Britannica Sources used in this answer

Why were the Olympic Games not held in 1916, 1940, and 1944?

Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

A woman in a white pleated dress lights the Olympic torch from a large flame in a gold cauldron, with a crowd seated in the background at Panathenaic Stadium in Athens. — Olympic Games An actress playing the role of an Athenian high priestess lights the Olympic flame in Athens, October 31, 2017. The torch was later carried to Pyeongchang, South Korea, for the 2018 Winter Olympics.

The Olympic Games were not held in 1916, 1940, and 1944 due to the outbreak of global conflicts:

1916: The Games, which were scheduled to be held in Berlin, were canceled because of the outbreak of World War I.1
1940 and 1944: These Games, originally scheduled for Tokyo and later Helsinki, Finland (for 1940), and London (for 1944), were canceled because of World War II.2

The cancellation of these events underscores the profound impact that war has on international cooperation and the peaceful spirit of global athletic competition.