Olympic rings of the Olympic Stadium.
Summer olympics have affected Helsinki probably more than any other host city. Finland was still recovering from the World War II when the games were held and Helsinki is the smallest city that has ever hosted the summer olympics. The effect was also doubled as Helsinki had to prepare for the olympics two times.
This is the first post in a serie where I will show you how the two olympics are still visible in the Finnish capital. Helsinki became the host of the 1940 games on a very short notice but the games were eventually cancelled because of the second world war. 1952 games were the first cold war olympics. Soviet Union participated for the very first time. It was also the first time for many former Axis powers after the WW II.
The event brought us infrastructure, services and products that today everybody would take for granted in an Olympic host city such as our first traffic lights. For many it was the first time they saw people who looked completely different than the Finns. The effects of WW II could still be seen, for example, in the rationing of coffee.
I have visited several olympic cities and stadiums and I can honestly say that the legacy of the games is valued more in Helsinki than in most other places. Some Finns feel that the International Olympic Committee should give a lot more credit to Helsinki for preserving the spirit of the 1952 olympics.
As sources I have used well-known Finnish books about the olympics and generally reliable internet resources. I will list these later on in this serie. As this is a hobby and not a serious research, I have trusted that people before me have checked their facts. I of course may have misinterpreted them. Photographs are taken by me unless otherwise stated.
0 Responses to “Helsinki Olympics Today: Introduction”