Venues of the 1952 Summer Olympics

Last updated

For the 1952 Summer Olympics, a total of twenty-four sports venues were used. Three of the venues were constructed for the 1940 Summer Olympics, but were postponed in the wake of World War II. Those venues were completed in time for the 1952 Games. The main stadium served as host to the World Athletics Championships in 1983 and in 2005. Two venues were purchased by the city of Helsinki after the Olympics, one changed from an exhibition center to a sports arena, and another changed from a sports arena to an art museum. With an annual average temperature of 5.9 °C, Helsinki is the coldest city to host the Summer Olympics.

Contents

Venues

VenueSportsCapacityRef.
Arto Tolsa Areena (Kotka) Football 11,400 [1]
Hämeenlinna Modern pentathlon 2,983 [2]
Harmaja Sailing Not listed. [3]
Helsinki Football Grounds Football18,050. [1]
Huopalahti Shooting (shotgun)2,000 [4]
Käpylä Cycling (road)4,050 [5]
Laakso Equestrian (eventing - riding)4,854 [6]
Lahden kisapuisto Football8,067 [1]
Liuskasaari Sailing19,000 [3]
Malmi shooting range Shooting (pistol/ rifle)2,000 [4]
Maunula Cycling (road)21,708 [5]
Meilahti Rowing 3,554 [7]
Messuhalli Basketball (final), Boxing, Gymnastics, Weightlifting, Wrestling 5,500 [8]
Olympic Stadium Athletics, Equestrian (jumping), Football (final)70,470 [9]
Pakila Cycling (road)Not listed. [5]
Ruskeasuo Equestrian Hall Equestrian (dressage, eventing)3,780 [6]
Swimming Stadium Diving, Swimming, Water polo 11,345 [10]
Taivallahti Canoeing Not listed. [11]
Tali Race Track Equestrian (eventing - steeplechase)20,000 [11]
Tampere Football20,700 [1]
Tennis Palace Basketball1,518 [4]
Veritas Stadion (Turku)Football14,224 [1]
Velodrome Cycling (track), Field hockey 7,235 [12]
Westend Tennis Hall Fencing 951 [12]

Before the Olympics

The idea for the construction of the Olympic Stadium began in 1927 though construction itself would take place between 1934 and 1938. [13] This was done in preparation for the 1940 Summer Olympics that were moved from Tokyo after the breakout of World War II. [13] Construction for the Swimming Stadium began in 1939, but was interrupted due to World War II. [10] The building was resumed in 1947 and completed the following year. [10] A concrete velodrome was built in 1940 though it was not completed until 1946 due to the war. [12] Messuhalli was completed in 1935. [14]

The Tennis Palace was constructed in time for the 1940 Games as well. [15]

During the Olympics

The modern pentathlon events were held in one venue for the first time at the Summer Olympics since 1920. [2] [16]

After the Olympics

Olympic stadium Olympiastadion 2 2020-08-12.jpg
Olympic stadium

In 1983, the Olympic Stadium hosted the first IAAF World Championships in Athletics. [17] Between 1990 and 1994, the stadium underwent a renovation. [13] The stadium became the first venue to host the IAAF World Championships in Athletics twice when it hosted again in 2005. [18]

The aquatics venue is open to the public annually between May and September. [19] Töölö Sports Hall was purchased by the city of Helsinki in 1975 and converted from exhibition center into a sports arena. [14] The Tennis Palace was renovated, purchased by the city of Helsinki in 1957, and converted into an art museum in 1993. [15]

Finnair Stadium, which was named Sonera Stadium since August 2010, was constructed on the Helsinki Football Grounds for HJK in 2000. [20]

Related Research Articles

1932 Summer Olympics Multi-sport event in Los Angeles, California, US

The 1932 Summer Olympics were an international multi-sport event held from July 30 to August 14, 1932 in Los Angeles, California, United States. The Games were held during the worldwide Great Depression, with some nations not traveling to Los Angeles; 37 nations competed, compared to the 46 in the 1928 Games in Amsterdam, and then-U.S. President Herbert Hoover did not attend the Games. The organizing committee did not report the financial details of the Games, although contemporary newspapers claimed that the Games had made a profit of US$1,000,000.

Kaftanzoglio Stadium

Kaftanzoglio Stadium is a sports stadium in Thessaloniki, Greece. The stadium was built with money donated by the Kaftanzoglou Foundation, in honour of Lysandros Kaftanzoglou, hence its name. At the time of its opening on 27 October 1960, the stadium was one of the highest quality stadiums in the Balkans. It currently has 27,770 seats, owing to a comprehensive renovation before reopening to host football matches for the 2004 Summer Olympics, which was centered in Athens. It was the largest stadium in Greece until 1982, but has since been surpassed in capacity by the Olympic Stadium in Athens.

