Image: The C.P.S (Cathode Potential Stabilisation) Emitron cameras televising events at the Empire Pool, Wembley on 2nd August, during the 1948 Olympic Games.
The 1948 Olympic Games were held in Wembley and the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ televised them for the first time. An unprecedented outside broadcasting operation took place, starting with the opening ceremony on 29 July. The Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ provided facilities for the broadcasters of the 61 competing nations, so they could be seen and heard around the world. The first Olympics since the end of the War proved a great success, with athletes such as Fanny Blankers-Koen and Emil Zatopek capturing the public imagination.
The Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ screened over 50 hours of television during the two weeks of the Games. Writing in the Radio Times, OB Manager Ian Orr-Ewing expressed a wish that viewers would break the habit of watching everything that was on:
It is hoped that this habit will not persist during the period of the Olympic Games or viewers will be easily recognised in the streets of London by their pallid appearance!
The 1948 Olympics was a triumph for the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ OB Department. Action scenes were much clearer with the use of advanced Emitron cameras. Although there were only about 100,000 televisions in the country - mostly in London - it showed the potential of television to bring sporting events to large audiences. When the Olympics returned to London in 2012, the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ covered all the events and 51.9 million people - 90% of the population – tuned in.
The Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ and the 1948 Olympic Games
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The Birth of TV: London 1948 Olympics
The '100 Voices that Made the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ' project unearth unique oral histories from the team who made the biggest outside broadcast ever attempted. -
Broadcasting the 1948 Games
How the coverage looked, sounded and how it was promoted by the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ in 1948. -
Staging the 1948 Olympic Games
Senior television engineer Norman Green recalls the preparation for the biggest outside broadcast yet attempted -
Working on the London 1948 Olympic Games
Producers, camera operators, and others recall how they coped with a tiny budget and pre-war equipment.
July anniversaries
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Investiture of the Prince of Wales
1 July 1969 -
Masterchef
2 July 1990 -
Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Television News and Newsreel
5 July 1954 -
To the Ends of the Earth
6 July 2005 -
Hancock's Half Hour television show
6 July 1956 -
London Calling Europe began
6 July 1941 -
The Old Man of Hoy
8 July 1967 -
The first episode of The Office
9 July 2001 -
Andy Pandy
11 July 1950 -
It's That Man Again
12 July 1939 -
Watchdog
14 July 1985 -
What's My Line
16 July 1951 -
Toytown first transmitted
19 July 1929 -
Pot Black first transmitted
23 July 1969 -
Countryfile first broadcast
24 July 1988 -
Start of the Light Programme
29 July 1945 -
Olympic Games from Wembley first televised
29 July 1948 -
The Wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer
29 July 1981 -
The World Cup Final
30 July 1966 -
Dad's Army
31 July 1968