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In 2012 London will host the Games of the XXX Olympiad. This will be the 3rd time the British capital has hosted the Games, the first being in 1908 and second in 1948.

LONDON 1908
Games of the IV Olympiad

The 1908 Summer Olympics were originally handed to Rome, Italy. However on 7 April 1906 Mount Vesuvius erupted devastating the Italian city of Naples. To deal with the crisis authorities diverted urgent funds to the reconstruction of Naples. The relief effort plunged Italy into an economic crisis and saw the country cancel its plans to stage the 1908 Olympics. The Games were subsequently awarded to London and opened on 27 April 1908.

Held at White City Stadium the arena had a 68,000 seat capacity with a swimming and diving pool and platforms for wrestling and gymnastics in the infield. White City Stadium which went on to become a greyhound racing and speedway track hosted various sports until its demolition in 1985.

Highlights of the 1908 London Olympic Games:

• The distance of the marathon was established at 42.195km (26 miles 385 yards)

The original distance of 25 miles was changed to 26 miles when the initial route was altered and extended. The start was on the private East Terrace of Windsor Castle so that the public would not interfere with the proceedings and the distance to the Stadium was extended to 26 miles because objections to cobbles and tram lines meant the route had to be diverted towards the end. It had been planned that the runners would run a lap of the track to finish in front of the Royal Box but the marathon tunnel had to be moved to the opposite side of the track. So that Queen Alexandra and the crowd would still get a good view of the race to the finish line, the direction of running round the track was changed to ‘right-hand inside’ (clockwise), so that the runners ran 2/3 of a lap or 385 yards.

• Oscar Swahn from Sweden, aged 60, was the oldest ever competitor to earn an Olympic gold medal, winning the running deer shooting, single shot.
• The sports of diving and field hockey made their first appearance
• Prompted the establishment of standard rules for sports and selection of judges from different countries rather than just the host nation
• Great Britain topped the medal table
• The most famous incident of the games came at the end of the marathon. The first to enter the stadium, Dorando Pietri of Italy turned to go the normal way then collapsed several times. He was then supported over the line by the Chief Clerk of the race as the second runner, American Johnny Hayes, was catching up with him. As a result of the help, Dorando was disqualified. The medal went to Johnny Hayes but the glory went to Pietri. Since he had not been responsible for his disqualification, Queen Alexandra awarded him a gold cup the next day.

The 1908 London Games were also the first to include winter events, as had originally been proposed for the Games. There were four figure skating events, although these were held months after other events which is why the 1908 Games opened on 27 April but closed on 31 October of that year.

1908 London Olympic Games at a glance:

• Open 27 April; close 31 October
• 22 National Olympic Committees. Finland, Turkey, and New Zealand (as part of the team from Australasia) made their first appearance
• 2,008 athletes (1,971 men and 37 women)
• 110 events

1908 London Olympic Games medal count:

LONDON 1948
Games of the XIV Olympiad

The 1948 Summer Olympics in London were held after a 12-year interruption caused by the outbreak of the Second World War. These were the first Games since the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin.

The Games opened on 29 July at the 85,000-seat capacity Wembley Stadium and closed on 14 August 1948. A leisure ground since the 1880s Wembley Stadium is the world-famous home of the English national football team having re-opened in 2007 following a complete redevelopment.

Highlights of the 1948 London Olympic Games:

• First Games to be shown on home television
• Olympic pictograms were introduced for the first time. There were twenty of them — one for each Olympic sport and three separate pictograms for the arts competition, the opening ceremony and the closing ceremony. They were called ‘Olympic symbols’ and intended for the use on tickets.
• A women’s canoeing event was held for the first time
• 17-year-old American Bob Mathias won the decathlon only four months after taking up the sport. He is the youngest athlete in Olympic history to win a men’s athletics event.
• Fanny Blankers-Koen of the Netherlands was the world record holder in six events, but, according to the rules of the day, was only allowed to enter four. She won all four: the 100m dash, the 80m hurdles, the 200m and the 4x100m relay.

1948 London Olympic Games at a glance:

• Open 27 July; close 14 August
• 59 National Olympic Committees
• 4,104 athletes (3,714 men and 390 women)
• 136 events

1948 London Olympic Games medal count: