As Salt Lake City prepares for the 19th Olympic Winter Games, constructing multi-million dollar venues, landing corporate sponsorships, and adjusting the city's infrastructure to accommodate the temporarily swollen population, all eyes are on the future. Predictions and plans are made to ensure the global event goes somewhat smoothly, and the excitement builds with each passing day. Hosting one of the world's most celebrated athletic exhibitions is something Salt Lake City has targeted on four previous occasions. Now that the votes have been tallied, the International Olympic Committee has given their approval (complete with typical IOC-related controversy), the center of Salt Lake City and indeed the entire United States are gearing up to make the 2002 Winter Games the most memorable yet. Perhaps the history of these prestigious games should be observed to get a perspective of what SLC will be compared to.

A Vintage Pair of Ice Skates

1924 marked the year of the first official Winter Games, and for the first time events such as figure skating, speed skating, Nordic skiing, bobsleigh, and ice hockey were held at a separate celebration than the Summer Games. Taking place in Chamonix, France, 294 competitors were involved in the first official Winter Olympics. The number of athletes participating in Salt Lake City is projected to be over 2,300. Norwegian figure skater Sonja Henie made her debut at the 1924 Games, at age 12, and in 1928, 32, and 36 took home the gold medals. In 1937 Henie took advantage of her world popularity and appeared in her first movie. Her Hollywood career would last over 10 years.

Margaret Crosland Training in Davos, Switzerland

With the world at war in the 1940s the scheduled games in 40 and 44 were cancelled. As punishment for their roles in WW2, Japan and Germany's absence from Olympic ceremony would continue into the 1948 games in St. Moritz, Switzerland. Twenty-eight countries participated enthusiastically, and it was clear that the games had survived both the world's conflicts, and the 12-year span between the last Olympics.

The Olympics have always reflected the political goings-on in the world, and for this reason, the 1964 games in Innsbruck, Austria were particularly noteworthy. The world was shocked when East and West Germany entered as one team. These games were plagued with a lack of snow, so in a panic, the Austrian army carved 20,000 blocks of ice from a mountaintop and rushed them to the luge and bobsled runs. They also hauled 60,000 m³ of fresh snow to the alpine venues.

The IOC awarded the 1976 Olympics to Denver, Colorado, but after two years of preparation and financial squabbling, the people of Colorado refused to fund the major event through public taxes. Innsbruck offered to host the Winter Olympics only twelve years since it last played the role, and the underplayed event went off peacefully and without excessive spending.

1984 saw the games in a communist country for the first and only time. Sarajevo, Yugoslavia hosted, and a record forty-nine countries and almost 1,500 athletes entered the competition. There were no signs of the civil war that would erupt only a few years later, in fact, in 1992 the bobsled run would be used as an artillery position for Serbian guerillas, and the site of the slalom races would serve as a Serb military installation.

Calgary's Olympics in 1988 were well received by both athletes and spectators, however, there were some concerns regarding the facilities, and the choice of competition sites. Calgary 88 also marked the first time in history alpine events were staged on artificial snow.

Up until Lillehammer in 1994, the winter games always fell in the same year as the summer events. A policy made by the IOC changed that pattern, and the games in Norway followed Albertville's hosting by only two years. Lillehammer was a great success. Through well organized planning and the Norwegians' overall love of winter sports, these Olympics had an invigorating purity to them. However, financially, the games were a disaster. Lillehammer ended up $850 million over budget, due to inflation, lack of facilities, and government over-building.

Snowboarder in Competition

Nagano in 1998 was another successful celebration, and the games saw several new sports added to the itinerary. Snowboarding made its debut, and when Canadian Ross Rebagliati was stripped of his gold medal after being tested positive for traces of marijuana, controversy ensued. The snowboarder was awarded his medal back after the IOC's decision was reversed, and the hype resulting from the indecisive committee only seemed to heighten Rebagliati's popularity. Curling and women's hockey were also deemed official sports, and the general consensus was that Japan was a very gracious host.

Today in Salt Lake City residents, organizers, and officials are preparing for the first Winter Olympics of the new millenium. An estimated 26,000 volunteers are lined up to help put on the 2002 event, and two million tickets will be on sale to the public. In Utah, where locals claim the "best snow on earth" falls, the world will be watching not only the 19th Winter Olympic Games, but also observing all the pre-planned details, and keeping an eye out for event-related controversy.