The 1952 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad, were an international

International

----International mostly means something that involves more than one country. The term international as a word means involvement of, interaction between or encompassing more than one nation, or generally beyond national boundaries...

 multi-sport event

Multi-sport event

A multi-sport event is an organized sporting event, often held over multiple days, featuring competition in many different sports between organized teams of athletes from nation-states. The first major, modern, multi-sport event of international significance was the modern Olympic Games.Many...

 held in Helsinki

Helsinki

Helsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...

, Finland

Finland

Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...

 in 1952. Helsinki had been earlier given the 1940 Summer Olympics

1940 Summer Olympics

The anticipated 1940 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XII Olympiad and originally scheduled to be held from September 21 to October 6, 1940, in Tokyo, Japan, were cancelled due to the outbreak of World War II...

, which were cancelled due to World War II. It is famous for being the Olympic Games at which the most number of world records were broken, before the 2008 Summer Olympics

2008 Summer Olympics

The 2008 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, was a major international multi-sport event that took place in Beijing, China, from August 8 to August 24, 2008. A total of 11,028 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees competed in 28 sports and 302 events...

 in Beijing

Beijing

Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...

.

Host city selection

Helsinki was chosen as the host city over bids from Amsterdam and five American cities at the 40th IOC Session on June 21, 1947, in Stockholm

Stockholm

Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...

, Sweden

Sweden

Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

.

The voting results, in a chart below, comes from the International Olympic Committee Vote History web page.

1952 Summer Olympics bidding results
City	Country	Round 1	Round 2
Helsinki Helsinki Helsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...	Finland	14	15
Minneapolis	United States	4	5
Los Angeles Los Ángeles Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...	United States	4	5
Amsterdam Amsterdam Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...	Netherlands	3	3
Detroit	United States	2	—
Chicago Chicago Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...	United States	1	—
Philadelphia	United States	0	—

Highlights

• To the enjoyment of the Finnish crowd, the Olympic Flame
  Olympic Flame
  The Olympic Flame or Olympic Torch is a symbol of the Olympic Games. Commemorating the theft of fire from the Greek god Zeus by Prometheus, its origins lie in ancient Greece, where a fire was kept burning throughout the celebration of the ancient Olympics. The fire was reintroduced at the 1928...
  
   was lit by two Finnish heroes, runners
  Running
  Running is a means of terrestrial locomotion allowing humans and other animals to move rapidly on foot. It is simply defined in athletics terms as a gait in which at regular points during the running cycle both feet are off the ground...
  
   Paavo Nurmi
  Paavo Nurmi
  Paavo Johannes Nurmi was a Finnish runner. Born in Turku, he was known as one of the "Flying Finns," a term given to him, Hannes Kolehmainen, Ville Ritola, and others for their distinction in running...
  
   and Hannes Kolehmainen
  Hannes Kolehmainen
  Juho Pietari "Hannes" Kolehmainen was a Finnish long-distance runner. He is considered to be the first of a generation of great Finnish long distance runners, often named the "Flying Finns". Kolehmainen competed for a number of years in the United States, wearing the Winged Fist of the Irish...
  
  .
• For the first time, a team from the Soviet Union participated in the Olympics. The first gold medal for the USSR was won by Nina Romashkova
  Nina Romashkova
  Nina Apollonovna Ponomaryova was a Soviet/Russian discus thrower, the first Soviet Olympic Champion.She became interested in athletics since 1947, when she entered the Physical Training Faculty of the Stavropol Pedagogical Institute...
  
   in the women's discus throwing
  Discus throw
  The discus throw is an event in track and field athletics competition, in which an athlete throws a heavy disc—called a discus—in an attempt to mark a farther distance than his or her competitors. It is an ancient sport, as evidenced by the 5th century BC Myron statue, Discobolus...
  
   event, and the Soviet women's gymnastics team won the first of its eight consecutive gold medals.
• Israel
  Israel
  The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
  
   made its Olympic debut. The Jewish state had been unable to participate in the 1948 Games because of its War of Independence. A previous Palestine Mandate team had boycotted the 1936 Games
  1936 Summer Olympics
  The 1936 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XI Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event which was held in 1936 in Berlin, Germany. Berlin won the bid to host the Games over Barcelona, Spain on April 26, 1931, at the 29th IOC Session in Barcelona...
  
   in protest of the Nazi
  Nazi Germany
  Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
  
   regime.
• The Republic of China
  Republic of China
  The Republic of China , commonly known as Taiwan , is a unitary sovereign state located in East Asia. Originally based in mainland China, the Republic of China currently governs the island of Taiwan , which forms over 99% of its current territory, as well as Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu and other minor...
  
