1944 Summer Olympics

Games of the XIII Olympiad
Host city	London, United Kingdom (cancelled due to World War II)
Opening ceremony	N/A
Closing ceremony	N/A
Stadium	N/A

The 1944 Summer Olympics, which were to be officially known as the Games of the XIII Olympiad, were cancelled due to World War II. They were to have been held in London, England, United Kingdom, which won the bid on the first ballot in a June 1939 IOC election over Rome, Detroit, Lausanne, Athens, Budapest, Helsinki and Montreal. The selection was made at the 38th IOC Session in London in 1939.^[1]

Because of the cancellation, London went on to host the 1948 Summer Olympics.

In spite of the war, the IOC organized many events to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of its foundation at its headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland. Held from 17 June to 19 June 1944, this celebration was referred to as "The Jubilee Celebrations of IOC" by Carl Diem, the originator of the modern tradition of the Olympic torch relay.^[2]

Polish Prisoners of War (POWs) in the Woldenberg (Dobiegniew) Oflag II-C POW camp were granted permission by their German captors to stage an unofficial POW Olympics during July 23 to August 13, 1944 and an Olympic Flag made with a bed sheet and pieces of coloured scarves was raised. The event has been considered to be a demonstration of the Olympic spirit transcending war.^[3]

Bid results

IOC voting^[1]
City	Country	Round 1
London	Great Britain	20
Rome	Italy	11
Detroit	United States	2
Lausanne	Switzerland	1
Athens	Greece	0
Budapest	Hungary	0
Helsinki	Finland	0
Montreal	Canada	0

Notes

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Preceded by Tokyo/Helsinki (abandoned)	Summer Olympic Games London (abandoned) XIII Olympiad (1944)	Succeeded by London (1948)

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1944 Summer Olympics

Bid results

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Host city	London, United Kingdom (cancelled due to World War II)
Opening ceremony	N/A
Closing ceremony	N/A
Stadium	N/A