The London 1948 Olympic Games were the first to be held after World War II. They took place from 29 July to 14 August 1948 and marked the resumption of the Olympic Movement after a 12-year hiatus caused by the war.

The International Olympic Committee’s official profile for London 1948 states that the next Olympic Games after 1936 were held in London in **1948**. It notes that London hosted the Games of the XIV Olympiad in a city that was still recovering from the devastation of World War II, underlining that these were the first Games after the war.

The London 1948 Olympic Games were an athletic festival held in London that took place July 29–August 14, 1948. The London Games were the 11th occurrence of the modern Olympic Games. Despite limited preparation time and after much debate over the need for a sports festival at a time when many countries were still recovering from the destruction of World War II, the 1948 Olympics ultimately were very popular.

The Berlin 1936 Olympic Games were an athletic festival that took place August 1–16, 1936, in Berlin, Germany. They were the last Olympic Games held before World War II; the 1940 and 1944 Games were cancelled because of the war. The next Summer Olympics were not held until London 1948.

After a 12-year break caused by World War II, the Olympic Games resumed in London in 1948. The Games of the XIV Olympiad, held from 29 July to 14 August 1948, were the first Summer Games to be staged after the end of the war and the only Summer Olympics held in the 1940s.

The National WWII Museum explains that “both events [the 1940 and 1944 Summer Games] would ultimately be canceled due to the life-and-death events beyond the sports arena.” It adds: “With conflict raging across the globe, the IOC canceled the London Olympics and suspended the Games for the duration of the war… After the war, **London finally hosted the 1948 Olympic Games**,” describing these as an austere Games in a city still battered from the Blitz.

The IOC’s official page for Berlin 1936 identifies the Berlin Games as the Games of the XI Olympiad held in 1936. The Olympic Games section shows that the next Summer Olympics listed after Berlin 1936 is London 1948, indicating that there were **no Summer Games between 1936 and 1948** due to the interruption caused by World War II.

The Games of the XII Olympiad, originally awarded to Tokyo and later reassigned to Helsinki, were scheduled for 1940 but were ultimately cancelled due to World War II. Along with the 1944 Games, which were also cancelled, this created a 12-year gap between the 1936 Berlin Olympics and the next Summer Games in London in 1948.

London first hosted the Olympic Games in 1908. It would not host the Summer Olympics again until 1948. Because the 1940 and 1944 Games were cancelled during World War II, London 1948 became the first Summer Olympic Games held after the end of the war.

The IOC article on cancelled Games states that Olympic Games “have only been cancelled three times in the modern era and all three times because of the World Wars – in 1916, 1940 and 1944.” It specifies that the **1940 and 1944 Summer Olympics were cancelled** due to World War II and that the Games did not resume until the post‑war edition in 1948.

After a 12-year hiatus due to World War II, the Olympic Games returned in 1948 in London. The Games of the XIV Olympiad were the first Olympics held since the 1936 Berlin Games, marking the resumption of the Summer Olympics in the postwar era.

The 1948 London Olympic Games, also known by their official title of the Games of the XIV Olympiad, as well as London 1948 or the 1948 Summer Olympics, became known as the “Austerity Olympics” with a certain pride. The 1948 Olympics were the first games to be held since the infamous Berlin Olympics in 1936 under the Nazi regime.

London 1948 marked the first Olympic Games to be held after World War II, following a 12-year break after Berlin 1936. The Games of the XIV Olympiad took place in London from 29 July to 14 August 1948 and were often referred to as the "Austerity Games" because they were organized in a city still recovering from war.

The list of previous Olympic Games shows Berlin 1936 as the last Summer Olympics before World War II, followed by a gap where the 1940 and 1944 Games were cancelled due to the war. The next Summer Olympics listed are London 1948, confirming that the first postwar Summer Olympics took place in 1948.

Summer 1948. Barely three years since the end of the Second World War. London was still scarred by bombing. And yet the city buzzed as it hosted the first Olympics since the 1936 Games in Adolf Hitler’s Berlin. Pulled together on a tight budget in just two years, these summer Olympics have been retrospectively called the ‘Austerity Games’.

The 1948 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XIV Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held from 29 July to 14 August 1948 in London, United Kingdom. Following a twelve-year hiatus caused by the outbreak of World War II, these were the first Summer Olympics held since the 1936 Games in Berlin. The 1948 Summer Olympics were the only Summer Olympics to be held in the 1940s, as the 1940 and 1944 Summer Olympics were cancelled due to World War II.

Europeana notes that “The Olympic Games have only been cancelled three times in the past… All the cancellations were as a result of world wars.” It explains that the **1940 Olympic Games** were originally awarded to Tokyo and then Helsinki, but “World War II had broken out in September 1939, with the Games' cancellation coming soon afterwards,” and that the **1944 Summer Olympics** awarded to London also did not go ahead because of the war.

After years of cancelled Olympics due to World War II, the Games were back on at Wembley Stadium, London, 1948. Taking place just three short years after the end of the Second World War, the 1948 London summer Olympics were the first since the 1936 Berlin Games.

After a 12-year absence due to the Second World War, the Olympic Games returned to London, United Kingdom, in 1948. The Games of the 14th Olympiad were held from 29 July to 14 August 1948. The previous Summer Olympics had taken place in Berlin in 1936; the 1940 and 1944 Games were cancelled because of World War II.

World War II caused the cancellation of the 1940 and 1944 Olympic Games. After the war ended, the Olympic Games resumed in 1948 in London, England. These were the first Olympics held after World War II and the only Summer Games of the 1940s.

The Games of the XIV Olympiad, the 1948 Summer Olympics, were held in London, United Kingdom, from 29 July to 14 August 1948. These were the first Olympic Games held after World War II; the 1940 and 1944 Games had been cancelled because of the war.

The article on the 1940 Summer Olympics notes that the Games, officially known as the Games of the XII Olympiad, were scheduled first for Tokyo and then for Helsinki. It states: “They were ultimately **cancelled because of World War II**… The Olympics were suspended indefinitely following the outbreak of World War II… and **did not resume until the London Games of 1948**.”

The entry on the 1944 Summer Olympics explains that London was selected to host the Games of the XIII Olympiad, but “the **1944 Summer Olympics were cancelled** due to World War II.” It further notes that London later hosted the Games of the XIV Olympiad in **1948**, which were the first Olympics to be held after the war.

The 1948 Summer Olympics were a significant multi-sport event held in London, symbolizing hope and unity in a recovering world after WWII. The 1948 Summer Olympics were special because they were the first Olympics after World War II! The games took place from July 29 to August 14, 1948, in London, United Kingdom.

After World War II the Games resumed with a hastily arranged and spartan celebration in London. Just as in Antwerp in 1920, it was a case of 'recent aggressors need not apply' - Germany and Japan were not welcome.

World War II in Europe ended in May 1945 with Germany’s surrender, and in the Pacific in August–September 1945 with Japan’s surrender. The next Summer Olympic Games were then held in London from 29 July to 14 August 1948, placing the first postwar Summer Olympics within the 1940s decade.