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This is a list of host cities of the Olympic Games, both summer and winter, since the modern Olympics began in 1896. Since then, summer and winter games have usually celebrated a four-year period known as an Olympiad; summer and winter games normally held in staggered even years. There have been 29 Summer Olympic Games held in 21 cities, and 24 Winter Olympic Games held in 21 cities. In addition, three summer and two winter editions of the games were scheduled to take place but later cancelled due to war: Berlin (summer) in 1916; Sapporo–Garmisch-Partenkirchen (winter) and Tokyo–Helsinki (summer) in 1940; and Cortina d'Ampezzo (winter) and London (summer) in 1944. The 1906 Intercalated Olympics were officially sanctioned and held in Athens. However, in 1949, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) decided to unrecognize the 1906 Games. [1] [2] The 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo were postponed for the first time in the Olympics history to summer 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic with the 2022 Winter Olympics being held roughly six months later in Beijing. [3] [4]
Four cities have been chosen by the IOC to host upcoming Olympic Games: Paris for the 2024 Summer Olympics, Milan–Cortina d'Ampezzo for the 2026 Winter Olympics, Los Angeles for the 2028 Summer Olympics, and Brisbane for the 2032 Summer Olympics.
In 2022, Beijing became the first city that has held both the summer and the winter Olympic Games. Ten cities will have hosted the Olympic Games more than once: Athens (1896 and 2004 Summer Olympics), Paris (1900, 1924 and 2024 Summer Olympics), London (1908, 1948 and 2012 Summer Olympics), St. Moritz (1928 and 1948 Winter Olympics), Lake Placid (1932 and 1980 Winter Olympics), Los Angeles (1932, 1984 and 2028 Summer Olympics), Cortina d'Ampezzo (1956 and 2026 Winter Olympics), Innsbruck (1964 and 1976 Winter Olympics), Tokyo (1964 and 2020 Summer Olympics) and Beijing (2008 Summer Olympics and 2022 Winter Olympics). Stockholm hosted the 1912 Summer Olympics and the equestrian portion of the 1956 Summer Olympics. London became the first city to have hosted three Games with the 2012 Summer Olympics. Paris will become the second city to do this with the 2024 Summer Olympics, followed by Los Angeles as the third in 2028.
The Games have primarily been hosted in the regions of Europe (30 editions) and the Americas (13 editions); eight Games have been hosted in Asia and two have been hosted in Oceania. Rio de Janeiro became South America's first Olympic host city with the 2016 Summer Olympics. Africa has yet to host an Olympic Games. Other major geographic regions which have never hosted the Olympics include the Middle East, Central Asia, the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, the South Pacific, Central America and the Caribbean. Between the first Winter Olympics in 1924 and the last ones to be held in the same year as the Summer Olympics in 1992, the Summer and Winter games took place in the same country three times.
Host cities are selected by the IOC membership, usually seven years in advance. [5] The selection process lasts approximately two years. In the first stage, any city in the world may submit an application to become a host city. After 10 months, the Executive Board of the IOC decides which applicant cities will become official candidates as based on the recommendation of a working group that reviews the applications. In a second stage, the candidate cities are investigated thoroughly by an Evaluation Commission, which then submits a final short list of cities to be considered for selection. The host city is then chosen by vote of the IOC session, a general meeting of IOC members. [6]
† Cancelled § Postponed