   (Chinese Taipei
  Chinese Taipei
  Chinese Taipei is the designated name used by the Republic of China , commonly known as Taiwan, to participate in some international organizations and almost all sporting events, such as the Olympics, Paralympics, Asian Games and Asian Para Games...
  
  /Taiwan), listed as "China (Formosa)", withdrew from the Games on July 20, in protest of the allowing of the People's Republic of China's men and women to compete.
• Hungary
  Hungary
  Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
  
  , a country of 9 million inhabitants, won 42 medals at these games, coming in third place behind the much more populous United States and Soviet Union.
• Hungary
  Hungary national football team
  The Hungary national football team represents Hungary in international football and is controlled by the Hungarian Football Federation....
  
  's Golden Team
  Golden Team
  The Golden Team refers to the Hungary national football team of the 1950s. It is associated with several notable matches, including the "Match of the Century" against England in 1953, and the quarter-final , semi-final and final of the 1954 FIFA World Cup...
  
  won the football
  Football at the 1952 Summer Olympics
  The 1952 Olympic football tournament signalled the arrival of the 'Golden Team'; the 'Magical Magyars': Hungary. Ferenc Puskás, the great Hungarian known as the 'Galloping Major' for his military title, said of the 1952 competition: "It was during the Olympics that our football first started to...
  
   tournament, beating Yugoslavia
  Yugoslavia national football team
  The Yugoslavia national football team represented the Kingdom of Yugoslavia and the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in association football. It enjoyed a modicum of success in international competition. In 1992, during the Yugoslav wars, the team was suspended from international...
  
   2–0 in the final.
• Germany and Japan were invited after being barred in 1948. Following the post-war occupation and partition, three German states had been established. Teams from the Federal Republic of Germany and the Saarland
  Saar (protectorate)
  The Saar Protectorate was a German borderland territory twice temporarily made a protectorate state. Since rejoining Germany the second time in 1957, it is the smallest Federal German Area State , the Saarland, not counting the city-states Berlin, Hamburg and Bremen...
  
   (which joined the FRG after 1955) participated; the German Democratic Republic
  German Democratic Republic
  The German Democratic Republic , informally called East Germany by West Germany and other countries, was a socialist state established in 1949 in the Soviet zone of occupied Germany, including East Berlin of the Allied-occupied capital city...
  
   (East Germany) was absent. Though they won 24 medals, the fifth-highest total at the Games, German competitors failed to win a gold medal for the only time.
• Rules in equestrianism
  Equestrianism
  Equestrianism more often known as riding, horseback riding or horse riding refers to the skill of riding, driving, or vaulting with horses...
  
   now allowed non-military officers to compete, including women. Lis Hartel
  Lis Hartel
  Lis Hartel was a Danish equestrian athlete. Hartel became the first woman in equestrianism to win an Olympic medal when she won silver medals at the 1952 and 1956 Summer Olympics in dressage. She accomplished this feat despite being paralysed below the knees as a result of polio and required...
  
   of Denmark
  Denmark
  Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
  
   became the first woman in the sport to win a medal.
• Emil Zátopek
  Emil Zátopek
  Emil Zátopek was a Czech long-distance runner best known for winning three gold medals at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki. He won gold in the 5000 metres and 10,000 metres runs, but his final medal came when he decided at the last minute to compete in the first marathon of his life...
  
   of Czechoslovakia
  Czechoslovakia
  Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
  
   won three gold medals in the 5,000 m, 10,000 m and the Marathon
  Marathon
  The marathon is a long-distance running event with an official distance of 42.195 kilometres , that is usually run as a road race...
  
