Editing 1944 Summer Olympics

{{Short description|Cancelled multi-sport event in London, England}}
{{EngvarB|date=May 2024}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2025}}
{{Infobox Olympic games|1944|Summer|Olympics|
| image       =
| caption     = Official poster for the 1944 Summer Olympics before they were cancelled
| host_city   = London, United Kingdom
| summer_prev = [[1936 Summer Olympics|Berlin 1936]]<br />← {{coloredlink|grey|1940 Summer Olympics|Tokyo 1940}}
| summer_next = [[1948 Summer Olympics|London 1948]]
| winter_prev = [[1936 Winter Olympics|Garmisch 1936]]<br />← {{coloredlink|grey|1944 Winter Olympics|Cortina 1944}}
| winter_next = [[1948 Winter Olympics|St. Moritz 1948]] 
}}

The '''1944 Summer Olympics''', officially known as the '''Games of the XIII Olympiad''', was a planned international [[multi-sport event]] scheduled to have been held from 22 July to 5 August 1944 in London, England, United Kingdom. The games were cancelled because of [[World War II]] alongside the [[1944 Winter Olympics]] in [[Cortina d'Ampezzo]], Italy, and were the fifth games to be cancelled due to war. However, unofficial celebrations went ahead anyway in Switzerland as well as by Polish [[Prisoner of war|prisoners of war]] held in [[Occupation of Poland (1939–1945)|German-occupied Poland]].

The games eventually took place in London in [[1948 Summer Olympics|1948]], which later hosted the [[2012 Summer Olympics]].

==History==
London won the bid on the first ballot in a June 1939 [[International Olympic Committee]] election over Rome, Detroit, Lausanne, Athens, Budapest, Helsinki and Montreal. The selection was made at the 38th IOC Session in 1939 (London).<ref name="votes">{{cite web |title=Past Olympic host city election results |url=http://www.gamesbids.com/english/archives/past.shtml |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110124022022/http://www.gamesbids.com/eng/past.html |archive-date=24 January 2011 |access-date=17 March 2011 |publisher=[[GamesBids]]}}</ref>

Due to World War II, which by then had been ongoing for four years and had [[The Blitz|devastated London]], the games were cancelled. In spite of the war, the IOC organised many events to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of its foundation at its headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland. Held from 17 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 Flame|Olympic torch relay]].<ref>{{Cite web |title = Beijing 2008 Olympic Games: Mount Olympus Meets the Middle Kingdom {{!}} Beijing 2008 Olympic Games :: History of the Olympic Games |url = http://www.britannica.com/topic/Mount-Olympus-Meets-the-Middle-Kingdom-1702245/History-of-the-Olympic-Games#toc277322 |website = Encyclopædia Britannica |access-date = 11 December 2015}}</ref>

Polish prisoners of war in the Woldenberg ([[Dobiegniew]]) [[Oflag II-C]] [[POW camp]] were granted permission by their German captors to stage an unofficial ''POW Olympics'' during 23 July to 13 August 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.<ref>{{citation |last=Grys |first=Iwona |title=The Olympic Idea Transcending War |journal=Olympic Review |volume=XXV |issue=8, April–May 1996 |year=1996 |page=68 |url=https://digital.la84.org/digital/api/collection/p17103coll1/id/35452/download |access-date=26 June 2012 |archive-date=10 September 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080910020833/http://www.la84foundation.org/OlympicInformationCenter/OlympicReview/1996/oreXXV8/oreXXV8zza.pdf |url-status=dead }}.</ref>

==Bid results==
{|class=wikitable
|+IOC voting<ref name=votes />
! City !! Country !! Round 1
|-
| London || {{flagicon|UK}} United Kingdom || 20
|-
| Rome || {{flag|Fascist Italy (1922–1943)|name=Italy}} || 11
|-
| Detroit || {{flagicon|United States|1912}} United States || 2
|-
| Lausanne || &nbsp;{{flagicon|CHE}} Switzerland || 1
|-
| Athens || {{flagicon|Kingdom of Greece}} Greece || 0
|-
| Budapest || {{flagicon|Kingdom of Hungary (1920–46)}}  Hungary || 0
|-
| Helsinki || {{flagicon|FIN}} Finland || 0
|-
| Montreal || {{flagIOC|CAN|1936 Summer}} || 0
|}

==See also==
{{IOC seealso|games=1944 Summer Olympics}}

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

{{S-start}}
{{s-sports|soly}}
{{s-bef|before=[[1940 Summer Olympics|Tokyo/Helsinki]] <br />cancelled due to World War II}}
{{s-ttl|title=XIII Olympiad<br/>London|years=1944 (cancelled due to World War II)}}
{{s-aft|after=[[1948 Summer Olympics|London (1948)]]}}
{{S-end}}

{{Olympic Games}}

[[Category:1944 Summer Olympics| ]]
[[Category:Cancelled Olympic Games]]
[[Category:Events cancelled due to World War II]]
[[Category:1944 in multi-sport events]]
[[Category:Summer Olympics by year]]
[[Category:Summer Olympics in London]]