The 1948 London Olympics were held from July 29th to August 14th. It was the first Olympics after World War II and saw a record 59 nations participate, with over 4,000 athletes competing across 18 sports. King George VI officially opened the Games, which were held primarily at Wembley Stadium. While no new venues were constructed, the Games helped Britain recover national pride in the wake of WWII. The US topped the medal table with 84 total.
1. LONDON OLYMPIC GAMES 1948
Karoliina Grentsmann
C. R. Jakobson Gymnasium
Form 9c
Supervisor: Tiia Pukk
2012
2. FACTS ABOUT THE OLYMPIC GAMES
Was held in London, England, United Kingdom
A record 59 nations were represented
4,104 athletes, 3,714 men, 390 women
The host nation won 23 medals
Officially opened by King George VI
Opening ceremony 29 July
Closing ceremony 14 August
Was held in Wembley Stadium
3. ELECTION AS HOST CITY
IOC awarded the 1944 Olympic Summer Games to
London
World War II stopped the plans
London again stood as a candidate for 1948
Britain almost handed the 1948 games to the USA
London became the second city to host the
Olympics twice
4. ORGANIZATION
Lord Burghley was named Chairman of the
Organising and Executive Committees
Olympic pictograms were introduced for the first
time
Three separate pictograms for the arts competition,
the opening ceremony and the closing ceremony
Athletes were given increased rations
They ate 5,467 calories a day, instead of the normal
2,600
5. ORGANIZATION
Male competitors stayed at RAF camps
in Uxbridge, West Drayton and Richmond
Female competitors stayed in London colleges
The first games to be held following the death
of Pierre de Coubertin
The last to feature an arts competition
6. OPENING CEREMONY
Army bands began playing at 2 pm in Wembley
Stadium
The Royal Family arrived at 2:45 pm
At 3 pm the competitors entered the stadium in a
procession that took 50 minutes
At 4 pm the King declared the Games open
2,500 pigeons were set free
Olympic Flag raised to its 35 ft flagpole at the end
of the stadium
The National Anthem was sung, the athletes
marched out of the stadium, led by Greece, tailed
by Britain.
8. SPORTS
Gymnastics
Lacrosse
Modern pentathlon
Rowing
Sailing
Shooting
Swimming
Water polo
Weightlifting
Wrestling
9. VENUES
No new venues were built for the Games
Swimming events were held undercover
In 2010 the last remaining venue from the Games
was saved when a new 15 year lease was agreed
Campaigners and users of the track had feared that
it would be forced to close
10. PARTICIPATING NATIONS
A total of 59 nations sent athletes
The first time that the Philippines, India and
Pakistan competed as independent nations
Germany and Japan were not allowed to send
athletes to the games
Italy was allowed to send athletes
The Soviet Union was invited but they chose not to
send any athletes
11. MEDALS
US won 84 medals
Sweden won 44 medals
France won 29 medals
Hungary won 27 medals
Italy won 27 medals
Finland won 20 medals
Turkey won 12 medals
Czechoslovakia won 11 medals
Switzerland won 20 medals
Denmark won 20 medals
The host nation was 12th, with 23 medals, including
three golds