Stadium, Franco - British Exhibition, London 1908

Colour postcard showing the Stadium, built at White City for the London Olympic Games, 1908.
The White City stadium was built as part of the Franco-British exhibition. In July 1908 it hosted the Olympic Games. The stadium cost £60,000 to build. It covered an area of 364,283 square feet, was 1,000 feet long and nearly 700 feet wide and could accomodate over 60,000 spectators, nearly 20,000 of which enjoyed seating under cover. It included running and cycling tracks, an open-air swimming pool and a pitch for football, hockey, rugby and lacrosse. Three thousand competitors from 22 national teams took part in the 1908 Olympics. This was the first Olympic Games to award gold, silver and bronze medals and the first in which all entrants competed as members of national teams, rather than as individuals.