   (which he had never run before).
• The India national field hockey team
  India national field hockey team
  The India national field hockey team is the national men's team representing field hockey in India. It is the first non-European team to be a part of the International Hockey Federation....
  
   won its fifth consecutive gold.
• Bob Mathias
  Bob Mathias
  Robert Bruce "Bob" Mathias was an American decathlete, two-time Olympic gold medalist, actor and United States Congressman representing the state of California.-Early life and athletic career:...
  
   of the United States became the first Olympian to successfully defend his decathlon
  Decathlon
  The decathlon is a combined event in athletics consisting of ten track and field events. The word decathlon is of Greek origin . Events are held over two consecutive days and the winners are determined by the combined performance in all. Performance is judged on a points system in each event, not...
  
   title with a total score of 7,887 points.
• Josy Barthel
  Josy Barthel
  Joseph Barthel was a Luxembourgish athlete. He was the surprise winner of the Men's 1500 metres at the 1952 Summer Olympics, and the only athlete from Luxembourg to have won a gold medal at the Olympics...
  
   of Luxembourg
  Luxembourg
  Luxembourg , officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg , is a landlocked country in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany. It has two principal regions: the Oesling in the North as part of the Ardennes massif, and the Gutland in the south...
  
   pulled a major surprise by winning the 1500 m.

Sports

Athletics Athletics at the 1952 Summer Olympics At the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, 33 athletics events were contested, 24 for men and 9 for women. There were a total number of 963 participating athletes from 57 countries.-Medal table:-Men's events:-Women's events:-References:... Basketball Basketball at the 1952 Summer Olympics Basketball at the 1952 Summer Olympics was the third appearance of the sport. 23 nations entered the competition.The top six teams at the 1948 Summer Olympics qualified automatically, as did the 1950 World Champion , the top two at the 1951 European championships , and the host country... Boxing Boxing at the 1952 Summer Olympics Final results for the Boxing competition at the 1952 Summer Olympics. The events were held at Messuhalli.-Medal table:- Flyweight :- Bantamweight :- Featherweight :- Lightweight :... Canoeing Canoeing at the 1952 Summer Olympics At the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, nine events in sprint canoe racing were contested. The program was unchanged from the previous Games in 1948.-Men's events:-Women's event:-Medal table:-References:* pp. 624–37.... Cycling Cycling at the 1952 Summer Olympics The cycling competition at the 1952 Summer Olympics consisted of two road cycling events and four track cycling events, all for men only.-Medal summary:-Medal table:... Diving Diving at the 1952 Summer Olympics At the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, four diving events were contested.-Medal summary:The events are labelled as 3 metre springboard and 10 metre platform by the International Olympic Committee, and appeared on the 1952 Official Report as springboard diving and high diving,... Equestrian Equestrian at the 1952 Summer Olympics The Equestrian Events at the 1952 Helsinki Summer Olympics included Dressage, Eventing, and Show Jumping. All three disciplines had both individual and team competitions. The competitions were held from July 28, 1952 to August 3, 1952.-Medal summary:... Fencing Fencing at the 1952 Summer Olympics At the 1952 Summer Olympics, seven fencing events were contested, six for men and one for women.-Medal summary:-Medal table:-Participating nations:A total of 286 fencers from 32 nations competed at the Helsikni Games:... Field hockey Field hockey at the 1952 Summer Olympics Final results for the Hockey competition at the 1952 Summer Olympics:Only a men's competition occurred that year.-Medal summary:-Bracket:-Participating nations:... Football Football at the 1952 Summer Olympics The 1952 Olympic football tournament signalled the arrival of the 'Golden Team'; the 'Magical Magyars': Hungary. Ferenc Puskás, the great Hungarian known as the 'Galloping Major' for his military title, said of the 1952 competition: "It was during the Olympics that our football first started to...

