes, media, and sponsors of the Olympic Games.

Criticism Edit Most Olympic Games have been held in European and North American cities; only a few games have been held in other places, and all bids by countries in South America and Africa have failed. Many believe the games should expand to include locations in poorer regions. Economists point out that the massive infrastructure investments could springboard cities into earning higher GDP after the games. However, many host cities regret the high costs associated with hosting the games as a poor investment [33] . In the past, the IOC has often been criticised for being a monolithic organisation, with several members remaining a member at old age, or even until their deaths. The leadership of IOC president Juan Antonio Samaranch especially has been strongly criticised. Under his presidency, the Olympic Movement made great progress, but has been seen as autocratic and corrupt. Samaranch's ties with the Franco's regime in Spain and his long term as a president (21 years, until he was 81 years old) have also been points of critique.

In 1998, it became known that several IOC members had taken bribes from the organising committee for the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City , Utah , in exchange for a vote on the city at the election of the host city. The IOC started an investigation, which led to four members resigning and six being expelled. The scandal set off further reforms, changing the way in which host cities are elected to avoid further bribes. Also, more active and former athletes were allowed in the IOC, and the membership terms have been limited. The same year (1998), four European groups organized the International Network Against Olympic Games and Commercial Sports to oppose their cities' bids for future Olympic Games. Also, an Anti-Olympic Alliance had formed in Sydney to protest the hosting of the 2000 Games. Later, a similar movement in Vancouver and Whistler, British Columbia organized to protest the hosting of the 2010 Winter Games. These movements were particularly concerned about adverse local economic impact and dislocation of people to accommodate the hosting of the Olympics.

A BBC documentary aired in August 2004, entitled Panorama: "Buying the Games", investigated the taking of bribes in the bidding process for the 2012 Summer Olympics . The documentary claimed it is possible to bribe IOC members into voting for a particular candidate city. In an airborne television interview on the way home, the Mayor of Paris Bertrand Delanoë , specifically accused the British Prime Minister Tony Blair and the London Bid Committee (headed by former Olympic athlete Sebastian Coe ) of breaking the bid rules with flagrant financial and sexual bribes. He cited French President Jacques Chirac as a witness but President Chirac gave rather more guarded interviews. In particular, Bulgaria 's member Ivan Slavkov, and Muttaleb Ahmad from the Olympic Council of Asia, were implicated. They have denied the allegations. Mayor Delanoë never mentioned the matter again. Others have alleged that the 2006 Winter Olympics were held in Turin because officials bribed the IOC and so Turin got the games and Sion, Switzerland (which was the favorite) did not.

The Olympic Movement has been accused of being overprotective of its symbolism (in particular, it claims an exclusive and monopolistic copyright over any arrangement of five rings and the term "olympics"), and have taken action against things unrelated to sport, such as the role-playing game Legend of the Five Rings. It was accused of homophobia in 1982 when it successfully sued the Gay Olympics, an event now known as the Gay Games, to ban it from using the term "olympics" in its name. [34] Olympic symbols Main article: Olympic symbols The Olympic movement uses many symbols, most of them representing Coubertin's ideas and ideals. The Olympic Rings are the most widely used symbol. The five colored rings on a white field form the Olympic Flag . The colors, white, red, blue, green, yellow, and black, were chosen such that each nation has at least one of these colors in its national flag. The flag was adopted in 1914, but the first Games at which it was flown were Antwerp, 1920 . It is hoisted at each celebration of the Games.

The Olympic Motto is "Citius, Altius, Fortius", a Latin phrase meaning "Swifter, Higher, Stronger". Coubertin's ideals are probably best illustrated by the Olympic Creed : "The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win but to take part, just as the most important thing in life is not the triumph but the struggle. The essential thing is not to have conquered but to have fought well." Prior to each Games, the Olympic Flame is lit in Olympia, Greece and brought to the host city by runners carrying the torch in relay. There it plays an important role in the opening ceremonies. Though the torch fire has been around since 1928 , the relay was introduced in 1936 as part of the then German government's attempt to promote their National Socialist ideology. The Olympic mascot, an animal or human figure representing the cultural heritage of the host country, was introduced in 1968 . It has played an important part of the games since 1980 with the debut of Misha , a Russian bear. French and English are the official languages of the Olympic movement.