City | Country | Year | Region | Summer | Winter | Opening ceremony | Closing ceremony | Ref | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Athens | Greece | 1896 | Europe | I | 6 April 1896 | 15 April 1896 | |||
Paris | France | 1900 | II | 14 May 1900 | 28 October 1900 | ||||
St. Louis [lower-alpha 1] | United States | 1904 | North America | III | 1 July 1904 | 23 November 1904 | |||
London [lower-alpha 2] | United Kingdom | 1908 | Europe | IV | 27 April 1908 | 31 October 1908 | |||
Stockholm | Sweden | 1912 | V | 6 July 1912 | 22 July 1912 | ||||
† | Berlin | Germany | 1916 | | Cancelled due to WWI | [10] | |||
Antwerp [lower-alpha 3] | Belgium | 1920 | VII | 14 August 1920 | 12 September 1920 | [11] | |||
Chamonix | France | 1924 | I | 25 January 1924 | 5 February 1924 | [12] | |||
Paris | VIII | 5 July 1924 | 27 July 1924 | [13] | |||||
St. Moritz | Switzerland | 1928 | II | 11 February 1928 | 19 February 1928 | [14] | |||
Amsterdam | Netherlands | IX | 28 July 1928 | 12 August 1928 | [15] | ||||
Lake Placid | United States | 1932 | North America | III | 4 February 1932 | 13 February 1932 | [16] | ||
Los Angeles | X | 30 July 1932 | 14 August 1932 | [17] | |||||
Garmisch-Partenkirchen | Germany | 1936 | Europe | IV | 6 February 1936 | 16 February 1936 | [18] | ||
Berlin | XI | 1 August 1936 | 16 August 1936 | [19] | |||||
† | Sapporo Garmisch-Partenkirchen [lower-alpha 4] | Japan Germany | 1940 | Asia Europe | | Cancelled due to WWII | [10] | ||
† | Tokyo Helsinki [lower-alpha 5] | Japan Finland | | ||||||
† | Cortina d'Ampezzo | Italy | 1944 | Europe | | ||||
† | London | United Kingdom | | ||||||
St. Moritz | Switzerland | 1948 | V | 30 January 1948 | 8 February 1948 | ||||
London | United Kingdom | XIV | 29 July 1948 | 14 August 1948 | |||||
Oslo | Norway | 1952 | VI | 14 February 1952 | 25 February 1952 | ||||
Helsinki | Finland | XV | 19 July 1952 | 3 August 1952 | |||||
Cortina d'Ampezzo | Italy | 1956 | VII | 26 January 1956 | 5 February 1956 | ||||
Melbourne Stockholm [lower-alpha 6] | Australia Sweden | Oceania Europe | XVI | 22 November 1956 10 June 1956 | 8 December 1956 17 June 1956 | ||||
Squaw Valley | United States | 1960 | North America | VIII | 18 February 1960 | 28 February 1960 | |||
Rome | Italy | Europe | XVII | 25 August 1960 | 11 September 1960 | ||||
Innsbruck | Austria | 1964 | IX | 29 January 1964 | 9 February 1964 | ||||
Tokyo | Japan | Asia | XVIII | 10 October 1964 | 24 October 1964 | ||||
Grenoble | France | 1968 | Europe | X | 6 February 1968 | 18 February 1968 | |||
Mexico City | Mexico | North America | XIX | 12 October 1968 | 27 October 1968 | ||||
Sapporo | Japan | 1972 | Asia | XI | 3 February 1972 | 13 February 1972 | |||
Munich | West Germany | Europe | XX | 26 August 1972 | 11 September 1972 | ||||
Innsbruck [lower-alpha 7] | Austria | 1976 | XII | 4 February 1976 | 15 February 1976 | ||||
Montreal | Canada | North America | XXI | 17 July 1976 | 1 August 1976 | ||||
Lake Placid | United States | 1980 | XIII | 13 February 1980 | 24 February 1980 | ||||
Moscow | Soviet Union [lower-alpha 8] | Europe | XXII | 19 July 1980 | 3 August 1980 | ||||
Sarajevo | Yugoslavia [lower-alpha 9] | 1984 | XIV | 8 February 1984 | 19 February 1984 | ||||
Los Angeles | United States | North America | XXIII | 28 July 1984 | 12 August 1984 | ||||
Calgary | Canada | 1988 | XV | 13 February 1988 | 28 February 1988 | ||||
Seoul | South Korea | Asia | XXIV | 17 September 1988 | 2 October 1988 | ||||
Albertville | France | 1992 | Europe | XVI | 8 February 1992 | 23 February 1992 | |||
Barcelona | Spain | XXV | 25 July 1992 | 9 August 1992 | |||||
Lillehammer | Norway | 1994 | XVII | 12 February 1994 | 27 February 1994 | ||||
Atlanta | United States | 1996 | North America | XXVI | 19 July 1996 | 4 August 1996 | |||
Nagano | Japan | 1998 | Asia | XVIII | 7 February 1998 | 22 February 1998 | |||
Sydney | Australia | 2000 | Oceania | XXVII | 15 September 2000 | 1 October 2000 | |||
