1952 Olympics

Between 14th to 25th February 1952, the 1952 Winter Olympics, formally known as the VI Olympic Winter Games, were held in Oslo, Norway. Discussions began as early as 1935 over Oslo staging the Winter Olympic Games; the city decided to host the 1948 Olympics because World War II was impossible to do so. Alternatively, in a series that featured Cortina d'Ampezzo in Italy and Lake Placid in the USA, Oslo secured the right to host the 1952 Olympics. With the exception of the alpine skiing competitions held at Norefjell, 113 km from the capital, all venues were in the metropolitan area of Oslo. A new hotel was built along with three dormitories to accommodate players and coaches for the press and dignitaries, establishing the village of the first professional athlete. The City of Oslo, in exchange for the income they generated, kept the financial responsibility of hosting the Games. The Games drew 694 athletes who competed in 4 disciplines and 22 events from 30 nations. Japan and Germany returned to the Olympic Winter Tournament because they weren't able to boycott the 1948 Games following World War II. As East Germany failed to participate as a single team, Germany was represented only by West German athletes. Portugal and New Zealand made their Winter Olympic debuts and women were permitted to take part in cross country skiing for the first time. Norwegian truck driver Hjalmar Andersen took three of four speed skating events to become the most decorated Olympic attendee. Of bobsleigh Germany regained its previous dominance, competing of four- and two-man competition. The United States 'Dick Button made the first triple jump in international competition to win his second consecutive Olympic title skating men's figure. The 1952 Games featured a showcase event, a bandy, but the competition was disputed by only three Nordic countries. Norway received 16 medals, of which seven were gold, for general medal competition. The Games closed with the raising of a banner heading from one of the host cities of Winter Olympics into the other. At each subsequent Winter Games the banner which became known as the "Oslo flag" was displayed at the host city. Anti-German rhetoric started to form plans for the 1952 Olympics during the German invasion of Norway during World War II. There were discussions on whether it should allow Germany to compete in the Olympics. When the IOC approved the West German Olympic Committee in 1950, it addressed the question of whether their inclusion in the forthcoming Games would spark international boycotts. The West German Olympic Committee West Germany was officially invited to compete in the 1952 Winter Olympics after the IOC accepted it. East Germany had been invited to collaborate as a joint entity with West Germany but refused. Norway refused to welcome German players at first and some became regarded as Nazi sympathisers. For example, Norwegian speed skater Finn Hodt was not permitted to join the Norwegian speed skating team because after the war he had collaborated with the Nazis. In the result, Norway has decided to promote the inclusion of German and Japanese competitors in the issue. The Soviet Union did not send any athletes to Oslo, though the IOC accepted it. They had intended to field an ice hockey championship team but applied too late to join the Ice Hockey Federation International. On 15 February, the opening ceremonies were held at Bislett Stadium. King George VI of Great Britain died on 6 February 1952 with his daughter Elizabeth II taking the throne as a queen, eight days before the start of the Games. As a result, all the national flags flew in half, and Princess Ragnhild opened the Games instead of her grandfather, King Haakon VII, who attended the London funeral. It was the first time a female official has left an Olympic Games open. Traditionally, the nation parade was conducted with Greece first, the rest of the nations followed by Norwegian alphabetic order, the last being the host country.