Olympic ceremonies Edit Apart from the traditional elements, the host nation ordinarily presents artistic displays of dance and theatre representative of that country. [35] Various traditional elements frame the opening ceremonies of a celebration of the Olympic Games. The ceremonies typically start with the hoisting of the host country's flag and the performing of its national anthem.{{ safesubst:ifsubst |{{subst:Unsubst|Citation needed| name|¬|reason|¬| date|October 2007 }}| Template:Fix The traditional part of the ceremonies starts with a "parade of nations" (or of athletes), during which most participating athletes march into the stadium, country by country. One honoured athlete, typically a top competitor, from each country carries the flag of his or her nation, leading the entourage of other athletes from that country. Traditionally (starting at the 1928 Summer Olympics ) Greece marches first, because of its historical status as the origin of the Olympics, while the host nation marches last.

(In 2004, when the Games were held in Athens, Greece marched last as host nation rather than first, although the flag of Greece was carried in first.) Between these two nations, all other participating nations march in alphabetical order of the dominant language of the host country,{{ safesubst:ifsubst |{{subst:Unsubst|Citation needed| name|¬|reason|¬| date|November 2007 }}| Template:Fix or in French or English alphabetical order if the host country does not write its dominant language in an alphabet which has a set order. In the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona , both Spanish and Catalan were official languages of the games, but due to politics surrounding the use of Catalan, the nations entered in French alphabetical order. The XVIII Olympic Winter Games in Nagano, Japan saw nations entering in English alphabetical order since the Japanese language grouped both China and Chinese Taipei together in the Parade of Nations.

After all nations have entered, the president of the host country's Olympic Organising Committee makes a speech, followed by the IOC president who, at the end of his speech introduces the representative of the host country who declares the Games open by reciting the formula: «I declare open the Games of ... (name of the host city) celebrating the ... (number of the Olympiad) Olympiad of the modern era.» [36] (There is a similar recital for the Winter Games.) Before 1936, the Opener often used to make a short Speech of Welcome before declaring the Games open. However, since 1936 when Adolf Hitler opened both the Garmisch Partenkirchen Winter Olympics and the Berlin Summer Olympics, the Openers have unswervingly stuck to that formula. The only exception was in 1984, when U.S. President Ronald Reagan opened the Summer Olympics that year in Los Angeles when he said: Celebrating the XXIII Olympiad of the modern era, I declare open the Olympic Games of Los Angeles.

[37] Despite the Games having been awarded to a particular city and not to the country in general, the Olympic Charter presently requires the Opener to be the host country's head of state . [36] However, there have been many cases where someone other than the host country's head of state opened the Games. The first example was at the Games of the II Olympiad in Paris in 1900, when there wasn't even an Opening Ceremony. There are five examples from the United States alone where the Games were not opened by the head of state. [38] Next, the Olympic Flag is carried horizontally (since the 1960 Summer Olympics ) into the stadium and hoisted as the Olympic Anthem is played. The flag bearers of all countries circle a rostrum , where one athlete (since the 1920 Summer Olympics ) and one judge (since the 1972 Summer Olympics ) speak the Olympic Oath , declaring they will compete and judge according to the rules.

