1988 Winter Olympics

XV Olympic Winter Games
Emblem of the 1988 Winter Olympics[a][1]
LocationCalgary, Alberta, Canada
MottoCome Together in Calgary
(French: Rassemblez-vous à Calgary)
Nations57
Athletes1,424 (1,109 men, 315 women)
Events46 in 6 sports (10 disciplines)
OpeningFebruary 13, 1988
ClosingFebruary 28, 1988
Opened by
Jeanne Sauvé
Governor General of Canada
Closed by
Juan Antonio Samaranch
President of the International Olympic Committee
Cauldron
Robyn Perry
StadiumMcMahon Stadium
Winter
Summer
Olympic rings
Part of a series on
1988 Winter Olympics

The 1988 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XV Olympic Winter Games (French: XVes Jeux olympiques d'hiver) and commonly known as Calgary 1988 (Blackfoot: Mohkínsstsisi 1988; Stoney: Wîchîspa Oyade 1988 or Wenchi Ispase 1988; Cree: Otôskwanihk 1988/ᐅᑑᐢᑿᓂᕽ 1988; Sarsi: Guts’ists’i 1988; Kutenai: ʔaknuqtapȼik’ 1988; Slave: Klincho-tinay-indihay 1988), were a multi-sport event held from February 13 to 28, 1988, with Calgary, Alberta as the main host city. This marks the most recent time that two consecutive Olympic Games were hosted in North America (with the 1984 Summer Olympic Games hosted in Los Angeles, California, United States).[2] It was the first Winter Olympic Games to be held for 15 days, like the counterpart Summer Olympic Games.[3] The majority of the events took place in Calgary itself. However, the snow events were shared by Nakiska ski resort in Kananaskis Country at the west of the city[4][5] and the Canmore Nordic Centre Provincial Park in the town of Canmore.[6]

In 1988, a record 57 National Olympic Committees (NOC) sent a total of 1,424 athletes to these Games.[3] These Winter Olympics would be the last attended for both the Soviet Union and East Germany NOCs. Just like the 1976 Summer Olympics, host country Canada failed again to win a gold medal on their home soil (They won three gold medals in demonstration events, but they are not added at the official medal table). The Finnish ski jumper, Matti Nykänen,[7][8] and the Dutch speed skater, Yvonne van Gennip,[9][10] won three individual gold medals each. The 1988 Winter Olympics were also remembered for the "heroic failure" of both the British ski jumper, Michael Edwards, and the debut of the Jamaica national bobsleigh team. Both of them became subjects of major feature films about their participation in these Games: Cool Runnings by Walt Disney Pictures in 1993[11] and Eddie the Eagle by 20th Century Fox in 2016.[12]

At approximately C$829 million, the Calgary Games were the most expensive Olympics ever held at the time, as all the necessary infrastructure was built from scratch. The facilities that were built for these Winter Olympics helped the host region to turn into the heart of Canada's elite winter sports program, under the tutelage of WinSport.[13] After the Games, their legacy still standing and in constant use, as the five purpose-built venues for those Games are now used for training and hosting various winter sporting events every year. These policies helped Canada develop into one of the top nations in Winter Olympics competition. The climax of this effort was the overall first-place finish at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Canada.[14]


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  1. ^ Osterwalder, Markus, "Olympic Games – The Design (Calgary 1988 Emblem)", Niggli Verlag, retrieved March 28, 2021
  2. ^ "List of Olympic Host Cities – Architecture of the Games". Retrieved August 13, 2024.
  3. ^ a b "Calgary 1988", International Olympic Committee, April 23, 2018, retrieved July 25, 2021
  4. ^ Slade, Daryl (December 4, 1986), "Nakiska ready for onslaught of enthusiasts", Calgary Herald, p. E8, retrieved March 21, 2021
  5. ^ "Nakiska Ski Area", Resorts of the Canadian Rockies, retrieved March 21, 2021
  6. ^ "Canmore Nordic Centre Provincial Park", Alberta Parks, retrieved March 21, 2021
  7. ^ OCO'88 1988, p. 39
  8. ^ "Matti Nykänen, Finnish ski-jumping great, dies aged 55", The Guardian, February 4, 2019, retrieved March 22, 2021
  9. ^ OCO'88 1988, p. 47
  10. ^ "Yvonne VAN GENNIP", International Olympic Committee, retrieved March 22, 2021
  11. ^ "Disney's Cool Runnings", Walt Disney Pictures, October 1, 1993, retrieved March 22, 2021
  12. ^ "Eddie the Eagle", 20th Century Studios, February 26, 2016, retrieved March 22, 2021
  13. ^ "Calgary's Winter Sport Institute", WinSport, retrieved April 2, 2021
  14. ^ "Vancouver 2010", International Olympic Committee, April 23, 2018, retrieved March 27, 2021