The 1952 Summer Olympics were the last of two consecutive Olympic Games to be held in Northern Europe, following the 1952 Winter Olympics in Oslo, Norway. They were also the Olympic Games with the most world records until they were broken by the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.
The United States won the most medals overall and gold medals in Helsinki. Making their debut in these Games were: the Soviet Union, People’s Republic of China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Israel, Thailand, and Saarland (a protectorate in western Germany that existed from 1947 to 1956).