Salt Lake City | United States | 2002 | North America | XIX | 8 February 2002 | 24 February 2002 | |||
Athens | Greece | 2004 | Europe | XXVIII | 13 August 2004 | 29 August 2004 | |||
Turin | Italy | 2006 | XX | 10 February 2006 | 26 February 2006 | ||||
Beijing [lower-alpha 10] | China | 2008 | Asia | XXIX | 8 August 2008 | 24 August 2008 | |||
Vancouver | Canada | 2010 | North America | XXI | 12 February 2010 | 28 February 2010 | |||
London | United Kingdom | 2012 | Europe | XXX | 27 July 2012 | 12 August 2012 | |||
Sochi | Russia [lower-alpha 8] | 2014 | XXII | 7 February 2014 | 23 February 2014 | ||||
Rio de Janeiro | Brazil | 2016 | South America | XXXI | 5 August 2016 | 21 August 2016 | |||
Pyeongchang | South Korea | 2018 | Asia | XXIII | 9 February 2018 | 25 February 2018 | |||
§ | Tokyo | Japan | 2020 | XXXII | 23 July 2021 [lower-alpha 11] | 8 August 2021 [lower-alpha 11] | |||
Beijing | China | 2022 | XXIV | 4 February 2022 | 20 February 2022 | ||||
Paris [lower-alpha 12] | France | 2024 | Europe | XXXIII | 26 July 2024 | 11 August 2024 | |||
Milan–Cortina d'Ampezzo | Italy | 2026 | XXV | 6 February 2026 | 22 February 2026 | ||||
Los Angeles | United States | 2028 | North America | XXXIV | 14 July 2028 | 30 July 2028 | |||
TBD | TBD | 2030 | TBD | XXVI | 8 February 2030 | 24 February 2030 | |||
Brisbane | Australia | 2032 | Oceania | XXXV | 23 July 2032 | 8 August 2032 |
Rank | City | Country | Region | Summer Olympics | Winter Olympics | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | London | United Kingdom | Europe | 3 (1908, 1948, 2012) | 3 | |
Paris | France | 3 (1900, 1924, 2024 ) | ||||
Los Angeles | United States | America | 3 (1932, 1984, 2028 ) | |||
4 | Athens | Greece | Europe | 2 (1896, 2004) | 2 | |
Tokyo | Japan | Asia | 2 (1964, 2020) | |||
Beijing | China | 1 (2008) | 1 (2022) | |||
St. Moritz | Switzerland | Europe | 2 (1928, 1948) | |||
Innsbruck | Austria | 2 (1964, 1976) | ||||
Lake Placid | United States | America | 2 (1932, 1980) | |||
Cortina d'Ampezzo | Italy | Europe | 2 (1956, 2026) |
Rank | First Year | Last Year | Country | Region | Summer Olympics | Winter Olympics | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 1904 | 2028 | United States | North America | 5 (1904, 1932, 1984, 1996, 2028) | 4 (1932, 1960, 1980, 2002) | 9 |
2 | 1900 | 2024 | France | Europe | 3 (1900, 1924, 2024) | 3 (1924, 1968, 1992) | 6 |
3 | 1956 | 2026 | Italy | 1 (1960) | 3 ( | 4 | |
1964 | 2020 | Japan | Asia | 2 ( | 2 ( | ||
4 | 1956 | 2032 | Australia | Oceania | 3 (1956, 2000, 2032) | 3 | |
1908 | 2012 | United Kingdom | Europe | 3 (1908, | |||
1976 | 2010 | Canada | North America | 1 (1976) | 2 (1988, 2010) | ||
1936 | 1972 | Germany | Europe | 2 ( | 1 (1936, | ||
5 | 2008 | 2022 | China | Asia | 1 (2008) | 1 (2022) | 2 |
1988 | 2018 | South Korea | 1 (1988) | 1 (2018) | |||
1980 | 2014 | Russia [lower-alpha 8] | Europe | 1 (1980) | 1 (2014) | ||
1896 | 2004 | Greece | 2 (1896, 2004) | ||||
1952 | 1994 | Norway | 2 (1952, 1994) | ||||
1964 | 1976 | Austria | 2 (1964, 1976) | ||||
1928 | 1948 | Switzerland | 2 (1928, | ||||
6 | 2016 | 2016 | Brazil | South America | 1 (2016) | 1 | |
1992 | 1992 | Spain | Europe | 1 (1992) | |||
1984 | 1984 | Yugoslavia [lower-alpha 9] | 1 (1984) | ||||
1968 | 1968 | Mexico | North America | 1 (1968) | |||
1952 | 1952 | Finland | Europe | 1 ( | |||
1928 | 1928 | Netherlands | 1 (1928) | ||||
1920 | 1920 | Belgium | 1 (1920) | ||||
1912 | 1912 | Sweden | 1 (1912) |
Rank | First year | Last year | Region | Summer Olympics | Winter Olympics | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 1896 | 2026 | Europe | 17 (1896, 1900, 1908, 1912, | 15 (1924, 1928, 1936, | 32 |
2 | 1904 | 2028 | Americas | 1904, 1932, 1968, 1976, 1984, 1996, 2016, 2028) | 8 (1932, 1960, 1980, 1988, 2002, 2010) | 6 (14 |
3 | 1964 | 2022 | Asia | 8 | ||
