A poster for the unofficial 1916 Amsterdam VIth Olympiad, designed by Willy (Jan Willem) Sluiter (1873-1949), colour lithograph, issued by the Dutch N

A poster for the unofficial 1916 Amsterdam VIth Olympiad, designed by Willy (Jan Willem) Sluiter (1873-1949), colour lithograph, issued by the Dutch NOC, printed by Drukkerij Senefelder, backed onto linen, tube rolled, 113 by 82, 44 1/2 by 32in., good condition At the IOC Session at Stockholm in 1912 the 1916 Olympic Games was awarded to the city of Berlin, ahead of rival bids from Alexandria, Amsterdam, Brussels, Budapest & Cleveland. After the outbreak of the First World War, the Games were cancelled. However, National Olympic Games were held in Amsterdam commencing on the day the Berlin Olympics would have begun, 31st August. These games are deemed unofficial but Pierre de Coubertin had decreed that ''If an Olympiad is not celebrated, it's number remains.'' Hence Amsterdam 1916 became known as the VIth Olympiad.