The first Olympic Winter Games were held in 1924 in the French Alps. Over 10 days, the host town of Chamonix brought together athletes from 16 nations.
The event was initially an integral part of the Olympic Games Paris 1924, and was known as the “Winter Sports Week of the VIII Olympiad”. In 1926, it was retroactively recognised as first edition of the Olympic Winter Games.
The world fell in love with the spectacular beauty of the mountains and the magic of winter sport.
As we look back to Chamonix 1924, and the Olympic Winter Games editions in the 100 years since, we can trace the story of how the Olympic Games have changed the world of winter sport and created transformative legacies for their host communities.
Climate change poses a direct threat to winter sport, and to the natural environment in which it takes place. In the face of this immense challenge, the Olympic Winter Games are adapting, and are changing fast.
With the reforms of Olympic Agenda 2020 and Olympic Agenda 2020+5, the IOC has reinvented the Olympic Games and the Olympic Winter Games to adapt to the times we live in. We are working to ensure a sustainable future for the Games so that they create lasting benefits for their hosts, reduce their environmental footprint and evolve in response to a warming planet. Today, Olympic hosts are not required to adapt to the Games; the Games must adapt to the hosts.
Hosts should aim to use only existing or temporary venues, and can also move events outside the host city, region or country, if appropriate, for sustainability reasons. Any new construction must be planned with long-term legacy in mind. Continue reading from Olympics
