The anticipated 1916 Summer Olympics, which were to be officially known as the Games of the VI Olympiad, were to have been held in Berlin, Germany.
History
Work on the stadium began in 1912 at what was the Grunewald Race Course, it was to seat 18,000 people.[1] On June 8, 1913 the stadium was dedicated with the release of 10,000 pigeons. 60,000 people were in attendance.[2]
At the outbreak of World War I in 1914, organization continued as no one anticipated that the war would continue for several years. Eventually, though, the Games were cancelled.[3] Alexandria and Budapest had bid unsuccessfully for the 1916 Games.
A Winter sports week with speed skating, figure skating, ice hockey and nordic skiing was planned; the concept of this week eventually gave rise to the Winter Olympics. The central venue was to have been the Deutsche Stadion (German Stadium), which was built in 1912–13. Berlin returned to Olympic bidding in 1931, when it beat Barcelona, Spain for the right to host the 1936 Summer Olympics.[4]
References
- ^ "Berlin Stadium Is Begun. Olympic Meeting Place to be at the Grunewald Race Course.". New York Times. August 11, 1912. http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=9A00EFDD1F3CE633A25752C1A96E9C946396D6CF. Retrieved 2009-07-23. "Work has already been begun on the Olympic Stadium for 1916. Its opening will take place next year, when sports will be held there to celebrate the ..."
- ^ "60,000 Dedicate Berlin Stadium. Ten Thousand Pigeons Carry Address on Athletics and Patriotism to All Parts of Empire.". New York Times. June 9, 1913. http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=9C00E3D71F3AE633A2575AC0A9609C946296D6CF. Retrieved 2009-07-23. "In the presence the Kaiser and his sons and a great concourse of notables, the Berlin Stadium was opened today. ..."
- ^ Pelle, Kimberly D.; Findling, John E. (1996). Historical dictionary of the modern Olympic movement. Westport, Conn: Greenwood Press. pp. 47–53. ISBN 0-313-28477-6. http://books.google.com/books?id=InQ_9QaRTlMC&pg=PA52&dq=1916+Summer+Olympics+berlin&ei=Xgu_SJqJDpKQzQTyyqGKDg&sig=ACfU3U0zyPFfvQ-DHSQKUD46oNB3ygeznQ.
- ^ Guttmann, Allen (2002). The Olympics, a history of the modern games. Urbana: University of Illinois Press. pp. 53. ISBN 0-252-07046-1. http://books.google.com/books?id=TbLmQQG-2bQC&pg=PA53&vq=1931&dq=1931+Summer+Olympics+berlin+barcelona&source=gbs_search_s&sig=ACfU3U2E0IXGK2lc0RdxUps0oscnR1fJsA.
See also
| Preceded by Stockholm |
Summer Olympic Games Berlin (abandoned) VI Olympiad (1916) |
Succeeded by Antwerp |
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