Helsinki Olympic Stadium Sports stadium in Helsinki, Finland

The Helsinki Olympic Stadium, located in the Töölö district about 2.3 kilometres (1.4 mi) from the centre of the Finnish capital Helsinki, is the largest stadium in the country, nowadays mainly used for hosting sports events and big concerts. The stadium is best known for being the centre of activities in the 1952 Summer Olympics. During those games, it hosted athletics, equestrian show jumping, and the football finals.

Bolt Arena

The Bolt Arena is a football stadium in Helsinki, Finland. It is named after the labour hire company Bolt.Works.

Töölö Sports Hall Sports venue in Helsinki, Finland

Töölö Sports Hall is a sports venue located in the Töölö district of Helsinki, Finland. It was designed by Aarne Hytönen and Risto-Veikko Luukkonen and built in 1935 as Messuhalli. It is located near the Olympic Stadium, the Opera House, and the Sonera Stadium.

For the 1956 Summer Olympics, events were staged in a total of thirteen sports venues in Melbourne, Victoria, one in Ballarat, Victoria, and three sports venues in Stockholm, Sweden. The equestrian events took place in Stockholm in June 1956, due to Australia's strict quarantine laws on equestrianism, and the other Olympic events took place in Melbourne later in the year, between late November and early December.

For the 1960 Summer Olympics, a total of thirty-four sports venues were used. The Basilica of Maxentius, the Baths of Caracalla, the Appian Way, and Via Cassia were among the ancient Roman venues used for the games. The football stadium in Florence hosted the 1934 FIFA World Cup and would later host the 1990 FIFA World Cup. Stadio Olimpico would later serve host to the 1987 IAAF World Championships in Athletics and the final venue for the 1990 FIFA World Cup. The marathon would be lit at night by Italian soldiers holding torches that included the Appian Way with a finish at the Arch of Constantine.

For the 1964 Summer Olympics, a total of thirty-three sports venues were used. Six of the venues were built before the International Olympic Committee awarded the 1964 Games to Tokyo in 1959. This included two venues that hosted the 1958 Asian Games. There were thirteen new, eight temporary, and five reconstructed and/or renovated venues that were used during the event. During the Olympics, wind and weather had issues with two athletic events. After the Olympics, one venue hosted both a FIFA World Cup and a World Athletics Championship event while another also hosted a World Athletics Championship event.

Venues of the 1968 Summer Olympics

For the 1968 Summer Olympics, a total of twenty-five sports venues were used. Most of the venues were constructed after Mexico City was awarded the 1968 Games. Mexican efforts in determining wind measurement led to sixteen world records in athletics at the University Olympic Stadium. All four of the football venues used for these games would also be used for both of the occurrences that Mexico hosted the FIFA World Cup, in 1970 and 1986.

Venues of the 1980 Summer Olympics

For the 1980 Summer Olympics, a total of twenty-eight sports venues were used. The first venue used for the Games was built in 1923. With the creation of the Spartakiad in Moscow in 1928, more venues were constructed. Central Lenin Stadium Grand Arena was built in 1956 for that year's versions of the Spartkiad. A plan in 1971 to construct more sports venues by 1990 was initiated, but accelerated in 1974 when Moscow was awarded the 1980 Games. The new venues to be used for the Games were completed in 1979. During the Games themselves at the permanent road cycling venue, the first ever constructed, the largest margin of victory was recorded in the individual road race cycling event since 1928. The Grand Arena hosted the football final that was played in a rainstorm for the third straight Olympics. After the 1991 break of the Soviet Union, the venues in Kiev, Minsk, and Tallinn would be located in Ukraine, Belarus, and Estonia, respectively. Luzhniki Stadium, formerly Grand Arena, continues to be used, and it was affected by the Luzhniki disaster in 1982. The stadium served as host for the IAAF World Championships in Athletics in 2013. Another venue, the Moscow Canoeing and Rowing Basin, served as host to the ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships in 2014. In December 2010, Russia was awarded the 2018 FIFA World Cup with Luzhniki Stadium and Dynamo Stadium proposed as venues for those events.

