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The 1988 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XV Olympic Winter Games, were celebrated in Calgary, Alberta, Canada and opened by Governor General Jeanne Sauvé. The Olympics were highly successful financially as they brought in million-dollar profits. The games left a lasting impression on the host city and gave it a new identity from a cowtown to a large commercial sector of the country.
1988 was also the last year that the Paralympics and the Winter Olympics were held in separate cities; all subsequent games have been hosted by the same city or a city nearby.
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Background
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Calgary first tried for the Olympics in 1964 and again in 1968.
Calgary won the Olympic Games on September 30th 1981 beating out Falun, Sweden and Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy. The vote held by the IOC in Baden-Baden West Germany saw Calgary had the lead in the first round of voting, the second round saw it officially win with a vote of 35 to 25 over the city of Falun.
All levels of government helped to fund the games. The federal government provided $225 million (note all figures listed in CDN funds, not adjusted for inflation), the province of Alberta paid $125 million and the city of Calgary with $50 million. The American host network, ABC paid a then record $398 million, with the Canadian CTV television network paying domestic rights for $45 million. A further $90 million was raised by sponsorships and licenses.
Concern was raised almost from the beginning about the suitability of Calgary weather for hosting the winter Olympics. The area of the province frequently and unpredictably is plauged with chinook winds which periods where the weather becomes extremely unseasonably mild (in the plus Celsius range). A year prior to the event the Whit Fraser report hinted that there was a possibility that mild winter weather could cause major problems for the games. There were indeed minor problems--for example, a bobsled run had to be re-run.
The Olympic Torch Relay (marked as 'Share the Flame') was the longest relay in Olympic history. In 88 days the torch modeled after the Calgary Tower was carried by famous and ordinary citizens in a run across Canada. Citzens won the chance to run a 1km distance by entering a contest lottery sponsored by Petro Canada.
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Venues
When awarded the games, Calgary had very little in the way of sports infrastructure to host such an event. The following is a list of venues built for the games (see venues below for complete list of all facilities used for the games):
Olympic Oval - for speed skating, which was the first time in Olympic history where the event took place indoors under climate controlled conditions. This, along with the high altitude of the city resulted in virtually every world record in the sport being broken during the games.
Nakiska Alpine Ski Area - located at Mount Allan
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Legacy
The games are notable for turning a profit. A surplus of between $90-$150 million was made, with the money going to fund the various Olympic venues in Calgary. It's also important fact as it offset the stigma of hosting the Olympics after the financial disaster of the 1976 Montreal Olympic games (that were finally paid off just recently).
In 1999, a bribery scandal hit the Salt Lake Organizing Committee (SLOC) for the 2002 Winter Olympics. There was talk of stripping the rights of hosting the games away from the city. Calgary then offered to step in and host the 2002 games.
Calgary would try again for the games in 2010, but lost out to Vancouver when the Canadian Olympic association choose it as the city that would represent the Canadian bid. See Vancouver 2010
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Highlights
Two competitors, Eddie 'the Eagle' Edwards in ski jumping and the Jamaican Bobsled Team, entered their respective competitions with little experience and less chance of winning any medals. However, the determination of these novices to compete in spite of being outmatched by their competitors won the affection of the spectators which overshadowed the actual winners. They were hailed as demonstrating the true Olympic spirit as playing for the simple thrill of competition. The story of the bobsledding team was made into a film called Cool Runnings.
For the first time the Winter Olympics were extended to 16 days, the speed skating events were held indoors on a covered rink, the alpine events took place on artificial snow, and warm Chinook winds not only threatened to cancel events, but sent a ski jumper flying into a camera tower.
For the first time the Closing Ceremony was held in the same main Olympic stadium as the Opening Ceremony.
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Medals awarded
See the medal winners, ordered by sport:
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Demonstration sports
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Venues
Canada Olympic Park - Ski jumping, bobsleigh, luge, Nordic combined, freestyle skiing (aerials and ballet), disabled alpine skiing
Nakiska - Alpine skiing, freestyle moguls skiing
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Medal count
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The Olympics in Canada and Calgary
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1988 was the second time Canada had hosted the Olympics, after the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal. Subsequently, Canada won the bid to host the 2010 Winter Olympics for Vancouver.
Unfortunately, like in Montreal, the host Canadian team again failed to obtain a gold medal. The Canadian Olympic Committee has pledged to change this at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver with a program called Own the Podium - 2010, and the Olympic team's success in Turin 2006 made that seem like a distinct possibility.
Calgary gained international stature from the Olympics, and ended the events with world class facilities to host international meets and serve as a training facility. Ever mindful of the financial disaster of the 1976 Summer Olympics, Calgary was financially successful, erasing the spectre of a second Canadian games at a loss. Its use of the profits for the future Canada Olympic Park and the funding of Canadian athletes through the Calgary Olympic Development Association (CODA) gave Calgary a lasting legacy and impact on the Canadian sports scene. It also provided funds for the maintenance and upgrading of athletic facilities in Calgary, Banff, and Lake Louise. Well after the Olympics ended, CODA has continued to use its resources to develop resources for Olympic athletes in the city, which includes supporting Canada's first high school designed for Olympic calibre athletes, in a partnership with the Calgary Board of Education.
Not only was there a profound economic impact, there was a substantial social one as well. From the unprecedented volunteer involvement in staging the games, to a program where ordinary Calgarians could purchase, for $19.88, a brick at the medal presentation plaza with their name laser-engraved on it, the involvement of ordinary Calgarians was evident. This was of paramount importance to the organizing committee, OCO'88, as it kept the games from appearing distant and "out of reach".
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Trivia
The instrumental theme song ("Winter Games") was composed and performed by Canadian musician David Foster.
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Participants
A record of 57 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) entered athletes at the 1988 Winter Olympic Games.
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Costumes
The official mascots of the games were two white-furred, western-attired bears named Hidy and Howdy. The names were chosen from a field of 7,000 names through a contest sponsored by the Calgary Zoo. They were designed by Sheila Scott of Great Scott Productions, and produced by International Mascot.
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See also
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