1994 Winter Olympics facts for kids
The 1994 Winter Olympics, officially called the XVII Olympic Winter Games, were a major international sports event. They took place in 1994 in Lillehammer, Norway. Athletes from many countries gathered to compete in various winter sports.
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Choosing the Host City
Lillehammer was chosen to host the Games in September 1988. This decision was made in Seoul, just before the 1988 Summer Olympics began. Other cities that wanted to host the event included Anchorage, Alaska in the USA, Östersund/Åre in Sweden, and Sofia in Bulgaria.
A New Schedule for the Olympics
The Lillehammer Games were unique because they happened only two years after the previous Winter Olympics. Usually, the Winter Games are held every four years. In 1986, the International Olympic Committee decided to change the schedule. They wanted the Summer and Winter Games to happen in different even-numbered years. This meant that after the 1992 Winter Olympics, the next ones were held in 1994 to start the new pattern.
A Smaller Host City
The Lillehammer Olympics are also special because they were held in a smaller town. Lillehammer has a population of about 25,000 people. This was the last time the Winter Olympics were held in such a small place. Future Winter Olympics took place in much larger cities, like Nagano, Salt Lake City, Turin, and Vancouver.
 Olympic Games |
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| Summer Games: 1896, 1900, 1904, 1906, 1908, 1912, (1916), 1920, 1924, 1928, 1932, 1936, (1940), (1944), 1948, 1952, 1956, 1960, 1964, 1968, 1972, 1976, 1980, 1984, 1988, 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016, 2020, 2024, 2028 |
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| Winter Games: 1924, 1928, 1932, 1936, (1940), (1944), 1948, 1952, 1956, 1960, 1964, 1968, 1972, 1976, 1980, 1984, 1988, 1992, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018, 2022 | ||
| Athens 2004 — Turin 2006 — Beijing 2008 — Vancouver 2010 — London 2012 — Sochi 2014 — Rio 2016 — Pyeongchang 2018 — Tokyo 2020 Games in italics will be held in the future, and those in (brackets) were cancelled because of war. See also: Ancient Olympic Games |
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| Youth Olympic Games |
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| Summer Games: 2010, 2014, 2018 | ||
| Winter Games: 2012, 2016, 2020 |
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| Singapore 2010 — Innsbruck 2012 — Nanjing 2014 |
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Images for kids
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The ski jumping hill Lysgårdsbakken was the venue of the opening and closing ceremonies
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Mexican artist Abel Ramírez Águilar with an ice sculpture he created for as part of a competition before the start of the Lillehammer Games
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Vikingskipet in Hamar was the venue for speed skating.
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Participating NOCs
See also
In Spanish: Juegos Olímpicos de Lillehammer 1994 para niños
