Official Olympic documents go online

Government papers relating to the 1908 and 1948 Olympic Games in London were published online today by the National Archives. It is part of a collection that has been released with information on all the games going back to 1896.

Organisers of the 2012 Olympics will recognise many of the problems. Amongst the collection is a Metropolitan Police report warning of traffic problems in Shepherds Bush because of the 1908 Olympic marathon.

There is also a letter discussing who should be responsible for organising accommodation for the athletes at the 1948 games. They were run on a tight budget and the Air Ministry was asked to see if athletes could be put up in the Wembley area.

In 1979, the Greater London Council (which had Ken Livingstone as a councillor) came up with a plan to stage the 1988 Olympics by building a new stadium at Royal Victoria Dock. However, concerns over cost and a lack of support from the Government meant it never happened. It was only when Livingstone became London mayor 21 years later that plans to bring the Olympics back to London were followed through.