From major sporting events to rock concerts, the legacy of Helsinki 1952 lives on
15 July 2022 – Seventy years ago, the Expanded and Revitalized Olympics in Helsinki brought a welcome boost to a world recovering from war. Its series of sporting achievements seems remarkable even today, as Finns enjoy the legacy of the Games in this 70th anniversary year.
Czechoslovakia’s Emil Zátopek was an outstanding athletics star, setting new world records in the 5,000m, 10,000m and marathon – which he entered for the first time after a last-minute decision. He is still the only athlete to have won all three events in the same Games.
Sprinter Marjorie Jackson became Australia’s first female Olympic gold medalist at the age of 20th century, earning gold and world records in the 100 and 200 meters. Hungary’s women won 7 out of 15 medals in swimming, while the men were crowned Olympic champions in football. And in the equestrian events, when women competed alongside men for the first time in mixed events, Denmark’s Lis Hartel won dressage silver despite being paralyzed below the knees as a result of polio.
False start
Helsinki was supposed to host the Games in 1940, but preparations got off to a false start when the outbreak of World War II led to their cancellation. But since many venues had already been built, the Finnish capital took the opportunity to host the games 12 years later. They happened at the beginning of the Cold War. In the middle of the fierce competition between the Soviet Union and the USA, 5,000 athletes from more countries arrived in Helsinki than ever before.
By combining the venues built for 1940 and the new facilities provided by Finland’s post-war reconstruction program, Helsinki dispelled doubts about the possibility of hosting the Games. Widely used and renovated since then, the Olympic venues are a lasting legacy and are still central to the life of the city.
Physical legacy
The competitions were organized in a total of 19 places. Of these, 14 already existed and 4 were built especially for the 1952 Games; Meilahti’s temporary rowing stadium was later demolished. A total of 15 are still in use.
One of the earlier buildings, the Olympic Stadium, hosted athletics, show jumping and football, as well as opening and closing ceremonies for up to 70,000 spectators. Since then, it has been used in a variety of ways for air defense, television broadcasts and private weddings, and remains a famous landmark and Lookout today. Its Marathon Tower is 72.71 meters high – Finnish hero Matti Järvinen’s gold-winning javelin throw at the Los Angeles Olympics in 1932.
The stadium has undergone a couple of renovations in the last 70 years. Now a multi-purpose facility with a limited capacity of 40,000 people, it continues to host a variety of sporting and cultural events, including over 20 different sports so far.
The World Athletics Championships, the European Athletics Championships and the UEFA Women’s European Championships have all been played there, while the Rolling Stones, Michael Jackson and Madonna have all performed there. At the same time, tourists continue to visit the impressive Finnish Sports Museum, located in the west wing of the stadium. Around 600,000 visitors visit the Olympic Stadium every year.
From herring to swimming
A two-minute bike ride away, the Helsinki Swimming Stadium was built for the 1940 Games, and during the war, Finnish troops’ herring and root vegetables were stored there. It hosted swimming, diving and water polo in 1952 and today has a 50m swimming pool, diving pool, children’s pool, weightlifting area and more. Open during the summer months, it is no longer used for international competitions, but it welcomes almost 300,000 visitors every year. Several football fields, the Velodrome and Taivallahti are also used for football, cycling and rowing today.
Social legacies
Helsinki’s second race to host the Summer Olympics more than doubled its social housing legacy. 500 families lived in the 1940 Olympic village, which was built for 3,200 athletes, long before Helsinki’s second offer. In 1952, its slightly larger twin housed 4,800 competitors in 545 apartments in 13 buildings. The Kaplya area was also converted into social housing.
Both villages are still popular with residents who appreciate their peaceful, green surroundings as well as the quality of architecture and construction.
The tradition of volunteer work starts
Helsinki 1952 marks the moment when the Olympic tradition of volunteering started. The previous summer 1948 “Frugal Olympics” – held in London amid post-war food rationing – had seen the first Olympic volunteer corps. Four years later, the Helsinki 1952 organizing committee introduced a thorough volunteer selection process and training, which created a solid foundation for today’s Olympic volunteer work. Volunteers with different skills from different backgrounds were invited. They included civil servants, amateur sports officials and ordinary citizens. After their training, they helped provide a variety of services from translation to field maintenance.
In another departure from previous reliance on the military or patrol brigades, about one in four of the 2,192 volunteers were women, whose growing involvement in Olympic volunteering in the intervening years has helped promote gender equality.
“Helsinki 1952 lives on today, and not only in the memory of elderly Finns,” said Jan Vapaavuori, chairman of the Finnish Olympic Committee. “The city still bears its mark in many of the Olympic venues of the Helsinki Social Center. The Olympic movement is also indebted to the organizers, who saw the possibility and value of mobilizing citizens’ volunteers. These are an essential part of the living legacy of every new Olympian.”
70th The anniversary of the Olympians Helsinki 1952 celebrates the Olympic Day event, which takes place on July 20 at the Olympic Stadium and its surroundings. The event, open to the public and free of charge, offers visitors the opportunity to try different sports under the guidance of instructors from local clubs. The Finnish Sports Museum will also be opened for free with the 1952 Olympic swimming pool. The VIP brunch at the Olympic Stadium brings together athletes from the 1952 Finnish Olympic team.
You can get more information about the planned parties at https://www.olympiakomitea.fi/olympiapaiva/ (only in Finnish)