[36] Finally, the Torch is brought into the stadium, passed from athlete to athlete, until it reaches the last carrier of the Torch, often a well-known athlete from the host nation, who lights the fire in the stadium's cauldron. [36] The Olympic Flame has been lit since the 1928 Summer Olympics , but the torch relay did not start until the 1936 Summer Olympics . Beginning at the post- World War I 1920 Summer Olympics , the lighting of the Olympic Flame was for 68 years followed by the release of doves , symbolizing peace. [36] This gesture was discontinued after several doves were burned alive in the Olympic Flame during the opening ceremony of the 1988 Summer Olympics . [39] However, some Opening Ceremonies have continued to include doves in other forms; for example, the 2002 Winter Olympics featured skaters holding kite-like cloth dove puppets. Opening ceremonies have been held outdoors, usually on the main athletics stadium, but those for the 2010 Winter Olympics will be the first to be held indoors, at the BC Place Stadium .

[40] Closing Edit After medals are awarded and presented for a particular event, the flags of the nations of the three medalists are raised. The flag of the gold medalist's country is in the center and always raised the highest while the flag of the silver medalist's country is on the left facing the flags and the flag of the bronze medalist's country is on the right, both at lower elevations to the gold medalist's country's flag. The flags are all raised while the national anthem of the gold medalist's country plays. This format of medal presentation is also seen in other multi-sporting events such as the Southeast Asian Games , the Commonwealth Games and the Asian Games , as well as some motor racing events including Formula 1 and MotoGP Olympic sports Main article: Olympic sports Currently, the Olympic program consists of 35 different sports, 53 disciplines and more than 400 events. The Summer Olympics includes 28 sports with 38 disciplines and the Winter Olympics includes 7 sports with 15 disciplines.

[43] Nine sports were on the original Olympic programme in 1896: athletics , cycling , fencing , gymnastics , weightlifting , shooting , swimming , tennis , and wrestling . If the 1896 rowing events had not been cancelled due to bad weather, they would have been included in this list as well. [44] At the most recent Winter Olympics, 15 disciplines in seven sports were featured. Of these, cross country skiing , figure skating , ice hockey , Nordic combined , ski jumping , and speed skating have been featured on the programme at all Winter Olympics. In addition, figure skating and ice hockey also have been contested as part of the Summer Games before the introduction of separate Winter Olympics. In recent years, the IOC has added several new sports to the programme to attract attention from young spectators. Examples of such sports include snowboarding and beach volleyball . The growth of the Olympics also means that some less popular ( modern pentathlon ) or expensive (white water canoeing ) sports may lose their place on the Olympic programme. The IOC decided to discontinue baseball and softball beginning in 2012.

Cricket and Rugby union used to be in the Olympic Games but were discontinued; a revival is now seen as possible. Rule 48.1 of the Olympic Charter requires that there be a minimum of 15 Olympic sports at each Summer Games. Following its 114th Session (Mexico 2002), the IOC also decided to limit the programme of the Summer Games to a maximum of 28 sports, 301 events, and 10,500 athletes. The Olympic sports are defined as those governed by the International Federations listed in Rule 46 of the Olympic Charter. A two-thirds vote of the IOC is required to amend the Charter to promote a Recognised Federation to Olympic status and therefore make the sports it governs eligible for inclusion on the Olympic programme. Rule 47 of the Charter requires that only Olympic sports may be included in the programme. The IOC reviews the Olympic programme at the first Session following each Olympiad. A simple majority is required for an Olympic sport to be included in the Olympic programme. Under the current rules, an Olympic sport not selected for inclusion in a particular Games remains an Olympic sport and may be included again later with a simple majority.

At the 117th IOC Session , 26 sports were included in the programme for London 2012. Until 1992, the Olympics also often featured demonstration sports . The objective was for these sports to reach a larger audience; the winners of these events are not official Olympic champions. These sports were sometimes sports popular only in the host nation, but internationally known sports have also been demonstrated. Some demonstration sports eventually were included as full-medal events. Amateurism and professionalism Edit Template:See The ethos of English public schools greatly influenced Pierre de Coubertin. The public schools had a deep involvement in the development of many team sports including all British codes of football as well as cricket and hockey . The English public schools of the second half of the 19th century had a major influence on many sports. The schools contributed to the rules and influenced the governing bodies of those sports out of all proportion to their size. They subscribed to the Ancient Greek and Roman belief that sport formed an important part of education, an attitude summed up in the saying: mens sana in corpore sano – a sound mind in a healthy body.