4 | 1956 | 2032 | Oceania | 1956, 2000, 2032) | 3 (3 |
The Summer Olympic Games, also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years on leap years. The inaugural Games took place in 1896 in Athens, Greece, and the most recent Games were held in 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is responsible for organising the Games and for overseeing the host city's preparations. The tradition of awarding medals began in 1904; in each Olympic event, gold medals are awarded for first place, silver medals for second place, and bronze medals for third place.
The Winter Olympic Games were created out of the success of the Summer Olympic Games, which are regarded as the largest and most prestigious multi-sport international event in the world.
The Winter Olympic Games is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were held in Chamonix, France. The modern Olympic Games were inspired by the ancient Olympic Games, which were held in Olympia, Greece, from 776 BC to 394 AD. The Baron Pierre de Coubertin of France founded the International Olympic Committee (IOC) 1,500 years later in 1894, leading to the first modern Summer Olympic Games in Athens, Greece in 1896. The IOC is the governing body of the Olympic Movement, with the Olympic Charter defining its structure and authority. The original five Winter Olympic Sports were bobsleigh, curling, ice hockey, Nordic skiing, and skating. The Games were held every four years from 1924 to 1936, interrupted in 1940 and 1944 by World War II, and resumed in 1948. Until 1992, the Summer Olympic Games and the Winter Olympic Games were held in the same year. A decision to change this was made in 1986, when during the 91st International Olympic Committee session, IOC members decided to alternate the Summer Olympic Games and the Winter Olympic Games on separate four-year cycles in even-numbered years. Also, at that same congress it was decided that 1992 Winter Olympics would be the last to be held in the same year as the Summer Games and that to change the rotation, the edition that would be held in 1996 would be brought forward by two years, being scheduled to 1994. After this edition, the next one was to be held in 1998 when the 4-year Olympic Cycle resumed.
The 1944 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XIII Olympiad, was a planned international multi-sport event scheduled to have been held from July to August 1944 in London, England, United Kingdom. The games were canceled due to World War II alongside the 1944 Winter Olympics in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, and were the fifth games to be canceled due to war. However, unofficial celebrations went ahead anyway in Switzerland as well as by Polish prisoners of war held in Nazi-occupied Poland.
The 1936 Winter Olympics, officially known as the IV Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Garmisch-Partenkirchen 1936, were a winter multi-sport event held from 6 to 16 February 1936 in the market town of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany. The country also hosted the 1936 Summer Olympics, which were held in Berlin. It was the last year in which the Summer and Winter Games both took place in the same country.
The 1956 Winter Olympics, officially known as the VII Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Cortina d'Ampezzo 1956, was a multi-sport event held in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, from 26 January to 5 February 1956.
The 1940 Winter Olympics, officially known as the V Olympic Winter Games and as Sapporo 1940 (札幌1940), was a planned international multi-sport event scheduled to have been held from 3 to 12 February 1940 in Sapporo, Empire of Japan. They were ultimately cancelled due to World War II alongside the 1940 Summer Olympics in Tokyo City, Empire of Japan, and were the third games to be canceled due to war.