Gymnastics Gymnastics at the 1952 Summer Olympics Gymnastics at the 1952 Summer Olympics was represented by 15 events: 7 for women and 8 for men. All events were held between July 19 and July 24 in the Messuhalli building in Helsinki... Modern pentathlon Modern pentathlon at the 1952 Summer Olympics At the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, two events in modern pentathlon were contested. For the first time, a team event was part of the Olympic program.-Medal summary:-Medal table:... Rowing Rowing at the 1952 Summer Olympics Rowing at the 1952 Summer Olympics featured 7 events, for men only. The competitions were held from July 20, 1952 to July 23, 1952.-Medal summary:-Medal table:-References:*... Sailing Sailing at the 1952 Summer Olympics Sailing/Yachting is a Olympic sport starting from the Games of the 1st Olympiad . With the exception of 1904 and possible 1916 sailing was always a part of the Olympic program.... Shooting Shooting at the 1952 Summer Olympics With the competitions in shooting at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, the Olympic shooting program began its expansion. Three new events were added: 100 metre running deer, 50 metre rifle three positions and trap. In total there were seven events.... Swimming Swimming at the 1952 Summer Olympics At the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, a total number of eleven swimming events were contested, six for men and five for women. The events were held at the Swimming Stadium. There was a total of 319 participants from 48 countries competing.-Medal table:... Water polo Water polo at the 1952 Summer Olympics -Medal summary:-Results:For the team rosters see: Water polo at the 1952 Summer Olympics - Men's team squads.-Final standings:-References:*... Weightlifting Weightlifting at the 1952 Summer Olympics The weightlifting competition at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki consisted of seven weight classes, all for men only. The middle-heavyweight division was a newly created weight class, moving the heavyweight class up from 82.5 kg to 90 kg. The events were held at Messuhalli.-Medal... Wrestling Wrestling at the 1952 Summer Olympics At the 1952 Summer Olympics, 16 wrestling events were contested, for all men. There were eight weight classes in Greco-Roman wrestling and eight classes in freestyle wrestling...

Demonstration sports

• Handball
• Finnish baseball
  Baseball at the 1952 Summer Olympics
  Baseball returned as a demonstration sport for the third time at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, Finland. The game played was actually a variant of the sport called Finnish baseball or "pesäpallo"....
  
  

Venues

• Hämeenlinna
  Hämeenlinna
  Hämeenlinna is a city and municipality of about inhabitants in the heart of the historical province of Häme in the south of Finland and is the birthplace of composer Jean Sibelius. Today, it belongs to the region of Tavastia Proper, and until 2010 it was the residence city for the Governor of the...
  
   - Modern pentathlon
• Harmaja
  Harmaja
  Harmaja is an island and a lighthouse outside Helsinki, south of the Suomenlinna sea fortress. The island has been functioning as a landmark since the 16th century. A landmark structure was built on the island in the 18th century and a light house in 1883. The first lighthouse was only 7.3 m high...
  
   - Sailing
• Helsinki Football Grounds - Football
• Huopalahti
  Huopalahti
  Huopalahti was a municipality during the years 1920–1945 in Uusimaa, Finland. The municipality was bilingual.Current areas of Munkkiniemi, Lauttasaari and parts of northern Pasila were parts of Huopalahti....
  
   - Shooting (shotgun)
• Käpylä
  Käpylä
  Käpylä is a neighbourhood of Helsinki with 7,600 inhabitants. Administratively speaking, Käpylä is a part of the Vanhakaupunki district.It is located between Kumpula, Oulunkylä and Koskela...
  
   - Cycling (road)
• Kotka
  Arto Tolsa Areena
  Arto Tolsa Areena is a football stadium in Kotka, Finland. It is the home stadium of KTP and FC KooTeePee. The stadium holds 4,780 and was inaugurated in 1952 for the Helsinki Olympics. The stadium's record attendance was made during the Olympic Games in the football match between the Soviet...
  
   - Football
• Laakso
  Laakso
  Laakso is a neighbourhood in Helsinki, Finland. Its borders are defined by the streets of Mannerheimintie and Nordenskiöldinkatu and the Helsinki Central Park...
  
   - Equestrian (eventing - riding)
• Lahti
  Lahti
  Lahti is a city and municipality in Finland.Lahti is the capital of the Päijänne Tavastia region. It is situated on a bay at the southern end of lake Vesijärvi about north-east of the capital Helsinki...
  
