The last time London hosted the Olympic Games was in 1948, the first nation to do so after the Second World War. Below is a page of a document deposited with the House of Lords Library for the information of Peers, available to view at the House Of Lords Record Office. The document gives details of arrangements for the Olympics, including schedules of events with lists of competitors, and information on other arrangements such as accommodation. It is interesting to note that the official poster for that year’s Olympics was a discus thrower with the Clock Tower, or Big Ben, in the background.
However, in the past there were those whose enthusiasm for the Olympic games was not as great as could be hoped. The below page is from a letter from 1913 and forms part of the Blumenfield papers (BLU). It refers back to the London Games of 1908, and to a current Olympic fund. It was written by Lord Northcliffe, who was grumbling about a letter written by Arthur Conan Doyle regarding the fund. In the document Northcliffe describes himself as "not keen" on the Olympics, and is not happy at being pushed in to forming the fundraising committee. Later in the letter he describes those who seem to think he should be raising the money as ‘busybodies’. For the 1908 games Northcliffe was a contibutor to the Olympic fund. That year London hosted the games rather unexpectedly, as Italy had to pull out when funds were needed to repair the damage after an eruption of Mount Vesuvius, and they could not afford to host the games. Conan Doyle was a big fundraiser for that, and later Olympic events. He even covered the marathon for the Daily Mail.
BLU/1/15/NOR.6: Letter from Viscount Northcliffe to Blumenfield 1913
LEG/3/4/2: Ticket for the 1896 Olympics Games in Athens
The first ‘modern’ Olympic Games were held in Athens in 1896. The 1896 games were a major event in sporting history, and some individuals associated with the British Parliament were lucky enough to visit the games.
One such lucky individual was William George Gresham Leveson-Gower, who was Clerk of the Journal Office in the House of Lords and whose papers are preserved here in the House of Lords Record Office (LEV). The document above is his entry pass for the 1896 games, in White and Blue, the National colours of Greece.
LEG/3/4/2: Cover of a Programme for the 1896 Olympic Games
This document is also part of the Leveson-Gower Papers, and shows a front page of a programme from the 1896 Olympics. The cover gives details of the Olympic officials, while inside a time table of events and competitors is listed. The programme is written in French and Greek.
LEG/3/4/2: Front Page of a list of Medal Winners from the 1896 Olympics
Above is the front page of a table of medal winners for the 1896 Olympics from the same collection. Inside are lists of the medal winners, also in Greek and French. For these games, those in first place got silver medals and a crown of olive leaves and those in second place got bronze medals and a crown of laurel leaves. Those in third received nothing.
The Olympics in Parliament
HL/PO/PU/1/1995/c. 32: Olympic Symbol Protection Act 1995
The Olympics have been a topic for debate and discussion in Parliament in the past, including within the last couple of months. A recent example is the above Act from 1995, the Olympic Symbol Protection Act. Essentially it gives copyright for the famous '5 Rings' symbol and any other associated words or symbols to the Olympics Association.
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