London Olympics
London has hosted the Olympic Games on two past occasions, in 1908 and 1948, with a third scheduled for 2012. The planned 2012 Olympics will make London the first city to have hosted the modern Games of three Olympiads. London is the only city in the United Kingdom to have ever hosted the Olympics; the United States is the only country to have hosted Summer Olympics on more occasions than the UK. No city in the UK has hosted the Winter Olympic Games.
British participation in Olympic events, both as a competitor and as a host, is the responsibility of the British Olympic Association.
List of London Olympics
1908 Summer Olympics
The 1908 Summer Olympics (the Games of the IV Olympiad) were the fourth modern Olympic Games and the third to be hosted outside of Athens, Greece. The International Olympic Committee considers them the fourth Olympic Games, discounting the intercalated 1906 Summer Olympics.
The 1908 Olympic Games were scheduled to take place in Rome, but the eruption of Mount Vesuvius on 7 April 1906 required the Italian Government to redirect funds away from the Olympics. The events took place between 27 April 1908 and 31 October 1908, with 22 nations participating in 110 events. The British team easily topped the unofficial medal count, finishing with three times as many medals as the second-place United States.
1944 Summer Olympics
The 1944 Summer Olympics (Games of the XIII Olympiad) were scheduled to be held in London. Awarded in 1939, they were, however, cancelled due to World War II. These Games would have celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Modern Olympiad. A small celebratory sporting competition was held in Lausanne, in lieu of the Olympics, at IOC HQ.
1948 Summer Olympics
The 1948 Summer Olympics (the Games of the XIV Olympiad) were the first to be held after World War II, with the 1944 Summer Olympics having been cancelled due to the war. Showing a collective unity after the war, 59 nations competed in 136 different events between 29 July 1948 and 14 August 1948. Germany and Japan had not been invited due to security reasons. Unlike the last time the UK hosted the Olympics, the British athletes did not have a high medal count, finishing 12th in the unofficial medal count with only 23 medals.
2012 Summer Olympics
Following unsuccessful bid attempts for previous Olympics by Manchester in 1996 and 2000, and by Birmingham in 1992, London sucessfuly was awarded the 2012 Summer Olympic Games by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 2005. The construction of the Olympic Village and the modifications of present venues around the UK is well underway. London will host the 2012 Summer Olympics from on 27 July to August 12 2012.
2012 Summer Paralympic Games
The 2012 Summer Paralympic Games will be the fourteenth Paralympics and will take place between 29 August 2012 and 9 September 2012 at the Summer Olympics venues in London.
See also
External links
- London 2012 Official site
- London Olympics 2012 Information Portal
- Commentary on 2012 Olympic Park
- [1] What and who saved the 1908 London Games?