Olympic 1932 Facts

Games with a distinctly Hollywood flavour

Set close to the famous studios in Hollywood, the organisers of the Los Angeles Games had anticipated a large scale event, and after a few fruitless attempts, eventually found themselves worthy of the task. Gigantism and professionalism are the buzz words of this particular Olympiad which, in the end, is an undeniable success.

Despite the Wall Street crash in 1929, California is not directly affected by the financial slump. Thanks to a municipal subsidy of $1.5 million, a loan of $1 million, and several financial gifts from the private sector, the organisers are able to set the Olympiad in motion. In particular, an Olympic village is built, as well as a huge Olympic-size stadium.

Although the concept of such a village had already appeared in Paris eight years earlier, the Americans went a stage further by providing the athletes, from all corners of the globe, with 700 prefabricated maisonettes. Designed in colonial style, the accomodation was set on a golf course overlooking the Pacific.

Continuing their effort to make these Games special, members of the organisation committee took the decision to enlarge the Coliseum. Designed in 1920, its 75,000 capacity was, in their eyes, simply not large enough and it was enlarged to hold 105,000 spectators. A stadium for equestrian events was also built - with a 10,000 capacity, and Pasadena football stadium was also transformed into an 85,000 capacity velodrome.

3000 entertainers help to make the opening an historically-special event.

But what might have at first passed for a purley megalomaniac approach by the organisers actually turns out to be a roaring success. The opening ceremony is a colourful and attractive spectacle - with near to 3000 singers and musicians performing in full view of the stars of Hollywood who came from near and far to soak up the much-hyped atmosphere.

The coliseum was employed to its full functional capacity and the scheduling of events ran more smoothly than ever before - over 70,000 people turning up each day to watch the athletics events. The near-perfect organisation of the events and the efficient accomodation arrangements added to the element of professionalism which the Games managed to convey. This was also witnessed in the events themselves - in athletics, without doubt the No 1 Olympic sport, records are beaten in the men's 100m, 400m, 800m, 400m hurdles, 4x100m and 4x400m relay, the Triple Jump and the pole vault. The women's events proved equally, if not more, entertaining - in the six events, a proportionately larger amount of records were broken.

The evolution of these Games had one major positive aspect - it put the athletes to the forefront of the competition, both on and off the field. Drama, it might be said, was never too far away. And like the films produced in the vicinity of the Coliseum, it played a major part in Los Angeles as the medal-winners returned home with titles and glory, while the losers were able to treasure the unforgettable memory of a Games designed to signal overall success and true competitive development.