Exceptions to this rule have happened in the Summer Olympics in 1900, 1996, and 2016, as well as the Summer Youth Olympic Games in 2010 and 2018. Figure skating arenas were frequently used as focal points in the early winter Olympics. These were frequently recognized as Olympic Stadiums, and they generally hosted the opening and closing ceremonies. The first true Olympic Stadium was built for the 1920 Paris Games. Since then, every subsequent Winter Olympics has had one or more such stadiums.
The current stadium is known as the Pierre de Coubertin Olympic Stadium after its builder, French architect Pierre de Coubertin. It is located within the Lausanne Sports City in Lausanne, Switzerland, and it is the main stadium of the FIS Ski Jumping World Championships. The stadium can hold up to 90,000 people and was opened in 2003. It is also used for football matches and concerts. In addition, it has been proposed that it will be used for rugby sevens during the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.
There are currently plans to build an Olympic Stadium for the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. If these plans come to fruition, it will be the second time that China has hosted the event, after Shanghai did so for the first time in 2008.
Of all the proposals made by cities around the world, only two have been accepted by the IOC: the Stade Olympique in Montreal and the National Football Center in Berlin.
The first stadium used for this purpose was the Paris Games of 1900. It was a 500-seat theater that was used as a venue for dramatic performances during the summer games. A second stadium was used at the St. Louis Games four years later. That structure was an 8,000-seat baseball park that had been built for the 1904 World's Fair.
The third figure skating stadium was the Empire State Building. Isobel O'Sullivan, one of America's greatest ice dancers, introduced the world to what is now known as the double twist during an exhibition performance there in 1936. The building was converted into a sports arena for the 1952 Winter Olympics after being rejected for use as a landmark building.
The fourth and final stadium used for figure skating at the Winter Olympics was Lake Placid Olympic Sports Complex. It was built for the IIHF World Championships in 1989 and has been used since for men's and women's ice hockey as well as figure skating events.
The first speedskating stadium used for the Winter Olympics was the Madison Square Garden Bowl. It held 6,000 people and opened its doors in 1924.
Five events have appeared in every Winter Olympic Games since they were first held in 1924: ice hockey, cross-country skiing, ski jumping, figure skating, and speed skating. Here's a peek at those exciting events, as well as some additional fan favorites to keep an eye out for.
Bobsleigh, skeleton, and luge were added to the Winter Olympics program in 1994. Women's ice hockey was played for the first time in 1998. Ski mountaineering and nordic combined were launched in 2002. In 2006, bobsled, skeleton, and luge were removed from the Olympic schedule due to safety concerns. Women's ice hockey was dropped after 2008 due to low popularity compared to other sports offered by the IOC.
Ice dancing was introduced into the Olympic program in 2014. It is a combination of ice hockey and dance that has become popular among fans and athletes alike. The pair skates differ from each other mainly in terms of strategy on how they approach each periodization point. In ice hockey, teams are divided into two groups when playing a round-robin format. A group winner is determined based on cumulative points accumulated through wins/losses. The second-place team from each group then plays off in a separate final to determine who will go onto the next stage of the tournament/race. In dance, all dances are performed together by both partners on the same side of the rink during one periodization point.
Copyright © 2020 - 2023 Sportsmanist Inc.
