At the starting line... Host Cities

Passing The Baton
At the starting line...
These posters describe how the Olympic and Paralympic
Games grew to become the biggest event in the world.
Frenchman Pierre de Coubertin founded the modern
Olympic Games at the end of the 19th century. He
revived the four yearly Olympic Games held in ancient
Greece with the aim of helping to build a peaceful and
better world by educating young people through sport.
He was influenced by the Olympian Games held in
Much Wenlock, Shropshire since 1850.
241 athletes came from 14 countries to compete in
nine sports. Now, 15,000 athletes come from over
200 countries to compete in 26 Olympic and 20
Paralympic sports. Millions of spectators and billions of
television viewers watch the Games. Similarly, the cost
has grown. The Games can make – and break – both
athletic reputations and cities’ economies.
The posters are taken from the panels used at an
exhibition called Passing the Baton about the Games
that was held at Islington Museum in autumn 2009.
Torch from the 1948 and 1956 Olympic Games
Host Cities
1896 Athens, Greece
1900 Paris, France
1904 St Louis, USA
1908 London, UK
1912 Stockholm, Sweden
1920 Antwerp, Belgium
1924 Paris, France
1928 Amsterdam, Holland
1932 Los Angeles, USA
1936 Berlin, Germany
1948 London, UK
1952 Helsinki, Finland
1956 Melbourne, Australia
1960 Rome, Italy
1964 Tokyo, Japan
1968 Mexico City, Mexico
1972 Munich, West Germany
1976 Montreal, Canada
1980 Moscow, Soviet Union
1984 Los Angeles, USA
1988 Seoul, South Korea
1992 Barcelona, Spain
1996 Atlanta, USA
2000 Sydney, Australia
2004 Athens, Greece
2008 Beijing, China
2012 London, UK
2016 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Athens 1896
“I shivered at the thought of what
would happen if I got a cramp from the
cold water. My will to live completely
overcame my desire to win.” Alfréd Hajós
At the first modern Games in Athens, Greece, there were few of the features
that we now associate with the Games. No flag, flame, torch, motto,
gold medals – or women. 241 men from 14 nations competed in nine
sports: athletics, cycling, fencing, gymnastics, shooting, swimming, tennis,
weightlifting and wrestling; all of which are still Olympic sports.
On 6 April 1896, James Connolly (USA) won the triple jump to become the first
Olympic champion in over 1500 years. All competitors had to be amateurs,
except in fencing. Some competed across sports: Carl Schuhmann (Germany)
won in wrestling and gymnastics. National identity at the Games was not
strong: the tennis doubles final had players from four countries.
Fair play was paramount. Leon Flameng (France) won a cycling event despite
waiting for his opponent to fix a mechanical problem. Brothers John and Sumner
Paine (USA) were first and second in a shooting event. Afterwards they decided
that only one of them would compete in the next shooting event so as to not
embarrass their hosts.
Hungarian Alfréd Hajos won the 1,200m swimming event. The swimmers were
transported by boat and left to swim back to shore alone. Hajos said, ‘I shivered
at the thought of what would happen if I got a cramp from the cold water. My
will to live completely overcame my desire to win.’
Greek water-carrier Spiridon Louis was the hero of the Games. Fortified by
wine, he won the marathon to the delight of the home crowd.
Athens 1896 French cycling team mates Leon Flameng
and Paul Masson. ©CIO_Albert Meyer
Athens 1896 Greek Marathon
winner Louis Spyridon. ©CIO
London 1908
The most important thing in the
Olympic Games is not to win but to
take part. Olympic Creed
The London 1908 Games revitalised the Olympics. The Games had become
downgraded in Paris, France (1900) and St Louis, USA (1904) when they had
been held as part of a four-month long World Fair. Many athletes did not even
know that they had competed as part of the Olympic Games. London became
host of the 1908 Games when Rome withdrew to rebuild Naples following the
eruption of the volcano Mount Vesuvius.
White City in west London was the first purpose-built Olympic stadium. In the
middle of the running track was a swimming pool and platforms for wrestling
and gymnastics. Other innovations included the introduction of the Olympic
creed. Boxing was held at City University – then the Northampton Institute
– on St John Street. In one day Great Britain won all five boxing gold medals on
offer. Training for swimming also took place there.
Countries now paraded behind their national flag at the opening ceremony.
2,008 athletes (1,971 men, 37 women) from 22 countries competed in 22
sports. These included rugby union, water motorsports and the tug of war,
which was won by the City of London police.
