Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ

Is money ruining the Olympic Games? The billions of pounds it costs to stage the biggest sporting event on the planet these days has taken the Games a world away from the amateur versions of yesteryear, but does that make them any better?

The sentimentalists will no doubt argue with misty eyes for a return to the good old days, while the pragmatists will say its just natural progression, but whose side are you on?

The last time London hosted the Games, back in 1948, it was very much in the amateur era with athletes using annual leave from work to compete.

But despite there being no Olympic village, there was a tremendous community spirit with participating countries donating 300 tonnes of food to help feed the athletes at a time when ration books were still very much in evidence.

The Olympics were funded on a shoestring budget of just Β£730,000 (Β£44m in today's money) and became known as the Games as organisers had to upgrade existing facilities rather than build new ones.

But did it mark the end of an era in Olympic history as Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Sport presenter Clare Balding suggests in her look at the Ration Book Olympics?

The hour-long programme throws up some wonderful stories.

Male and female athletes lived separately and were housed in RAF stations across the city, although I'm not sure who thought it fit to put some of the women near a red-light district.

meant there were problems for lighting the torch to start the relay, while at the opening ceremony itself, a certain Roger Bannister (who was six years away from sub-four-minute-mile fame) saved the British team from huge embarrassment. (You'll have to listen to the programme to find out how).

British athletes, such as behind Dutch legend Fanny Blankers-Koen, said she used up all her holiday time from work to be able to compete.

The decathlon ran into problems when the pole vault over-ran meaning the competitors had to deal with the fading light in the javelin discipline.

America's Bob Mathias, who won the gold medal, explained: "The pole vault lasted way too long and it got dark.

"And they didn't have lights for the infield so the officials shone flashlights on the foul marker and once you threw the javelin it would disappear into the darkness.

"Then all of a sudden you'd hear a thud at the other end and see a bunch of flashlights running out to where the javelin had stuck."

The Games were also noted for being the last where medals were handed out in

But, despite being cobbled together on a tight budget, the Games were hailed as a success and even made a profit, to the taxman's delight.

And that was without ever cashing the 1,000-guinea cheque sent by the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ to pay for the rights to cover the event.

I'm sure my boss would be delighted if the rights fee was waived again in 2012, but somehow I can't see it happening.

Ration Book Olympics - part of a series of programmes on the Games - was broadcast on Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Radio 4 on Saturday, 14 June at 2000 BST. You can listen again to the programme for up to seven days after broadcast.