   - Football
• Liuskasaari
  Liuskasaari
  Liuskasaari is an island located south of Helsinki, Finland. This island is home of the Helsingfors Segelsällskap, one of the oldest sailing clubs in Finland.The island hosted some of the sailing events for the 1952 Summer Olympics.-References:* p. 58.*...
  
   - Sailing
• Malmi Rifle Range
  Malmi, Helsinki
  Malmi is a regional center and a major district on the north-eastern part of Helsinki, Finland.It has a population of 24,312 . Malmi is divided into six subareas, which are Ylä-Malmi, Ala-Malmi, Pihlajamäki, Tattariharju, Malmin lentokenttä and Pihlajisto.Malmin peruspiiri is a related but...
  
   - Shooting (pistol/ rifle)
• Maunula
  Maunula
  Maunula , Månsas is a northwestern neighborhood of Helsinki, Finland.For the 1952 Summer Olympics, it hosted part of the road cycling events.-Reference:* p. 554....
  
   - Cycling (road)
• Meilahti
  Meilahti
  Meilahti is a neighbourhood of Helsinki between Mannerheimintie and a bay named Seurasaarenselkä. Most of the houses in Meilahti were built in the 1930s and 1940s. Meilahti is home to over 6700 people including the President of Finland Tarja Halonen who lives on the shore in the President's...
  
   - Rowing
• Messuhalli
  Töölö Sports Hall
  Töölö Sports Hall is a sports venue located in the Töölö district of Helsinki, Finland. It was built in 1935 as Messuhalli...
  
   - Basketball (final), boxing, gymnastics, weightlifting, wrestling
• Olympic Stadium
  Helsinki Olympic Stadium
  The Helsinki Olympic Stadium , located in the Töölö district about from the center of the Finnish capital Helsinki, is the largest stadium in the country, nowadays mainly used for hosting sports events and big concerts. The stadium is best known for being the center of activities in the 1952...
  
   - Athletics, Equestrian (jumping), Football (final)
• Pakila
  Pakila
  Pakila is a neighbourhood in Northern Helsinki. It comprises Länsi-Pakila and Itä-Pakila. Pakila has approximately 9,829 inhabitants which of 6464 lives in Länsi-Pakila and 3365 in Itä-Pakila...
  
   - Cycling (road)
• Ruskeasuo Equestrian Hall
  Ruskeasuo
  Ruskeasuo is a neighbourhood of Helsinki , about 3 kilometres north of the city centre....
  
   - Equestrian (dressage, eventing)
• Swimming Stadium
  Helsinki Swimming Stadium
  Helsinki Swimming Stadium is an outdoors swimming venue in Helsinki, Finland, located in the Eläintarha area to the northeast of the Helsinki Olympic Stadium.-History:...
  
   - Diving, Swimming, Water polo
• Taivallahti
  Töölö Rowing Stadium
  The Töölö Rowing Stadium is a rowing and canoeing venue located a kilometer from Helsinki Olympic Stadium in Helsinki, Finland.Originally constructed for the 1940 Summer Olympics that were cancelled in the wake of what became known as World War II, the venue was not approved by the International...
  
   - Canoeing
• Tali Race Track
  Tali, Helsinki
  Tali is a neighbourhood located in Pitäjänmäki district of Western Helsinki, Finland., Tali has 1,078 inhabitants living in an area of 1.01 km2.The race track hosted the steeplechase eventing equestrian competition for the 1952 Summer Olympics....
  
   - Equestrian (eventing steeplechase)
• Tampere
  Tampere
  Tampere is a city in southern Finland. It is the most populous inland city in any of the Nordic countries. The city has a population of , growing to approximately 300,000 people in the conurbation and over 340,000 in the metropolitan area. Tampere is the third most-populous municipality in...
  
   - Football
• Tennis Palace
  Tennispalatsi
  Tennispalatsi , is a cultural and recreational center in Kamppi, Helsinki, Finland. It houses a Finnkino movie theatre, the Art Museum Tennis Palace, the Museum of Cultures, and small shops....
  
