Now we’ve left 2012 behind, many of us are beginning to feel the pangs of withdrawal from the drama and spectacle of the London Olympics. But while we can’t bring the Games back to the nation’s capital any time soon, there’s still plenty of Olympic spirit to be had simply by visiting the venues. And as you’ll see, the East End isn’t the only place in Europe to have witnessed some impressive sporting feats.
Munich
Let’s start in 1972, and the first time the ‘greatest show on Earth’ had visited Germany since the infamous Berlin Games of 1936. Held in West Germany against the backdrop of the Cold War era, it was actually the first Games to feature a named mascot (a dachshund called Waldi).
- Olympiastadion Munichoefe / Foter.com / CC BY-NC-SA
Over in the pool, the legendary Mark Spitz won seven gold medals; but on the track it was Lasse Viren who stole the show, setting the Olympiastadion alight with his 5,000m and 10,000m victories – an achievement recently emulated by our own Mo Farah.
Moscow
Eight years later it was the turn of the Soviet Union to hold the 1980 Summer Games at the Luzhniki Stadium – or as it was known then, the Grand Arena of the Central Lenin Stadium.
- Luzhniki StadiumKate_Lokteva / Foter.com / CC BY-NC-SA
The biggest sports stadium in Russia, with space for over 100,000 spectators at the time, it is a venue many will remember more recently for hosting the 2008 UEFA Champions League Final between Manchester United and Chelsea. Controversial as the Games were, due to the US-led boycott of the Games, the Luzhniki Stadium will be remembered by track and field fans for the exploits of Seb Coe, Steve Ovett and Daley Thompson in winning 1500m, 800m and decathlon respectively.
Barcelona
The Catalan capital played host to the XXV Olympics and it was a time for celebration, being the first Olympics for over 20 years without a large-scale boycott from any country. 400m hurdler Sally Gunnell and the fastest man in the world at the time, Linford Christie, did Great Britain proud. But the event which brought a tear to most people’s eyes was the men’s 400, in which British competitor Derek Redmond tore a hamstring on the back straight. Refusing to let his dream of crossing an Olympic final finish line fade away, Redmond hobbled the remaining 200m with the aid of his father – who ran on to the track and shooed away the confused Spanish stewards trying to remove the athlete.
Athens
In 2004 the Olympics returned to its birthplace in Greece, at the Athens Games, an event that allowed those on a tour of Europe to experience the sights of both ancient and modern Olympic Games. Plagued with doubts as to whether venues would be finished in time, the XXVIII Olympiad was a spectacular event nonetheless. The beautiful stadium at its centre was the first Summer Olympic stadium to have a glass retractable roof, and it provided an eye-catching backdrop for Dame Kelly Holmes’s 800m and 1500m double gold.
London
And then we come to London. Is it possible to pick out just one or two performances within the fantastic East London stadium? Or to overstate the brilliance of Danny Boyle’s opening ceremony? Whether it’s the Super Saturday starring Greg Rutherford, Jessica Ennis and Mo Farah, or the transition of Usain Bolt from star into legend, the Olympic Stadium saw as many dramatic moments as any Games before it – and all on our very own doorstep.
Now the Olympic Torch will leave Europe once again and head to South America for the Rio Games in 2016. But with Istanbul and Madrid in the running for the 2020 Games, it might not be too long before we see the Olympics at a city near us once again.
