The last time the Olympics happened in London was in 1948. A few years after the end of World War 2. The city had little choice. They were supposed to hold the games in 1944, if the Germans didn't plunge Europe into a bloody war. Instead of promoting world unity through sports competition, D-Day was commencing in Normandy. Peace was restored with Great Britain joining the victors. When the Summer Games resumed, London took the reigns of an old tradition and hosted the XIV Olympiad amidst its urban ruins.
Dubbed as the Austerity Games, not everyone in Great Britain welcomed the idea of bringing the games. There's a housing and food shortage across the country, and the tattered economy hasn't bounced back after the war. Conventional wisdom states that it's better to spend the money elsewhere, and perhaps another city might host the games instead.
But the leaders of that time stood their ground, and insisted that London should be the heart of the Olympiad. With a budget of $1.2 million, the games happened, albeit with no new sports venues built, and athletes staying in schools and university dormitories throughout the games.
Countries like the Netherlands and Denmark sent fruits and eggs to help feed the athletes. Czech Republic and Slovakia (Czechoslovakia) sent tens of thousands of bottled water because London had none. Those were humble times and the Games concluded with sanguine expectations. National boycotts may have hampered the succeeding Olympiads but after London, the games will never be disrupted again.
I was never really a fan of the London Olympics unlike some people I know. Instead, I have bigger expectations with Rio De Janeiro, a city that will host the games in four years' time. I would always ask, what is so special in holding the games in Europe, when Beijing and other rising cities could enthrall the planet with dazzling shows? And then I learned the story behind the last Olympics in Britain and how the British were deprived of opening the games the way other nations did.
"It's all clear to me now..." I would say after reading this article.
Three hours before the opening ceremonies, my mind might be stuck in the soggy pre-dawn capital of Manila. But my heart, like many of those around the planet has at long last drifted, and found a digital spot, in the city that revived the games in a post-war world.
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| Google Map: London Olympic Stadium |