The 1948 Olympics | Behind the scenes at the Austerity Games

A Broadcast by the Prime Minister | Rt Hon Clement Attlee welcomes Olympic Athletes

'May the weather be fine, the events well contested and may records be broken.'

CHANNEL | Home Service

FIRST BROADCAST | 28 July 1948

DURATION | 3 minutes 38 seconds

FIRSTBROADCAST

1948

Synopsis

Prime Minister Clement Attlee extends warm greetings to the 6,000 athletes from 60 countries who have gathered in London to take part in the Olympic Games.

Did you know?

Germany and Japan were not invited to the 1948 Olympic Games and the Soviet Union declined to take part. However, these were the first Games to be attended by any communist country, with Hungary, Yugoslavia and Poland among those competing.

Contributors

Clement Attlee
Contributor

Associated subjects

London | Sporting Events | UK Prime Ministers

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Documents

Radio Times article about Televising the Olympic Games.

Radio Times - Televising the Olympic Games

WRITTEN 1948
1 Page

Exciting times for the new BBC television service.

Radio Times cover for the Olympiad, London 1948

Radio Times - XIV Olympiad London 1948

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What else is on besides the Olympics?

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The faces behind the voices commentating on the Olympic Games.

Galleries

A gymnast practising on the high bar.

1948 Olympics: Events

Capturing the action of the London Olympics Games.

A BBC television camera televises the action.

1948 Olympics: Opening Ceremony

Photographs taken at the opening ceremony of the Austerity Games.

The BBC's Olympic broadcasting centre.

Broadcasting the 1948 Olympics

How the BBC televised the Games.

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