1944 Summer Olympics — Games of the XIII Olympiad, scheduled in London, United Kingdom, canceled due to World War II
The 1944 Summer Olympics were cancelled due to World War II, marking the fifth outright cancellation of the Olympic Games in history.
Key Facts
- Planned dates
- 22 July to 5 August 1944
- Official name
- Games of the XIII Olympiad
- Reason for cancellation
- World War II
- Cancellation sequence
- Fifth Olympic Games cancelled due to war
- Companion event cancelled
- 1944 Winter Olympics, Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy
- Eventual successor games
- 1948 Summer Olympics, London
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
World War II engulfed much of Europe and the wider world, making the organization and safe conduct of an international athletic gathering impossible. The conflict had already forced the cancellation of the 1940 Summer and Winter Olympics, and by 1944 hostilities showed no sign of abating, leaving London unable to host any large-scale international event.
The International Olympic Committee cancelled the Games of the XIII Olympiad, which had been scheduled for London from 22 July to 5 August 1944, alongside the 1944 Winter Olympics planned for Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy. Despite the official cancellation, unofficial Olympic celebrations were held in Switzerland, and Polish prisoners of war in Nazi-occupied Poland organized their own informal competitions.
London eventually hosted the Summer Olympics in 1948, becoming the first city to host post-war Games. The 1944 cancellation remained the most recent instance of the Olympics being outright cancelled and skipped, as later disruptions — such as the 2020 Tokyo Games delayed to 2021 due to COVID-19 — resulted in postponement rather than cancellation.