   - Basketball
• Turku
  Veritas Stadion
  Veritas Stadion is a football stadium in Turku, Finland. It is situated in the district of Kupittaa, in an area dedicated to sporting venues...
  
   - Football
• Velodrome
  Helsinki Velodrome
  The Helsinki Velodrome is an outdoor velodrome and football stadium in Helsinki, Finland. It was built in 1938–1940 for the 1940 Summer Olympics which were cancelled due to World War II. After the war, it was a venue of the 1952 Summer Olympics for the track cycling and field hockey events.The...
  
   - Cycling (track), Field hockey
• Westend Tennis Hall
  Espoo
  Espoo is the second largest city and municipality in Finland. The population of the city of Espoo is . It is part of the Helsinki Metropolitan Area along with the cities of Helsinki, Vantaa, and Kauniainen. Espoo shares its eastern border with Helsinki and Vantaa, while enclosing Kauniainen....
  
   - Fencing

Participating nations

A total of 69 nations participated in these Games, up from 59 in the 1948 Games

1948 Summer Olympics

The 1948 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XIV Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was held in London, England, United Kingdom. After a 12-year hiatus because of World War II, these were the first Summer Olympics since the 1936 Games in Berlin...

. Thirteen nations made their first Olympic appearance in 1952: The Bahamas

The Bahamas

The Bahamas , officially the Commonwealth of the Bahamas, is a nation consisting of 29 islands, 661 cays, and 2,387 islets . It is located in the Atlantic Ocean north of Cuba and Hispaniola , northwest of the Turks and Caicos Islands, and southeast of the United States...

, the People's Republic of China

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

, Gold Coast

Gold Coast (British colony)

The Gold Coast was a British colony on the Gulf of Guinea in west Africa that became the independent nation of Ghana in 1957.-Overview:The first Europeans to arrive at the coast were the Portuguese in 1471. They encountered a variety of African kingdoms, some of which controlled substantial...

 (now Ghana

Ghana

Ghana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...

), Guatemala

Guatemala

Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...

, Hong Kong

Hong Kong

Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...

, Indonesia

Indonesia

Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...

, Israel

Israel

The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...

, Netherlands Antilles

Netherlands Antilles

The Netherlands Antilles , also referred to informally as the Dutch Antilles, was an autonomous Caribbean country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, consisting of two groups of islands in the Lesser Antilles: Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao , in Leeward Antilles just off the Venezuelan coast; and Sint...

, Nigeria

Nigeria

Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...

, Soviet Union

Soviet Union

The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

 (USSR), Thailand

Thailand

Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...

, and Vietnam

Vietnam

Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...

.

Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

 and Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 were both reinstated and permitted to send athletes after being banned for 1948 for their instigation of World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

. Due to the division of Germany, German athletes from Saar

Saar (protectorate)

The Saar Protectorate was a German borderland territory twice temporarily made a protectorate state. Since rejoining Germany the second time in 1957, it is the smallest Federal German Area State , the Saarland, not counting the city-states Berlin, Hamburg and Bremen...

 entered a separate team for the only time. Only West Germany

West Germany

West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....

 would provide athletes for the actual Germany team, since East Germany refused to participate in a joint German team.

(Host nation)

Medal count

These are the top ten nations that won medals at these Games.

1		40	19	17	76
2		22	30	19	71
3		16	10	16	42
4		12	13	10	35
5		8	9	4	21
6		7	3	3	13
7		6	6	6	18
8		6	3	13	22
9		6	2	3	11
10		3	2	0	5

See also

• 
  The 50th anniversary of the Helsinki Olympic Games was the main motif for a one of the first Finnish euro silver commemorative coins, the 50th anniversary of the Helsinki Olympic Games commemorative coin, minted in 2002. On the reverse, a view of the Helsinki Olympic Stadium
  Helsinki Olympic Stadium
  The Helsinki Olympic Stadium , located in the Töölö district about from the center of the Finnish capital Helsinki, is the largest stadium in the country, nowadays mainly used for hosting sports events and big concerts. The stadium is best known for being the center of activities in the 1952...
  
  can be seen. On the right, the 500 markka commemorative coin minted in 1952 celebrating the occasion is depicted.

External links

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