2010 Winter Olympics facts for kids
| Host city | Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada | ||
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| Motto | With glowing hearts (French: Des plus brillants exploits) |
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| Nations | 82 | ||
| Athletes | 2,566 (1044 women, 1522 men) | ||
| Events | 86 in 7 sports (15 disciplines) | ||
| Opening | February 12 | ||
| Closing | February 28 | ||
| Opened by | |||
| Cauldron | |||
| Stadium | BC Place | ||
| Winter | |||
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| Summer | |||
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The 2010 Winter Olympics were a huge international sports event. They were officially called the XXI Olympic Winter Games. These games took place in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada in 2010. The event ran from February 12 to February 28, 2010.
The Vancouver Organizing Committee (VANOC) planned both the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Many events were held in Whistler, a resort town about an hour north of Vancouver. This was the third time Canada hosted the Olympics. Before this, Canada hosted the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal and the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary.
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Nations at the 2010 Winter Olympics
A total of 82 countries sent teams to compete in the 2010 Winter Olympics. This meant many athletes from all over the world gathered in Canada!
New and Returning Countries
Some countries made their first appearance at the Winter Olympics in 2010. These included Cayman Islands, Colombia, Ghana, Montenegro, Pakistan, Peru, and Serbia.
Other countries returned to the games after missing the Turin Games in 2006. These were Jamaica, Mexico, and Morocco.
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Canada 
China 
Germany 
Greece 
Spain 
United States 
Some countries did not participate in the 2010 Winter Olympics. These included Costa Rica, Kenya, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Thailand, United States Virgin Islands, and Venezuela.
Sports and Events at the Games
The 2010 Winter Olympics featured fifteen different winter sports. These sports were grouped into three main categories.
Ice Sports
Eight sports were played on ice. These included exciting events like bobsled, luge, and skeleton. Team sports like ice hockey and curling were also popular. Individual events such as figure skating, speed skating, and short track speed skating completed the ice sports.
Skiing and Snowboarding Events
Three sports involved skiing and snowboarding. These were alpine skiing, freestyle skiing, and snowboarding. Athletes showed off their skills on the snowy mountains.
Nordic Events
Four sports were grouped as Nordic events. These included biathlon, which combines skiing and shooting. Other events were cross-country skiing, ski jumping, and Nordic combined.
The numbers in parentheses next to each sport show how many medal events were held for that sport.
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Alpine skiing (10)
Biathlon (10)
Bobsleigh (3)
Cross-country skiing (12)
Curling (2)
Figure skating (4)
Freestyle skiing (6)
Ice hockey (2)
Luge (3)
Nordic combined (3)
Short track speed skating (8)
Skeleton (2)
Ski jumping (3)
Snowboarding (6)
Speed skating (12)Event Locations
The opening and closing ceremonies were held in Vancouver. Most ice sports, except bobsled, luge, and skeleton, also took place in Vancouver and Richmond.
The "Nordic events" were held in the Callaghan Valley near Whistler. All alpine skiing events were on Whistler Mountain. Sliding events like bobsled were on Blackcomb Mountain. Cypress Mountain hosted freestyle skiing and all snowboard events.
Hockey Rink Size Change
The 2010 Vancouver Olympics were special for ice hockey. It was the first Winter Olympics where both men's and women's hockey used a smaller, NHL-sized ice rink. This rink measured 200 feet by 85 feet. Usually, international games use a larger rink.
This change saved money and allowed more fans to watch the games. However, some European countries thought this might give North American players an advantage. This is because they often play on smaller NHL-sized rinks. The hockey games were played at General Motors Place, which was temporarily renamed Canada Hockey Place.
Medal Winners: Top Countries
Here is a look at the countries that won the most medals at the end of the 2010 Winter Olympics. Canada, as the host country, is highlighted in lavender.
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
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| 1 |  Canada (CAN) |
14 | 7 | 5 | 26 |
| 2 |  Germany (GER) |
10 | 13 | 7 | 30 |
| 3 |  United States (USA) |
9 | 15 | 13 | 37 |
| 4 |  Norway (NOR) |
9 | 8 | 6 | 23 |
| 5 |  South Korea (KOR) |
6 | 6 | 2 | 14 |
| 6 |  Switzerland (SUI) |
6 | 0 | 3 | 9 |
| 7 |  China (CHN) |
5 | 2 | 4 | 11 |
| 7 |  Sweden (SWE) |
5 | 2 | 4 | 11 |
| 9 |  Austria (AUT) |
4 | 6 | 6 | 16 |
| 10 |  Netherlands (NED) |
4 | 1 | 3 | 8 |
 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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Olympic sites map
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Richmond Olympic Oval: speed skating long track venue
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The clock counting down to the opening of the Olympic Games in Downtown Vancouver
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Sidney Crosby celebrates moments after scoring the gold medal-winning goal over the United States.
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Prime Minister of Canada Stephen Harper and Governor General of Canada Michaelle Jean at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympic Games Heads of State Reception
See also
In Spanish: Juegos Olímpicos de Vancouver 2010 para niños