The marathon distance of 26 miles 385 yards was first established here. The
route was fixed to start at Windsor Castle and finish underneath the Royal Box
in White City stadium. Again the hero of the Games was a marathon runner.
The leading runner, Dorando Pietri (Italy), collapsed repeatedly in the stadium.
He was helped across the finish line, for which he was disqualified. However,
sympathy for him meant that he became better known than the actual winner,
Johnny Hayes (USA).
Commemorative postcard showing
the 1908 stadium at White City.
Image courtesy of Hammersmith and Fulham
Archive and Local History Service
London 1908 women’s archery
contest. Image courtesy of Hammersmith
and Fulham Archives and Local History Centre
London 1908 pole vault
contestant. Image courtesy of
Hammersmith and Fulham Archives and
Local History Service
Berlin 1936
Citius, Altius, Fortius – Faster, Higher, Stronger.
Olympic Motto
By 1936 almost all of the features of the Games
were in place including the Olympic flag of five
rings representing the five continents, the Latin
motto Citius, Altius, Fortius (faster, higher,
stronger), and the flame. The Berlin Games added
the torch relay.
Adolf Hitler tried to use the Games to prove the
supremacy of the Aryan race. Jews and other
“non-Ayrans” were banned from the German
national team. Many countries considered a
boycott, however, no boycott went ahead as
many people believed that sports and politics
should be kept separate. The Games had the
largest number of countries taking part to that
point. 3,963 athletes (3,632 men, 331 women)
from 49 countries competed in 19 sports.
The left-wing government in Spain organised a
People’s Olympiad in defiance of Hitler. 6,000
athletes registered; more than the number of
athletes at the Berlin Games. They came from 19
countries including Great Britain, the USA, and
exiles from Germany. However, the Games were
cancelled at the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War.
The hero of the Games was the black American
Jesse Owens. He won four gold medals: 100
metres, 200 metres, long jump, 4x100 metre
relay. German long jumper Luz Long gave some
advice to Owens that helped him to win the
long jump and was the first to congratulate him.
Owens said, ‘It took a lot of courage for him to
befriend me in front of Hitler – you can melt down
all the medals and cups I have and they wouldn’t be
a plating on the twenty-four carat friendship that I
felt for Luz Long at that moment’.
Opening ceremony; in the
middle the Olympic cauldron
and to the left the Olympic
flag. ©CIO
Long jump contestants: USA’s
Jesse Owens (1st) and Germany’s
Luz Long. ©CIO_Lothar Rübelt
Berlin 1936 Olympic poster
USA’s Jesse Owens in action
London
1948
“A warm flame of hope for a
better understanding in the world
which has burned so low.” Lord
Burghley at the opening ceremony
London 1948 ticket to the closing
ceremony at the Empire Stadium Wembley.
Image courtesy of Brent Archives
Due to World War Two (1939-45), the London Games were the
first to be held since 1936. Rationing was still in place and much
of Europe and beyond remained devastated. Germany and Japan
were not allowed to participate.
The Games are known as the “austerity Games”. Athletes were
asked to bring their own food. Men stayed in an army camp in
Uxbridge and women at Southlands College. The events were
held at existing sports venues. The Wembley Empire Exhibition
Grounds, which included Wembley Stadium, was the main
venue with 22 other venues across the country hosting events.
Highbury hosted two football matches. Training for diving took
place at Ironmonger Row Baths in Finsbury. Lord Burghley,
chairman of the organising committee, said London represented
a ‘warm flame of hope for a better understanding in the world
which has burned so low’.
A volunteer programme was created to help run the Games. Sir
Ludwig Guttmann organised a sports competition for disabled
war veterans in Stoke Mandeville, Buckinghamshire. The
competition subsequently grew to become, from 1960 (Rome),
the Paralympic Games. By contrast, the art competition that
been held at the Olympic Games since 1912 took place for the
last time.
4,104 athletes (3,714 men, 390 women) from 59 countries
competed in 17 sports. The hero of the Games was Fanny
Blankers-Coen (Holland). A 30-year-old mother of two children,
and pregnant with a third, she won four gold medals in athletics.
Called “The Flying Housewife”, her success helped to promote
women’s athletics at a time when it did not receive the same
recognition as men’s sport.
Holland’s Fanny Blankers-Coen in action.
©CIO_Lothar Rübelt
Group photograph of the female corps of
drivers provided by the Ministry of Supply,
together with their vehicle. Image courtesy of
Brent Archives
Mexico
City
1968
These Games were the first to be hosted
by a developing country. Many newly
independent countries in Africa, Asia and
the West Indies took part for the first time.
