Olympic heritage

The Olympic Games and the UK

In 2012 London will host a Games like never before, drawing on the country’s proud Olympic heritage.

London hosted the Olympic Games in 1908 and 1948.

Each time, we left our mark on the Olympic movement with our innovative approach:

1908

In 1908, London stood as Host City in for Rome after an eruption of Mount Vesuvius.

New in 1908:

• The Olympic Stadium (White City) was built especially for the Olympic Games.
• Athletes paraded under their national flags at a ceremony at the start of the Games.
• The Marathon was fixed at 42.195km (26.2 miles) – the distance from Windsor Castle to the Royal Box in the Olympic Stadium. This became the official distance from the 1924 Games onwards.

1948

In 1948, London again stepped in at the last minute to host the first Games after World War II.

New in 1948:

• Games shown on home television.
• Starting blocks for Sprint races.
• Volunteer Programme created to help run the Games.