Winter Olympics Schedule: Why February & Not Summer?

Series “Olympic Trivia” Part 1

When you watch the Olympics, where many different sports are being played, do you ever wonder about the rules and conventions of each sport and wonder, “If you think about it, what is this all about?” “THE ANSWER,” a sports culture, training, and comprehensive news site, is running a series called “Olympic Trivia” during the Milan-Cortina Olympics. Koichi Ogishima, a specialist who has been following sports for 40 years as a reporter for a sports newspaper company, answers simple questions that are too late to ask. We provide trivia to help you enjoy watching the Olympics. The first part is about the years in which the Summer and Winter Games are held.

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Q.Why are the Winter Olympics held in the middle year of the Summer Olympics?

A. Because I wanted the winter tournament to stand out on its own from being an “extra”.

[Explanation]

The Winter Games, which were held in the same year as the Summer Games, became independent for the first time in 1994 at Lillehammer. The previous Albertville Games were held in 1992, the same year as the Barcelona Summer Games. During this period, the event was held for two years.

The history of the modern Olympic Games begins with the first Athens Games in 1896, but the winter games were not held until the Chamonix Games in 1924. It was held in France, prior to the Paris Summer Games that year. This small event, with 258 participants from 16 countries, marked the beginning of the history of the Winter Olympics.

At that time, there was a strong “extra” aspect to the Summer Games, and countries that initially hosted the Summer Games were given priority rights to host the Winter Games. It may be like using the winter tournament as a “dry run” to prepare for the actual summer tournament.

In 1986, the IOC suddenly decided to change the year of the event. The aim was to increase the value of the Games by making the Winter Games independent and holding the Olympics every two years. “Independence” was also a huge success in terms of sales, including television broadcasting rights fees and sponsorship income.

Until the 1984 Sarajevo Games, the games were held for 12 days, but from the 1988 Calgary Games, they were extended to 16 days (currently 17 days), the same as the Summer Games. The Winter Games have grown significantly in the 30 years since the calendar changes, such as the addition of curling and snowboarding to the 1998 Nagano Games, the second event after independence.

The separation of summer and winter seasons expands the possibilities for athletes. Ayumu Hirano, who is aiming for a consecutive snowboarding victory at this year’s tournament, also competed in skateboarding at the 2021 Tokyo Summer Games. “Dual wielding” became a hot topic. By moving away from the “extras” of summer, the Winter Games have become an attractive Olympics.