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 the 8th century BC to the 4th century AD. Baron Pierre de Coubertin founded the International Olympic Committee (IOC) 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.
Freestyle skiing is a skiing discipline comprising aerials, moguls, cross, half-pipe, slopestyle and big air as part of the Winter Olympics. It can consist of a skier performing aerial flips and spins, and can include skiers sliding rails and boxes on their skis. It is also commonly referred to as freeskiing, jibbing, as well as many other names around the world.
Sochi is the largest resort city in Russia. The city is situated along the Black Sea in Southern Russia, with a population of 443,562 residents, up to 600,000 residents in the urban area. The city proper covers an area of 176.77 square kilometers (68.25 sq mi), while the Greater Sochi Area covers over 3,502 square kilometers (1,352 sq mi). Sochi stretches across 145 kilometers (90 mi), and is the longest city in Europe, the fifth-largest city in the Southern Federal District, the second-largest city in Krasnodar Krai, and the sixth-largest city on the Black Sea. Being a part of the Caucasian Riviera, it is one of the very few places in Russia with a subtropical climate, with warm to hot summers and mild winters.
The 1992 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XVI Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event celebrated from 8 to 23 February 1992 in Albertville, France. They were the last Winter Olympics to be held the same year as the Summer Olympics, and the first where the Winter Paralympics were held at the same site. Albertville was selected as host in 1986, beating Sofia, Falun, Lillehammer, Cortina d'Ampezzo, Anchorage and Berchtesgaden. The games were the third Winter Olympics held in France, after Chamonix in 1924 and Grenoble in 1968, and the fifth Olympics overall in the country.
The 2014 Winter Olympics, officially called the XXII Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Sochi 2014, was an international winter multi-sport event that was held from 7 to 23 February 2014 in Sochi, Krasnodar Krai, Russia. Opening rounds in certain events were held on 6 February 2014, the day before the opening ceremony.
The 2014 Winter Paralympics, the 11th Paralympic Winter Games, and also more generally known as the Sochi 2014 Paralympic Winter Games, were an international multi-sport event for athletes with disabilities governed by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), held in Sochi, Krasnodar Krai, Russia from 7 to 16 March 2014. 45 National Paralympic Committees (NPCs) participated in the Games, which marked the first time Russia ever hosted the Paralympics. The Games featured 72 medal events in five sports, and saw the debut of snowboarding at the Winter Paralympics.
Yongpyong Ski Resort is a ski resort in South Korea, located in Daegwallyeong-myeon, Pyeongchang, Gangwon-do. It is the largest ski and snowboard resort in Korea, and offers golf in the summer months.
Seven applicant cities presented bids to host the 2014 Winter Olympics and Paralympics to the International Olympic Committee (IOC). The IOC Executive Board shortlisted three cities—Sochi, Russia; Salzburg, Austria; and Pyeongchang, South Korea—with Sochi winning the IOC's July 2007 final vote.
The 2022 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XXIV Olympic Winter Games, and commonly known as Beijing 2022, is an international winter multi-sport event that is scheduled to take place from 4 to 20 February 2022, in Beijing and towns in the neighboring Hebei province, China.
Krasnaya Polyana is an urban locality in Krasnopolyansky Settlement Okrug, which is under the administrative jurisdiction of Adlersky City District of the City of Sochi in Krasnodar Krai, Russia. Population: 4,598 (2010 Census); 3,969 (2002 Census); 3,300 (1989 Census).
The 2012 Winter Youth Olympics (YOG) was an international youth multi-sport event featuring winter events that was planned to complement the Olympic Games. It will feature athletes between the ages of 14 and 18.
The 2016 Winter Youth Olympics, officially known as the II Winter Youth Olympic Games, took place in and around Lillehammer, Norway, between 12 February and 21 February 2016. They were the fourth Youth Olympic Games and the second winter edition. Lillehammer was awarded the games on 7 December 2011 as the only candidate. The games reused venues from the 1994 Winter Olympics; this made Lillehammer the first city to host both regular and Youth Olympics. In addition to Lillehammer, sports were contested in Hamar, Gjøvik and Øyer.
The Rosa Khutor Alpine Resort is an alpine ski resort in Krasnodar Krai, Russia, located at the Aibga Ridge of the Western Caucasus along the Roza Khutor plateau near Krasnaya Polyana. Constructed from 2003 to 2011, it hosted the alpine skiing events for the 2014 Winter Olympics and Paralympics, based in nearby Sochi. The resort is 50 kilometers (30 mi) east of the Black Sea at Sochi; the majority of the slopes at Rosa Khutor face northeast, with the backside slopes facing southwest.
The 2014 Winter Olympics and Paralympics venues are divided between two "clusters" located in and around Sochi, Russia.
Pyeongchang 2014 was an unsuccessful bid by the Korean Olympic Committee to host the 2014 Winter Olympics and 2014 Winter Paralympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea. Pyeongchang was one of seven applicants for the games, and one of three to be short-listed, along with Sochi, Russia, and Salzburg, Austria.
Alpine skiing at the 2014 Winter Olympics was held in Russia from 9–22 February at Rosa Khutor Alpine Resort near Krasnaya Polyana, east of Sochi.
Almaty 2022 was an unsuccessful bid for the 2022 Winter Olympics by the city of Almaty and the National Olympic Committee of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The IOC selected the host city for the 2022 Winter Olympics at the 128th IOC Session in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on July 31, 2015, in which Beijing won. Under the slogan “Keeping it Real,” Almaty had emphasized their traditional winter setting with tall mountains and plenty of natural snow coverage as well as compactness — most venues are within half an hour’s travel through Alpine scenery. Almaty was the only contender to have never hosted the Olympics before. Almaty previously hosted the 2017 Winter Universiade.
Beijing 2022 was a successful bid by Beijing, China and the Chinese Olympic Committee for the 2022 Winter Olympics. The IOC selected the host city for the 2022 Winter Olympics at the 128th IOC Session in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on July 31, 2015, which Beijing won.
Alpine skiing at the 2014 Winter Paralympics was held at the Rosa Khutor Alpine Resort near Krasnaya Polyana, Russia. The thirty-two events occurred on 8–16 March 2014.
There were a total of four bids which were initially submitted for the 2024 Winter Youth Olympics. On 8 January 2020, the IOC EB agreed to award the 2024 Winter Youth Olympics to the province of Gangwon.