In this ethos, taking part has more importance than winning, because society expected gentlemen to become all-rounders and not the best at everything. Class prejudice against "trade" reinforced this attitude. The house of the parents of a typical public schoolboy would have a tradesman 's entrance, because tradesmen did not rank as the social equals of gentlemen. Apart from class considerations there was the typically English concept of "fairness," in which practicing or training was considered as tantamount to cheating; it meant that you considered it more important to win than to take part. Those who practiced a sport professionally were considered to have an unfair advantage over those who practiced it merely as a "hobby." In Coubertin's vision, athletes should be gentlemen. Initially, only amateurs were considered such; professional athletes were not allowed to compete in the Olympic Games. A short-lived exception was made for professional fencing instructors. [45] This exclusion of professionals has caused several controversies throughout the history of the modern Olympics. 1912 Olympic pentathlon and decathlon champion, Jim Thorpe , was disqualified when it was discovered that he played semi-professional baseball prior to winning his medals. He was restored as champion on compassionate grounds by the IOC in 1983.

Swiss and Austrian skiers boycotted the 1936 Winter Olympics in support of their skiing teachers, who were not allowed to compete because they earned money with their sport and were considered professionals. It gradually became clear to many that the amateurism rules had become outdated, not least because the self-financed amateurs of Western countries often were no match for the state-sponsored "full-time amateurs" of Eastern bloc countries. Nevertheless, the IOC, led by President Avery Brundage , held to the traditional rules regarding amateurism. In the 1970s, after Brundage left, amateurism requirements were dropped from the Olympic Charter, leaving decisions on professional participation to the international federation for each sport. This switch was perhaps best exemplified by the American Dream Team , composed of well-paid NBA stars, which won the Olympic gold medal in basketball in 1992.

As of 2004 , the only sport in which no professionals compete is boxing (though even this requires a definition of amateurism based on fight rules rather than on payment, as some boxers receive cash prizes from their National Olympic Committees); in men's football (soccer) , the number of players over 23 years of age is limited to three per team. Advertisement regulations are still very strict, at least on the actual playing field, although "Official Olympic Sponsors" are common. Athletes are only allowed to have the names of clothing and equipment manufacturers on their outfits. The sizes of these markings are limited. Olympic champions and medalists See also: List of multiple Olympic gold medalists The athletes (or teams) who place first, second, or third in each event receive medals. The winners receive "gold medals". (Though they were solid gold until 1912, they are now made of gilded silver.) The runners-up receive silver medals, and the third-place athletes bronze medals. In some events contested by a single-elimination tournament (most notably boxing ), third place might not be determined, in which case both semi-final losers receive bronze medals.

The practice of awarding medals to the top three competitors was introduced in 1904; at the 1896 Olympics only the first two received a medal, silver and bronze, while various prizes were awarded in 1900 . However, the 1904 Olympics also awarded silver trophies for first place, which makes Athens 1906 the first games that awarded the three medals only. In addition, from 1948 onward athletes placing fourth, fifth and sixth have received certificates which became officially known as "victory diplomas;" since 1976 the medal winners have received these also, and in 1984 victory diplomas for seventh- and eighth-place finishers were added, presumably to ensure that all losing quarter-finalists in events using single-elimination formats would receive diplomas, thus obviating the need for consolation (or officially, "classification") matches to determine fifth through eighth places (though interestingly these latter are still contested in many elimination events anyway). Certificates were awarded also at the 1896 Olympics, but there they were awarded in addition to the medals to first and second place.