5,530 athletes (4,750 men, 780 women)
from 112 countries competed in 20 sports.
The Paralympic Games took place in Tel
Aviv, Israel. 750 athletes from 29 countries
competed in 10 sports. All sports were for
wheelchair competitors only.
Robert (Bob) Beamon jumping into the
record books with his medal winning
leap. ©CIO
The Games took place against a backdrop
of political unrest. Czech Gymnast Vera
Cáslavská bowed her head on the medal
podium as the national anthem of the Soviet
Union was played in protest at the recent
Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia.
On the podium for the 200 metres medal
ceremony Tommie Smith and John Carlos,
both from the USA, bowed their heads
and each raised a black-gloved fist as the
American national anthem was played. Peter
Norman (Australia), also on the podium,
had suggested that they divide the gloves
between them and he wore a badge in
support. Their act was in support of black
civil rights in America and worldwide, and
caused great controversy. All three athletes
were banned from future sporting events.
The outstanding achievement of the Games
was the performance by Bob Beamon (USA)
in the long jump. Helped by the thin air of
Mexico City, with one leap of 29 feet, 2½
inches (8.90 metres) he broke the previous
world record by 21¾ inches (55 cm) and set
a world record that remained for 23 years. It is
the longest-standing current Olympic record.
Mexico 1968 poster
Munich 1972
The Munich Games in West Germany were dominated by one act – the killing of
11 Israelis by Palestinian terrorists.
On 5 September, eight Palestinian terrorists belonging to a group called Black
September broke into the Olympic Village and took 11 Israeli athletes and officials
as hostages. Two hostages were killed immediately. A standoff took place that last
17 hours. The terrorists and hostages were transferred to an airport. The German
authorities tried an unsuccessful rescue attempt – all of the remaining hostages were
killed. Also most of the terrorists and a policeman were killed. The Munich Massacre
shocked the world. The Games were suspended for 34 hours and then restarted.
7,170 athletes (6,075 men, 1,095 women) from 121 countries competed in
23 sports. At the Paralympic Games in Heidelberg, West Germany, 984 athletes from
43 countries competed in 10 sports.
The swimmer Mark Spitz (USA) won seven gold medals and broke seven world
records. Being Jewish, he had to leave the Games before they finished for his own
protection. The gymnast Olga Korbut (Soviet Union) was also a star of the Games,
captivating audiences with her performances and emotion.
An image from the terrorist
event that rocked the
Munich Games
Munich 1972 Olympic poster
USA’s Mark Spitz walks away
having won 7 medals and broken
7 world records. ©CIO
1980 and
1984 Games
Boycotts became a feature of the Games. 28 countries had boycotted the
1976 Games in Montreal in protest at the participation of New Zealand,
whose rugby team had toured South Africa in breach of a ban for its policy
of apartheid.
At the 1980 Games in Moscow, the Soviet Union, 61 countries boycotted
the Games in protest at the recent Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. The USA
led the boycott and organised the Olympic Boycott Games. Great Britain did
not participate in the boycott. 5,179 athletes (4,064 men, 1,115 women)
from 80 countries competed in 23 sports. The Paralympic Games took
place in Arnhem, Holland: 1,973 athletes from 42 countries competed in 12
sports.
At the 1984 Games in Los Angeles, USA, 14 countries including the Soviet
Union and other Communist countries boycotted the Games in retaliation for
the American-led boycott of the Moscow Games. They held a rival event,
called The Friendship Games. However, a record 140 countries participated
in the Los Angeles Games, with 6,829 athletes (5,263 men, 1,566 women)
competing in 23 sports. The Paralympic Games took place in New York and
in Stoke Mandeville, England: 2,900 athletes from 45 countries competed in
15 sports.
Los Angeles had been the only city to bid for these Games as other cities had
been put off by the excessive cost of the 1976 Games.
The boycotts depleted the quality of the Games in many sports. However,
some athletes won at both Games, including British athletes Seb Coe in the
men’s 1500 metres and Daley Thompson in the decathlon. At the 1984
Games Carl Lewis (USA) equalled the performance of Jesse Owens in 1936
by winning the same four gold medals.
Los Angeles 1984 Great Britain’s
Seb Coe and Steve Ovett.
©CIO_Jean-François Pahud
Moscow 1980 Opening ceremony featuring children dressed as the
Moscow Olympic bear “Misha” ©CIO
Barcelona
1992
The 1992 Games in Barcelona, Spain, were the first
Games since 1972 to be free of boycotts.
