69 NOCs (Nations)
4,955 athletes (519 women, 4,436 men)
149 events

Helsinki 1952. Interior view of the Olympic Stadium during the Opening Ceremony in front of the witnesses.

Official opening of the Games by: President Juho Paasikivi

Lighting the Olympic Flame by: Paavo Nurmi et Hannes Kolehmainen (athletics)

Olympic Oath by: Heikki Savolainen (gymnastics)

Official Oath by: The first officials' oath was sworn at the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich.

Zatopek the great: Emil Zatopek (CZE-athletics) produced one of the greatest performances in distance running history. [Full story]

The USSR and Israël joined the Olympics for the first time. Emil Zatopek, the Czech who had won the 10,000m in 1948, became the greatest distance runner in the world. On the day he won the 5,000m, his wife Dana won the gold medal in the javelin event. [Full story]

The beginning of Olympic numismatics: The first commemorative coin of the modern Olympic Games was made in 1951-52. [Full story]