Venues of the 1984 Summer Olympics

For the 1984 Summer Olympics, a total of thirty-one venues were used. The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and the Rose Bowl, two venues previously used for the 1932 Summer Olympics, were used for the 1984 Games. Between the 1932 and the 1984 Summer Olympics, the expansion of professional sports teams assisted in the growth of the facilities that would be used for the 1984 events. Only two new permanent venues were constructed, both using corporate sponsorship, though neither were mentioned in the official Olympic report. Many other venues had temporary adjustments and returned to their normal usage once the 1984 Olympics were completed. Stanford Stadium in Palo Alto and the Rose Bowl later served as venues for the Super Bowl, the FIFA World Cup, and the FIFA Women's World Cup.

Venues of the 2004 Summer Olympics

For the 2004 Summer Olympics, a total of thirty-five sports venues were used. Athens hosted the first modern Olympic Games in 1896, which used venues such as Panathinaiko Stadium and the city of Marathon for which the long-distance race would be named. From the end of the 1896 Games until the late 1970s, Greece underwent numerous political changes that included the Balkan Wars, two World Wars, a civil war, and a military coup that resulted in a junta that lasted from 1967 to 1974. A change in democracy in 1975 resulted in Greece's admission into the European Economic Community in 1979. Athens first bid for the 1996 Summer Olympics as part of the 100th anniversary of the Modern Olympics, but was upset by Atlanta, Georgia in the United States for the Games in 1990. Seven years later, Athens won the right to host the 2004 Summer Olympics. At the time of the awarding, 75% of competition and 92% of training venues were available though a massive construction, and a renovation program was taken to get the venues ready for the games. Accessibility and environmental issues were taken into account in venue design and construction. The marathon course used was the same one used for the 1896 Games, though it was 2.195 km (1.36 mi) longer to the marathon not being standardized until 1924. Canoe slalom's venue at Ellinikon was the first using saltwater, having it pumped in from the Aegean Sea. After the Olympics, the Markopoulo Olympic Shooting Centre was converted into a police training center, while two other venues were converted into entertainment centers.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 1952 Summer Olympics official report. Archived 2008-04-11 at the Wayback Machine pp.62–3. Accessed 21 October 2010.
  2. 1 2 1952 Summer Olympics official report. Archived 2008-04-11 at the Wayback Machine pp. 60–2. Accessed 21 October 2010.
  3. 1 2 1952 Summer Olympics official report. Archived 2008-04-11 at the Wayback Machine p. 58. Accessed 21 October 2010
  4. 1 2 3 1952 Summer Olympics official report. Archived 2008-04-11 at the Wayback Machine p. 57. Accessed 21 October 2010.
  5. 1 2 3 1952 Summer Olympics official report. Archived 2008-04-11 at the Wayback Machine p. 554. Accessed 21 October 2010.
  6. 1 2 1952 Summer Olympics official report. Archived 2008-04-11 at the Wayback Machine p. 58. Accessed 21 October 2010.
  7. 1952 Summer Olympics official report. Archived 2008-04-11 at the Wayback Machine pp. 54-5. Accessed 21 October 2010.
  8. 1952 Summer Olympics official report. Archived 2008-04-11 at the Wayback Machine p. 51. Accessed 21 October 2010.
  9. 1952 Summer Olympics official report. Archived 2008-04-11 at the Wayback Machine pp. 44-7. Accessed 21 October 2010.
  10. 1 2 3 1952 Summer Olympics official report. Archived 2008-04-11 at the Wayback Machine pp. 47–9. Accessed 21 October 2010.
  11. 1 2 1952 Summer Olympics official report. Archived 2008-04-11 at the Wayback Machine p. 52. Accessed 21 October 2010.
  12. 1 2 3 1952 Summer Olympics official report. Archived 2008-04-11 at the Wayback Machine p. 50. Accessed 21 October 2010.
  13. 1 2 3 History of Helsinki Olympic Stadium. Accessed 21 October 2010.
  14. 1 2 History of the Töölö Sports Hall. Archived 2011-06-11 at the Wayback Machine Accessed 21 October 2010.
  15. 1 2 Tennis Palace profile. Accessed 21 October 2010.
  16. Sports-reference.com 1920 Summer Olympics modern pentathlon. Accessed 22 October 2010.
  17. IAAF World Championships in Athletics Helsinki 7-14 August 1983 results. Archived 12 December 2004 at the Wayback Machine Accessed 21 October 2010.
  18. IAAF World Championships in Athletics Helsinki 6-14 August 2005 information. Accessed 21 October 2010.
  19. Swimming Stadium guide. Archived 2010-05-13 at the Wayback Machine Accessed 21 October 2010.
  20. Sonera Stadium profile. Accessed 21 October 2010. (in Finnish)