THE AUSTERITY GAMES

John Greeves looks back at the 1948 London Olympics

There are periods of history where austerity casts its dark shadow over a nation. The 1948 Summer Olympics were an international multi-sport event held from 29 July to 14 August 1948 in London. Sometimes referred to as the "Ration Book Games" or the "Austerity Games", they took place in the setting of a bombed-out postwar city during a period when Britain was in deep economic crisis but proved to be one of the most successful games of the 20th century.

At first, the press poured derision on the idea of hosting the Olympics. War had left Britain virtually bankrupt. Many critics considered the games a complete waste of money and questioned the wisdom of holding them after the 1947 sterling crisis. Priority was given to export industries over the needs of domestic reconstruction and this in turn led to rationing being even more severe following the war than it was during the hostilities. Feeding and housing more than 4,000 competitors was certainly going to be very challenging. For a period, it looked as if Great Britain would hand over the games to the US because of its mounting problems.

Others believed, with careful planning and ingenuity, Britain could run the games and surmount the numerous difficulties. Even King George VI felt the games could provide an opportunity to restore Britain after World War Two. The government gave its support, seeing it as an opportunity to generate hard currency from ticket sales, tourism and foreigners buying British goods. Once it was clear the games would go ahead, the newspapers began to run more positive articles about the preparations.