Commemorative medals and diplomas — which differ in design from those referred to above — are also made available to participants finishing lower than third and eighth respectively. At the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, the first three were given wreaths as well as their medals. Because the Olympics are held only once every four years, the public and athletes often consider them as more important and valuable than world championships and other international tournaments, which are often held annually. Many athletes have become celebrities or heroes in their own country, or even world-wide, after becoming Olympic champions. The diversity of the sports, and the great differences between the Olympic Games in 1896 and today make it difficult to decide which athlete is the most successful Olympic athlete of all time. This is further complicated since the IOC no longer recognises the Intercalated Games which it originally organised. When measuring by the number of titles won at the Modern Olympic Games, the following athletes may be considered the most successful. Athlete Edit The IOC does not publish lists of medals per country, but the media often does.

A comparison between countries would be unfair to countries with fewer inhabitants, so some have made calculations of medals per number of inhabitants, such as [1] for the 2004 Olympics and [2] for a few more. A problem here is that for a very small country, gaining just one medal could mean the difference between the very top and the very bottom of the list (a point illustrated by the Bahamas ' per capita number one position in 2004). On the other hand, a large country may not be able to send a number of athletes that is proportional to its size because a limit is set for the number of participants per country for a specific sport. A comparison of the total number of medals over time is further complicated by the fact that the number of times that countries have participated is not equal, and that many countries have gained and lost territories where medal-winning athletes come from. A case in point is the USSR , which not only participated relatively rarely (18 times, versus 45 times for the UK ), but also ceased to exist in 1991. The resulting Russian Federation is largely, but not entirely equal to the former USSR. Also, one would have to use population statistics at the time.

The IOC medal tally chart is based on the number of gold medals for country. Where states are equal, the number of silver medals (and then bronze medals) are counted to determine rankings. Since 1996, the only countries that have appeared in the top 10 medal tallies for summer Olympics have been the Russian Federation , United States , China , France , Germany , Australia and Italy . Since 1994, the only countries that have appeared in the top 10 medal tallies for winter Olympics have been Norway , the Russian Federation , the United States , Canada , Germany , Austria , South Korea , Switzerland , France and Italy . Olympic Games host cities Main article: List of Olympic host cities By 2014, the Olympic Games were hosted by 42 cities in 22 countries. The upcoming 2012 Summer Olympic Games will be held in London, and the 2014 Winter Olympic Games will be held in Soshi. The number in parentheses following the city/country denotes how many times that city/country had then hosted the games, with said exclusions.

This table does not include the "Olympic Games" organized by Evangelos Zappas prior to the IOC's creation in 1894. It does list the "Intercalated Games" of 1906 , but it is not included in the counts as the IOC no longer considers them to be official Olympic Games. Olympic Games host cities 1 Originally awarded to Chicago , but moved to St. Louis to coincide with the World's Fair 2 Cancelled due to World War I 3 Cancelled due to World War II 4 Equestrian events were held in Stockholm , Sweden . Stockholm had to bid for the equestrian competition separately; it received its own Olympic flame and had its own formal invitations and opening & closing ceremonies, just like the regular Summer Olympics. [46] 5 Equestrian events to be held in China's Hong Kong SAR . Although Hong Kong's separate NOC is conducting the equestrian competition, it is an integral part of the Beijing Games; it is not being conducted under a separate bid, flame, etc., as was the 1956 Stockholm equestrian competition. The IOC website lists only Beijing as the host city [47] .

See also London's 1948 Olympics: the real austerity Games | Sport | The Guardian Olympic Games 2012 London's 1948 Olympics: the real austerity Games Despite the air of shabbiness, London 1948 was considered a remarkable success – and made a profit of almost £30,000 The Empire pool during the 1948 Olympics. Photograph: Action Images Friday 30 March 2012 12.09 EDT First published on Friday 30 March 2012 12.09 EDT Close This article is 4 years old They converted Wembley into an athletics stadium by putting 800 tonnes of cinders over the greyhound track. They housed athletes in RAF camps. Members of the British team bulked out their meagre diets with whale meat. And the only sort of drugs testing was to see whether the medal winners had overdosed on the Horlicks tablets handed out to those taking part. Those who organised and paid for the make-do-and-mend 1948 Olympics might raise an eyebrow at the description of the event planned for London this summer as the austerity Games.