National Olympic Committees that wish to host an Olympic Games select cities within their territories to put forth bids for the Olympic Games. The staging of the Paralympic Games is automatically included in the bid. Since the creation of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 1894, which successfully appropriated the name of the Ancient Greek Olympics to create a modern sporting event, interested cities have rivaled for selection as host of the Summer or Winter Olympic Games. 51 different cities have been chosen to host the modern Olympics: three in Eastern Europe, five in East Asia, one in South America, three in Oceania, nine in North America and all the others in Western Europe. No Central American, African, Central Asian, Middle Eastern, South Asian, or Southeast Asian city has ever been chosen to host an Olympics.
Poland first participated at the Olympic Games in 1924, and has sent athletes to compete in every Summer Olympic Games since then, except for the 1984 Games, when they were part of the Soviet-led boycott of the 1984 Summer Olympics. Poland has also participated in every Winter Olympic Games.
Three cities applied with bids to host the 2018 Winter Olympics and Paralympics in October 2009. The International Olympic Committee, under the leadership of Jacques Rogge, received three bids on October 15, 2009. The cities of Annecy, France, in the French Alps, Munich, Germany, and Pyeongchang, South Korea, a two-time previous bidder, competed for the hosting rights to the event. This was the lowest number of bidding cities since the 1988 Summer Olympics, coincidentally also won by South Korea. The winning bid was announced on July 6, 2011, at the 123rd IOC Session in Durban, South Africa by IOC President Jacques Rogge at 5.22 pm local time Pyeongchang beat Munich and Annecy in the first round of votes with 63 of the 95 total votes.
For the 1956 Winter Olympics in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, a total of eight sports venues were used. All of the venues used were new or rebuilt. To make use of television coverage for the first time in the Winter Olympics, the cross-country skiing stadium was constructed to allow the best coverage. Five of the venues used for these games would appear in the James Bond film For Your Eyes Only twenty-five years later.
There were six bids initially submitted for the 2020 Summer Olympics. Tokyo was ultimately elected as the host city at the 125th IOC Session in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on 7 September 2013.
A total of six bids were initially submitted for the 2022 Winter Olympics. Four of the bids were subsequently withdrawn by 1 October 2014, citing either the high costs of hosting the Games or the lack of local support, leaving Almaty, Kazakhstan and Beijing, China as the only two remaining candidate cities. Beijing was then elected as the host city at the 128th IOC Session in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on 31 July 2015.
The 2026 Winter Olympics, officially the XXV Olympic Winter Games and also known as Milano-Cortina 2026, is an upcoming international multi-sport event scheduled to take place from 6 to 22 February 2026 in the Italian cities of Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo. The joint bid from the two cities beat another joint bid from Swedish cities Stockholm–Åre by 47–34 votes at the 134th Session of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in Lausanne, Switzerland, on 24 June 2019.
Sofia Goggia is an Italian World Cup alpine ski racer who competes in all disciplines and specialises in the speed events of downhill and super-G. She is a two-time Olympic downhill medalist — gold at the 2018 Winter Olympics, the first one for an Italian woman — and four-time World Cup downhill title winner.
The 2026 Winter Paralympics, commonly known as Milano-Cortina 2026, is an international winter multi-sport event for athletes with disabilities, scheduled to take place in Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, from 6 to 15 March. The election was held on 24 June 2019 at the 134th IOC Session in Lausanne, Switzerland, home of the IOC headquarters. Milan-Cortina were elected as hosts, defeating Stockholm-Åre.
Stockholm 2022 was a bid by Stockholm with Åre and the Swedish Olympic Committee for the 2022 Winter Olympics. The bid was announced at November 11, 2013. The IOC will select the host city for the 2022 Winter Olympics at the 127th IOC Session in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on July 31, 2015. Stockholm previously hosted the 1912 Summer Olympics and hosted equestrian events at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne.
A total of seven bids were initially submitted for the 2026 Winter Olympics. Four of the bids were subsequently withdrawn after entering the candidature stage, leaving Milan–Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy and Stockholm–Åre, Sweden as the only two remaining candidate bids. Milan–Cortina d'Ampezzo was elected as the host city at the 134th IOC Session in Lausanne, Switzerland, on 24 June 2019.
The 2022 Winter Olympics closing ceremony was held at the Beijing National Stadium in Beijing on 20 February 2022. As mandated by the Olympic Charter, the proceedings are expected to combine the formal ceremonial closing of this international sporting event with an artistic spectacle to showcase the culture and history of the current and next host nation (Italy) for the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo.