1940 canceled Olympic Games
Tokyo were originally selected to host the 1940 Olympics. Japan pulled out of hosting the Games in July 1938, as at the time they were at war with China. The IOC then awarded the Games to Helsinki, Finland, the city that had been the runner-up in the original bidding process. The Games were eventually canceled altogether after the breakout of WWII in 1939.
Trivia
- The 1940 Games were originally scheduled to be held from 21 September to 6 October in Tokyo, then reorganized to be held earlier from July 20 to August 4, 1940 in Helsinki.
- When Tokyo was chosen in 1936, they became the first non-Western city to win an Olympic bid.
- The main stadium in Tokyo 1940 was planned to be Meiji Jingu Stadium. This stadium was later used at the 1964 Summer Olympics for an exhibition of baseball between a Japanese amateur all-star team and a team made up of US College players.
Related Pages
- Japan at the Olympics
- About the 2020 Tokyo Olympics
- Complete list of Olympic host cities
- About the canceled 1940 Winter Olympics
- 1940: The Year in Sport
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