 Emblem of the 1956 Winter Olympics[note 1] | |
| Location | Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy |
|---|---|
| Nations | 32 |
| Athletes | 821 (687 men, 134 women) |
| Events | 24 in 4 sports (8 disciplines) |
| Opening | 26 January 1956 |
| Closing | 5 February 1956 |
| Opened by | |
| Cauldron | |
| Stadium | Stadio olimpico del ghiaccio |
Winter Summer | |
The 1956 Winter Olympics, officially known as the VII Olympic Winter Games (Italian: VII Giochi Olimpici invernali) and commonly known as Cortina d'Ampezzo 1956 (Ladin: Anpezo 1956 or Ampëz 1956), were a multi-sport event held in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, from 26 January to 5 February 1956.
Cortina, which had originally been awarded the 1944 Winter Olympics, beat out Montreal, Colorado Springs and Lake Placid for the right to host the 1956 Games. The Cortina Games were unique in that many of the venues were within walking distance of each other. The organising committee received financial support from the Italian government for infrastructure improvements, but the rest of the costs for the Games had to be privately financed. Consequently, the organising committee was the first to rely heavily on corporate sponsorship for funding.[1]
Thirty-two nations—the largest number of countries participating in the Winter Olympics until then—competed in the four sports and twenty-four events. Austrian Toni Sailer became the first person to sweep all three alpine skiing events in a single Olympics. The figure skating competition was held outdoors for the last time at these Games. Logistically, the only problem encountered was a lack of snow at the alpine skiing events. To remedy this, the Italian army transported large amounts of snow to ensure the courses were adequately covered.
Politics did not affect the 1956 Winter Games – unlike the Summer Games in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia later in the year which many nations boycotted after the Soviet repression of the Hungarian Revolution, and the Suez War. The Cortina Olympics were the first Winter Olympics televised to a multi-national audience.[1] Cortina is scheduled to co-host the 2026 Winter Olympics with Milan, Lombardy, 70 years after the 1956 Games.[2]
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- ^ a b "Cortina d'Ampezzo 1956". International Olympic Committee. Archived from the original on 12 February 2010. Retrieved 3 March 2010.
- ^ Longman, Jeré (24 June 2019). "Italy Is Chosen to Host 2026 Winter Olympics". The New York Times. Retrieved 9 February 2020.