ABSTRACT
During the First World War, Antwerp was occupied by the Germans for four years, and its citizens endured severe privations. When the IOC met in 1919 to choose a host city for the 1920 Summer Games it was widely believed that the city had a moral right to compensation for its suffering, and it easily defeated seven other bidding cities.
With such a narrow time window, the post-war shortages and a flood of returning refugees, the local Olympics committee had little option but to extend the existing Beerschot Athletics Club stadium and charter ships to act as basic Olympic accommodation in the harbour.
Mature trees grew on the terraces of the Beerschot stadium, and some of these were retained by architects Ferdinand de Montigny and L. Somers. A second grandstand was constructed; terraces were backed with neo-classical colonnades. The main and marathon entrances were elaborate lath and plaster structures.
Bad weather and high ticket prices hit attendances at the stadium, now renamed the Olympisch Stadion. It was full only for the football final between Belgium and Czechoslovakia, partly because local youths tunnelled into the stadium, allowing thousands to watch for free.
A football stadium still occupies the same site, although it bears little resemblance to the original.
