The UK has hosted the Olympic Games three times, in 1908, 1948 and 2012, and every time in London. For the 2012 Games the main site was at Stratford, in east London. The British team did well in many different sports and came third in the medal table. The Paralympic Games were held in London that year too.
The 1948 Games were nicknamed the "Austerity Games". Britain had only just come through the war, and food and petrol were still rationed. No new venues were built and there was no Olympic village: the men stayed in air force and army camps, and the women in London college halls.
1908London hosts the Olympics for the first time. Rome was supposed to host them, but Italy pulled out and London stepped in
1948London hosts for the second time: the first Olympics after the Second World War, known as the "Austerity Games"
1948On 29 July, the day the Olympics opened, Dr Guttmann holds the first sports contest for wheelchair patients at Stoke Mandeville Hospital
1960The first official Paralympic Games take place in Rome
2012London hosts for the third time, with the main site at Stratford in east London; Britain comes third in the medal table, and the Paralympics are held in London too
The end of the marathon at the 1908 London Olympics: the Italian runner Dorando Pietri, close to collapse, is helped over the finishing line by officials. He was the first runner into the stadium but fell several times, and was disqualified for getting help; the next day Queen Alexandra, who felt sorry for him, gave him a gilded silver cup. The race had started at Windsor Castle, and because the start and finish were moved to suit the Royal Family, it came to 26 miles 385 yards, or 42.195 km. That odd distance later became the standard length of a marathon all over the world.
Photographer unknown, public domain, via Wikimedia CommonsThe London Olympic Park at Stratford, east London, in April 2012, just over three months before the opening ceremony.
Photo: EG Focus, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Where the Paralympics began: Stoke Mandeville Hospital
The Paralympics grew out of the work of Dr Sir Ludwig Guttmann. He was a refugee who had escaped from Germany, and at Stoke Mandeville hospital in Buckinghamshire he cared for patients with spinal injuries.
In those days, people with a spinal injury were often expected to stay in bed and simply wait to die. Guttmann found new ways to treat them, and he encouraged his patients to exercise and to compete in sport. He also organised the archery contest for former servicemen in wheelchairs held on the hospital lawn on 29 July 1948, the day the London Olympics opened.
Quiz
In which years did the Olympic Games take place in the UK?
All three were in London: 1908, 1948 and 2012. 1896 was Athens (the first modern Olympics), 1936 was Berlin, 2008 was Beijing and 1924 was Paris.
Quiz
Which of the following statements is correct?
The Paralympics began with Dr Guttmann's work at Stoke Mandeville Hospital in Buckinghamshire. London did host the Paralympics in 2012, but they were not the first.
