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.

7. SPORTS
 Athletics
 Basketball
 Boxing
 Canoeing
 Cycling
 Diving
 Equestrian
 Fencing
 Field Hockey
 Football

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

12. REFERENCES
 http://shrt.st/2cg7
 http://shrt.st/2cg8
 http://shrt.st/2cg9
 http://shrt.st/2cga
 http://shrt.st/2cgb
 http://shrt.st/2chw
 http://shrt.st/2chx
 http://shrt.st/2chy
 http://shrt.st/2chz
 http://shrt.st/2cjf