Venues of the 1948 Summer Olympics
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

A total of twenty-five sports venues were used to host the events of the
1948 Summer Olympics The 1948 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XIV Olympiad and also known as London 1948) were an international multi-sport event held from 29 July to 14 August 1948 in London, England, United Kingdom. Following a twelve-year hiatus ca ...
in
London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
,
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
. For the first time in the history of the modern
Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...
, the diving,
gymnastics Gymnastics is a type of sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, dedication and endurance. The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, shou ...
,
swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, or other liquid, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Locomotion is achieved through coordinated movement of the limbs and the body to achieve hydrodynamic thrust that r ...
, and
water polo Water polo is a competitive team sport played in water between two teams of seven players each. The game consists of four quarters in which the teams attempt to score goals by throwing the ball into the opposing team's goal. The team with the ...
competitions were held indoors. These Games have since been nicknamed the "Austerity Games" for the tight control of costs at a time when the host nation was still under
rationing Rationing is the controlled distribution of scarce resources, goods, services, or an artificial restriction of demand. Rationing controls the size of the ration, which is one's allowed portion of the resources being distributed on a particular ...
, which resulted in a total expenditure of around £750,000. Findling; Pelle (2004): p. 130 All of the venues were already in place and required only temporary modifications. The organizing committee decided not to build an
Olympic Village An Olympic Village is an accommodation center built for the Olympic Games, usually within an Olympic Park or elsewhere in a host city. Olympic Villages are built to house all participating athletes, as well as officials and athletic trainers. Afte ...
; instead, foreign athletes were housed in makeshift camps at military bases and colleges around London, while local athletes were told to stay at home. Findling; Pelle (2004): p. 129 Despite these measures, the combined venues of the 1948 Summer Olympics recorded the highest attendance figures for a Games at that time. Gold; Gold (2011): p. 35 The Empire Stadium (later to be known as Wembley Stadium) was chosen as the main venue, ahead of the
White City Stadium White City Stadium was a stadium located in White City, London, England. Built for the 1908 Summer Olympics, it hosted the finish of the first modern marathon and other sports like swimming, speedway, boxing, show jumping, athletics, stock car ...
, which had assumed that role during the
1908 Summer Olympics The 1908 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the IV Olympiad and also known as London 1908) were an international multi-sport event held in London, England, United Kingdom, from 27 April to 31 October 1908. The 1908 Games were ori ...
. This was due to the Empire Stadium's ability to hold a greater number of events, reducing the need for additional venues to be found. A new approach road was required to connect the stadium to the nearby
Wembley Park tube station Wembley Park is a London Underground station in Wembley Park, north west London. The station is served by the Underground's Jubilee and Metropolitan lines and is in Travelcard Zone 4. It is located on Bridge Road (A4089) and is the nearest Und ...
, so it was agreed that Wembley Stadium Ltd. would cover the costs in return for a share of the proceeds for the events held there. Gold; Gold (2011): p. 34 Motorcycle and greyhound races usually held at the Empire Stadium were highly profitable events, which meant that a cinder running track was not laid down until two weeks before the
opening ceremony An opening ceremony, grand opening, or ribbon-cutting ceremony marks the official opening of a newly-constructed location or the start of an event.
. Findling; Pelle (2004): p. 128 Lacking an infield lighting system, cars were driven inside the stadium to illuminate it for the last two events of the
decathlon The decathlon is a combined event in Athletics (sport), athletics consisting of ten track and field events. The word "decathlon" was formed, in analogy to the word "pentathlon", from Greek language, Greek δέκα (''déka'', meaning "ten") and ...
. Wallechinsky; Loucky (2008): pp. 265–266 The cycling tandem event, which was held in the dark, was another example of the main venue's lighting issues. Wallechinsky; Loucky (2008): p. 521 After the Games it was used as the English national football stadium, hosting numerous concerts and sporting events, including the
1966 FIFA World Cup Final The 1966 FIFA World Cup Final was a football match played at Wembley Stadium, London, on 30 July 1966 to determine the winner of the 1966 FIFA World Cup, the eighth FIFA World Cup. The match was contested by England and West Germany, with England ...
and the British leg of
Live Aid Live Aid was a multi-venue benefit concert held on Saturday 13 July 1985, as well as a music-based fundraising initiative. The original event was organised by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise further funds for relief of the 1983–1985 fami ...
in 1985. It was closed in 2000, and demolished three years later to allow the construction of the new
Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...
. Adjacent to the stadium was the Empire Pool, which hosted the Olympic aquatic events and was the first-ever indoor Olympic pool. The pool was longer than the Olympic standard of , so a wooden platform had to be built to reduce the overall length. Due to lack of space, the pool was covered over so that boxing events could take place. The blackout paint which covered all of the venue windows – still remaining from the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
