After the war ended, London took on the unenviable task of staging the 1948 Olympics, the first in 12 years.

There was much grumbling in England that the project was a waste of money, considering that Britain was still recovering from the war.

However, the Games went off well, and interest among Londoners increased rapidly as the competitions progressed.

Following the precedent set after World War I, the World War II losers, Germany and Japan, were not invited to participate.

A minor incident developed when two swimmers from Northern Ireland were refused permission to compete for the team from Eire (Ireland).

The 1948 Olympics also saw participation by Communist countries and, with this, the first defections of participants.