London exemplified 1948 Olympics in post-war austerity
The 1948 Summer Olympic Games were held from July 29 to August 14, 1948 in London, United Kingdom. It was the second Olympics hosted by London after 1908. World War II forced cancellation of the 1944 Olympics. The 1948 Olympics were the first to introduce ‘Starting Blocks’ for athletes in sprint events and Olympic pictograms for the opening ceremony and the closing ceremony. Britain won three gold medals and finished twelfth in the medals table.
Fanny Blankers-Koen of the Netherlands won four gold medals on the track at the 1948 Olympics. Bob Mathias won the 1500m after coming third after the first day of competition. Harrison Dillard of United States won 100m gold after a photo finish. London exemplified 1948 Olympic Games in post-war austerity.
The IOC awarded the 1944 Games to London ahead of Rome, Detroit, Budapest, Lausanne, Helsinki, Montreal and Athens. After cancellation, the IOC gave the 1948 Games back to the UK. Lord Burghley was named Chairman of the Organizing Committee. The 1948 Olympics were known as the "Austerity Games" because of food and fuel rationing. Marie Provaznikova, former Czechoslovakian Gymnastics President, defected after the coup in February 1948.
The London 1948 Olympic Games were opened on July 29, 1948. The bands of the British Army began playing at 1400 for the 85,000 spectators in Empire Stadium at Wembley Park. King George VI and Queen Elizabeth arrived at 1435. Fifteen minutes later, the athletes entered the stadium. Lord Burghley welcomed them. Wing Commander Donald Finlay took the Olympic Oath. 2,500 pigeons were set free and the Olympics Flag was raised. The Royal Horse Artillery sounded a 21-gun salute.
The 1948 Olympics in London were held in post-war austerity. There was no Olympic Village, male athletes were housed at Royal Air Force camps in Uxbridge and West Drayton, and an Army camp in Richmond Park. Female competitors were in dormitories at Southlands College. No new venues were built for the Games. A cinder track was laid inside the Empire Stadium and all other venues modified. For the first time at the Olympics, swimming events were being held undercover at Empire Pool.
In 1948 London Olympics, there were seven rowing events, five sailing events and 11 swimming events. Great Britain won a gold in the Swallow class and Denmark won the Firefly class. Turkey was the most successful nation with six gold medals, followed by Sweden with 5 gold. Egypt won two golds and two silver medals. Water polo was won by Italy. Weightlifting was introduced to the Olympic program. The United States won four gold and eight overall medals in this event. The first medal for Trinidad and Tobago was in an Olympic games.
The Technicolor Corporation used a bipack colour filming process to record the London 1948 Olympics in colour. The complexity of multi-event broadcasting presented the BBC with unique challenges. 32 separate broadcasting channels were set up to orchestrate Olympic coverage.