To be sure, the economic backdrop looks superficially similar: an economy in trouble; a country up to its eyeballs in debt; a chancellor counting every penny. But there the similarity ends. The Britain of 2012 is struggling to emerge from a long and deep recession that has pushed national debt to upwards of 60% of the economy's annual output. Activity is still 4% below the peak reached in early 2008 and it will take until 2017 for living standards to return to 2004 levels, the year before London won the right to host the Games. This week the IOC president, Jacques Rogge, completed his last pre-games inspection visit and the IOC's co-ordination commission said London was "ready to welcome the world". If the economic backdrop has made the organisers' job more difficult, it is nothing compared to the scale of the challenge faced by the organisers in 1948. The Britain of 1948 was struggling to recover from six years of total war that had emptied the Treasury's coffers, forced Churchill to go cap in hand to Roosevelt for help and pushed the national debt to 250% of GDP.

In 2012, Britain is hard up; in 1948 it was flat broke and there was no question of the Labour government of Clement Attlee committing the sort of sums to a sporting event that will be spent this year. This month the Commons public accounts committee expressed concern that once the cost of the security lockdown of London was taken into account, the final bill for the 2012 Games would be a little shy of £11bn, a fourfold increase since London put in its bid seven years ago, and almost equivalent to Britain's gross domestic product in 1948. By contrast, the cash-strapped Attlee government, which at one stage considered ceding the right to hold the Games to the United States, earmarked just under £750,000 for the Olympics. Even when inflation and more than six decades of growth are taken into account, the disparity in spending between the 1948 and the 2012 Games is marked: about 0.7% of GDP in 2012; less than 0.01% of GDP in 1948.

The organisers in 1948 faced a different challenge from those in 1908, who were able to showcase the capital of the empire at a time when the value of the pound was rigidly set by a gold standard policed by the Bank of England. Britain was still (just about) the world's most powerful nation and the Liberal government could afford to wage a naval arms race with Germany while planning to lay the foundations of the welfare state. In 1948, the US was clearly the world's most powerful nation, the dollar had supplanted sterling as the global reserve currency of choice, and the Attlee government was trying to juggle Britain's expensive defence commitments with its pledge to build the New Jerusalem. London basked in a heatwave in the summer of 1948 but, as films such as the Ealing comedy Passport to Pimlico showed, it still bore the physical scars of the blitz. Labour's priorities were to find jobs for the millions of demobilised servicemen, convert factories back to peacetime use, rebuild Britain's shattered infrastructure and find the resources for the welfare state. The NHS was launched less than a month before George VI opened the Games.

Even so, other European countries were in worse state than Britain, and London agreed to host the first Games since Hitler's carefully orchestrated Berlin Olympics 12 years earlier. The 1948 event was short on bombast, the finale to the opening ceremony being the release of thousands of pigeons above north London. Only a strings-attached loan from Washington had rescued Britain from an economic Dunkirk after the fighting stopped in 1945. Not only was there no new Olympic stadium, there was no new velodrome, aquatics centre or handball arena either. Nor was there a purpose-built Olympic village: male athletes were billeted in RAF camps in Uxbridge, West Drayton and Richmond; female athletes were housed in London colleges. The organisers laid on bedding but asked contestants to bring their own towels. The frugality was harsh but deemed necessary by Sir Stafford Cripps, who set the benchmark for all subsequent austerity chancellors. Cripps, who would rise before dawn and take a cold bath to prepare himself for the rigours of the day ahead, encapsulated the spirit of the age and presided over an economy where rationing was even tougher than it had been during the war.

