The humility of the French team, greyhound racing and dedicated music… In London, the great White City stadium

2024-07-26 09:00:00

STADIUM GAMES (1/17) – On the occasion of the Olympic games, Le Figaro every day repeats the history of a stadium which marks the modern era of the Summer Olympics. Today’s venue is White City Stadium in London, which hosted events in 1908.

17-1. The most gigantic defeat in the history of the French football team. No dear readers, at the risk of disappointing you, your Olympic series did not start on a positive note. But consider the size of the score on October 22, 1908 against Denmark during the London Olympics. It is a shame that the French players will not even bother to play the game for the third place in the Olympic competition. Where is the drama? White City Stadium, named after the area of ​​the British capital where all the buildings were repainted white in preparation for the 1908 Games.

This multi-storey building, designed by architect John Webster – the playwright’s namesake – was built in about ten months. On April 27, 1908, King Edward VII inaugurated the Olympic Games in person. Those in the public then discover a stadium with more than 66,000 seats, whose lawn is surrounded by a sports track… itself surrounded by a cycling track. Concentric circle style, in short. Without forgetting, facing the main stop, a swimming pool with its swimming pool! It is difficult to be more perfect.

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At the end of the game, while the distance modern marathon (42.195 kilometers) is fixed (according to that between the lawns of Windsor Castle and the fields, in front of the royal box), the White City remains primarily used for sports. Before becoming, from the 1930s, one of the most famous venues for greyhound racing. The public comes in numbers to bet and hope to win big. It must be said that criticism attracts, at this time, 17 million viewers worldwide. Motorcycle races, world championships in rodeo, boxing, etc. And even matches from the famous 1966 World Cup, won by England, are also organized.

Le stade White City.
BRIDGEMAN PICTURES

In the 1970s, the stadium was a popular venue for exhibitions and concerts. The Anglo-Irish rock group the Pogues even went so far as to dedicate a special song to it, in 1989, on their album Peace and love. We can not? “White City,” of course. A wonderful tribute to an enclosure that was lost four years ago in 1985 and was destroyed as part of local redevelopment. A BBC house took over its place a few years later. And on the wall of the same building there are, even today, the names of the Olympic champions of 1908. We do not see there, however, the results of the French team …