The Austerity Olympics: When the Games Came to London in 1948

London hosted the Olympic Games in 1948 and 2012. The 2012 games, spread across six major boroughs (Barking and Dagenham, Greenwich, Hackney, Newham, Tower Hamlets and Waltham Forest) cost £8.77 billion, three times the original budget. By contrast, the 1948 games cost £760,000 and were held against a backdrop of postwar austerity. Teams were bussed to the events from the hostels and army camps where they were billeted, while female competitors sewed their own kits! The main stadium, normally used for greyhound racing, was where Olympic records were set by the likes of Emil Zatopek and Fanny Blankers-Koen. So how did the organisers turn a profit from an event that was run on a shoestring?

Format: Kindle Edition, Hardcover & Paperback

Paperback: 472 Pages

Language: English