A concession to the UK team was that their rations were increased to those of a heavy industrial worker while the Games were on. "It was very hard to get hold of meat, although there was unrationed whale meat," the British runner Sylvia Cheeseman said of her preparations for the 200 metres. "It was horrible but I was so intent on getting my protein that I ate it." Many teams brought in their own food and, in the case of the French, their own wine as well. The previous year had begun with one of the coldest winters of the century, with power cuts to industry and a big loss of exports. Under the terms of the loan negotiated with the Americans, sterling had to be convertible into dollars from the summer of 1947, a move that prompted a full-scale sterling crisis. To cap an annus horribilis, Cripps's predecessor as chancellor, Hugh Dalton, was forced to resign after he let slip some of the details of his budget to a journalist on his way into the Commons. As a result, the government was determined to do the Games on the cheap. It scrounged gymnastic equipment, food and mineral water from other governments.

The Canadians even donated a couple of planks of springy pine for the diving boards at Wembley's Empire pool. Germany and Japan were not allowed to take part in the Games but even with the Soviet Union also absent, the British team won a meagre haul of three gold medals, two of them in the rowing at Henley. The face of the Games was Dutch athlete Fanny Blankers-Koen, with four golds. Despite the austerity and the air of shabbiness, London 1948 was considered a remarkable success. After six years without professional football or cricket between 1939 and 1945, there was an appetite for sport and those who took part noted how the Games were faithful to the original Olympian ideal that the important thing was not winning but taking part. By today's standards the austerity Games were not commercialised, the TV rights were sold to the BBC for £1,000. What's more, they made money. The economist Stefan Szymanski has noted that it is a myth that the Olympics pay for themselves, either through Keynesian pump-priming or a surge of tourism.

But if hosting the Games has bankrupted some cities and left others with white-elephant stadiums, that was not true of London in 1948. Spending came in at £732,268, below the budget of £743,000, while receipts (mostly from ticket sales) were £761,688. The taxpayer will be footing the bill for London 2012, but that was not the case 64 years ago. The austerity Games made a profit of almost £30,000 – of which the taxman received £9,000. Then and now Standing ticket to watch athletics – 3s 6d (17.5p). Now: £202. Average wage in the UK in 1948 – £455.77 a year. Now: £26,000. Average cost of a new house in 1948 — £1,751. Now: £163,000. Yearly UK inflation: 6.6%.

Now 3.4%.Number of TV viewers: more than 500,000, most living within 50 miles of London, for 64 hours of Olympic programming. The 2012 games will be broadcast in 200 countries with 5,000 hours of live coverage available and an estimated audience of up to 4 billion. 1948 London Olympics GB medals — three gold, 14 silver, six bronze. Now: UK Sport chief Liz Nicholl told the BBC recently: "We will be top four in the medal table at the Olympics and second at the Paralympics." Who was there: Although defeated Axis powers Japan and Germany were not allowed to participate in the 1948 games, Italy (which had signed an armistice with the allies in 1943) did compete. It came fifth in the table with eight gold, 11 silver and eight bronze medals.

A total of 59 countries took part in the 1948 summer Olympic games in London: Afghanistan Argentina Australia Austria Belgium Bermuda Brazil British Guiana Burma Canada Ceylon Chile Republic of China Colombia Cuba Czechoslovakia Denmark Egypt Finland France Great Britain Greece Hungary Iceland India Iran Iraq Ireland Italy Jamaica South Korea Lebanon Liechtenstein Luxembourg Malta Mexico Monaco Netherlands New Zealand Norway Pakistan Panama Peru Philippines Poland Portugal Puerto Rico Singapore South Africa Spain Sweden Switzerland Syria Trinidad and Tobago Turkey United States Uruguay Venezuela Yugoslavia. How many countries this time? 216.

Question: Where were the Summer Olympics held in 1948
Answer: London