– had to be removed before the Games. The Olympics were the last event to make use of this pool, before it was concreted over.
Aldershot Aldershot () is a town in Hampshire, England. It lies on heathland in the extreme northeast corner of the county, southwest of London. The area is administered by Rushmoor Borough Council. The town has a population of 37,131, while the Alders ...
was chosen over
Windsor Great Park Windsor Great Park is a Royal Park of , including a deer park, to the south of the town of Windsor on the border of Berkshire and Surrey in England. It is adjacent to the private Home Park, which is nearer the castle. The park was, for many ...
to host most of the
Equestrian The word equestrian is a reference to equestrianism, or horseback riding, derived from Latin ' and ', "horse". Horseback riding (or Riding in British English) Examples of this are: * Equestrian sports *Equestrian order, one of the upper classes i ...
events. The central sports ground at
Aldershot Command Aldershot () is a town in Hampshire, England. It lies on heathland in the extreme northeast corner of the county, southwest of London. The area is administered by Rushmoor Borough Council. The town has a population of 37,131, while the Alders ...
was selected to host the equestrian events with the exception of the team jumping events, and a demonstration by the individual
dressage Dressage ( or ; a French term, most commonly translated to mean "training") is a form of horse riding performed in exhibition and competition, as well as an art sometimes pursued solely for the sake of mastery. As an equestrian sport defined b ...
gold medalist, which were both held at Empire Stadium on the last day of the games. It was also chosen to host several events in the
modern pentathlon The modern pentathlon is an Olympic sport consisting of fencing (one-touch épée), freestyle swimming, equestrian show jumping, pistol shooting, and cross country running. The event is inspired by the traditional pentathlon held during the anci ...
event; the venue had previously hosted the British Championship in 1947. Bisley and Henley had both been previously used as venues during the 1908 Games. Bisley hosted most of the shooting events while Henley hosted the rowing competition. Henley continues to host the
Royal Regatta ''Royal Regatta'' (russian: Королевская регата) is a 1966 Soviet comedy film directed by Yuri Chulyukin. Plot A student team is defeated in rowing competitions. The coach decides to leave with the four best rowers. The remainin ...
, which started in 1839, and remains in use as of 2010 for global competition, including the Diamond Sculls event. The
Harringay Arena Harringay Arena was a sporting and events venue on Green Lanes in Harringay, North London, England. Built in 1936, it lasted as a venue until 1958. Construction Harringay Arena was built and owned by Brigadier-General Alfred Critchley under ...
was built in 1928 and staged sporting events until its demolition in 1958. Built in 1891, the
Herne Hill Velodrome The Herne Hill Velodrome is a velodrome in Herne Hill, in south London. It is one of the oldest cycling tracks in the world, having been built in 1891. It hosted the track cycling events in the 1948 Summer Olympics and was briefly the home of Cry ...
hosted
track cycling Track cycling is a bicycle racing sport usually held on specially built banked tracks or velodromes using purpose-designed track bicycles. History Track cycling has been around since at least 1870. When track cycling was in its infancy, it wa ...
. After falling into disrepair by 2011, a modernization plan was implemented to make extensive structural repairs to the site and install a new track surface so that it could be used by
British Cycling British Cycling (formerly the British Cycling Federation) is the main national governing body for cycle sport in Great Britain. It administers most competitive cycling in Great Britain, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. It represents Bri ...
, the national
sport governing body A sports governing body is a sports organization that has a regulatory or sanctioning function. Sports governing bodies come in various forms and have a variety of regulatory functions. Examples of this can include disciplinary action for rule i ...
. For
London 2012 The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...
, the Empress Hall (now
Earls Court Exhibition Centre Earls Court Exhibition Centre was a major international exhibition and events venue just west of central London. At its peak it is said to have generated a £2 billion turnover for the economy. It replaced exhibition and entertainment grounds, ...
) and Empire Pool (now
Wembley Arena Wembley Arena (originally the Empire Pool, now known as OVO Arena Wembley for sponsorship reasons) is an indoor arena next to Wembley Stadium in Wembley, London, England, used for music, comedy, family entertainment and sport. The 12,500-sea ...
) were once again used as
venues Venue is the location at which an event takes place. It may refer to: Locations * Venue (law), the place a case is heard * Financial trading venue, a place or system where financial transactions can occur * Music venue, place used for a concer ...
. The former hosted the
volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...
events while the latter hosted
badminton Badminton is a racquet sport played using racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" (with one player per side) and "doubles" (with two players pe ...
and
rhythmic gymnastics Rhythmic gymnastics is a sport in which gymnasts perform on a floor with an apparatus: hoop, ball, clubs, ribbon. The sport combines elements of gymnastics, dance and calisthenics; gymnasts must be strong, flexible, agile, dexterous and coord ...
.


Venues


London-based venues


Venues outside London


Notes


References

;Specific ;General * * * *


External links

{{featured list 1948 Summer Olympic venues
1948 Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The Constitution of New Jersey (later subject to amendment) goes into effect. ** The railways of Britain are nationalized, to form British ...