The participating countries reflected recent political
changes. The end of the Cold War meant that the former
Soviet Union was split into four teams, which included a
unified team. East and West Germany competed as one
team. South Africa competed for the first time since
1960 due to the end of apartheid. In total 9,356 athletes
(6,652 men, 2,704 women) from a record 169 countries
competed in 25 sports.
In the women’s 10,000 metres, the black Ethiopian
winner Derartu Tulu ran her victory lap hand in hand
with second-placed white South African Elana Meyer.
Elsewhere gymnast Vitaly Scherbo (Unified Team) won six
gold medals. British rower Steve Redgrave won his third
gold medal on the way to his final tally of five.
Drugs tests were now a common feature of the Games.
Introduced at the 1968 Games, the most high profile
competitor caught taking drugs is the Canadian Ben
Johnson, winner of the men’s 100 metres in Seoul in
1988.
Since the Seoul Games in 1988, the Paralympic Games
have taken place in the same city as the Olympic Games.
3,001 athletes (2,301 men, 700 women) from 83
countries competed in 15 sports. The flame at the
Olympic Games was lit by an arrow fired by Antonio
Rebello, a Paralympic archer.
The Games accelerated the regeneration of Barcelona.
Improvements in transport and facilities have resulted in
long-term benefits to the city.
Performers at the opening ceremony.
©CIO_Jean-Jacques Strahm
Carl Lewis training for the relay race.
©CIO_Jean-Jacques Strahm
Beijing 2008
The Beijing Games, in China, started at 8:08:08pm on 08.08.08 (8 August 2008) – the number eight
is associated with good fortune in China. The opening ceremony that followed is considered one of the
best to have taken place. Spectators and viewers were similarly impressed by the venues that included
the National Stadium (The Bird’s Nest) and the National Swimming Centre (The Water Cube).
The build up to these Games had been different. There had been concerns about air quality and human
rights. The torch relay had been a target for protests about the Chinese occupation of Tibet.
11,028 athletes from a record 204 countries competed in 28 sports. An unprecedented 87 countries
won at least one medal. The Paralympic Games had now expanded to 20 sports, in which 3,951 athletes
competed from 146 countries. China topped the medal table at both Games.
Estimates of the cost of the Games vary between £9 billion and £24 billion. The Games were watched
by 4.7 billion people on television.
Great Britain came fourth at the Olympic Games and second at the Paralympic Games. Outstanding
performers were Chris Hoy (cycling), Rebecca Adlington (swimming) and Ben Ainslie (sailing). Other
outstanding performers were the swimmer Michael Phelps (USA), who won eight gold medals to add to
the six he had already won to make him the most successful Olympian ever, and Usain Bolt (Jamaica),
who broke the world record in the men’s 100 metres and 200 metres, and also won a relay gold medal.
Great Britain’s Chris Hoy pedals to Olympic victory
Olympic mascots at the Beijing Games.
©CIO_John Huet
The famous Bird’s Nest Stadium
London 2012
In July 2005 London won its bid to for the 2012 Games, making it the first city to host the Games three
times. The aims of the Games include promoting sport, inspiring young people, and helping regenerate east
London where most of the events will be held. Five venues will remain afterwards: the Olympic Stadium, the
Aquatics Centre, the VeloPark and two multi-sports venues. Other venues will include Wembley Stadium,
Wimbledon and Weymouth. St Pancras will be used for a high speed rail link to the Olympic Park.
More than 15,000 athletes from over 200 countries are expected, 70,000 volunteers will be needed, 9
million tickets will be available and a television audience of billions is anticipated. The athletes will compete
in 26 Olympic sports and 20 Paralympic sports.
The Olympic sports are: athletics, aquatics, archery, badminton, basketball, boxing, canoeing, cycling,
equestrian, fencing, football, gymnastics, handball, hockey, judo, modern pentathlon, rowing, sailing,
shooting, table tennis, tennis, taekwondo, triathlon, volleyball, weightlifting and wrestling. The Paralympic
sports will be: archery, athletics, basketball, boccia, cycling, equestrian, fencing, football 5-a-side, football
7-a-side, goalball, judo, powerlifting, rugby, rowing, sailing, shooting, standing volleyball, swimming, table
tennis and tennis.
The budget for construction is £9.3 billion, to be funded by central and London government, the National
Lottery and the London council taxpayer. The budget for hosting the Games is £2 billion, to be paid by
sponsorship, marketing, ticket sales and the International Olympic Committee.
The 2012 Olympic Games will take place between 27 July and 12 August. The Paralympic Games will be
held from 29 August to 9 September.
London 2012 Olympic Stadium ©CIO London 2012