1948 Olympic Games, then and now.

1948 Olympic Games, then and now.

Teo black icons representing young people

Your Heritage

Middleton Park
Leeds
Leeds City Council Sport and Active Recreation
£39100
The lives of young people aged 17-20 at the time of the 1948 London Olympics were compared with young people today, in this 2012 project.

Social snapshots of young people in 1948 and 2012 were collected, and their stories compared and contrasted, for a series of events and exhibitions in partnership with Leeds City Museum. In addition to sport, some of the themes explored included fashion, food, leisure activities, music, technology and jobs.

The aim of the project was to archive stories from people old enough to have memories of the 1948 Olympic Games – and the summer during which the games took place – before it was too late. Their memories where then compared to the views of young people today and the social and cultural landscape of the summer of 2012. The oldest participants of sport in Leeds were also sought out and their stories recorded and achievements celebrated.

A particular focus of the project was to involve older people from a range of care homes as well as hard to reach young people.