The 1944 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XIII Olympiad, was a planned international multi-sport event scheduled to have been held from 22 July to 5 August 1944 in London, England, United Kingdom.
London won the bid on the first ballot in a June 1939 International Olympic Committee election over Rome, Detroit, Lausanne, Athens, Budapest, Helsinki and Montreal.
[1] Due to World War II, which by then had been ongoing for four years and had devastated London, the games were cancelled.
In spite of the war, the IOC organised many events to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of its foundation at its headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland.
[2] Polish prisoners of war in the Woldenberg (Dobiegniew) Oflag II-C POW camp were granted permission by their German captors to stage an unofficial POW Olympics during 23 July to 13 August 1944, and an Olympic Flag made with a bed sheet and pieces of coloured scarves was raised.