The 2022 Winter Olympics Start Soon

This year, the 24^th Winter Olympic Games will be held in Beijing, China. The games have come a long way since 1924 when the first Winter Olympics were held in Chamonix, France. Let’s get you up to snuff with some fun facts you may not have known about the Winter Olympic Games.

1. Only 1 city has ever hosted both the Summer and Winter Olympic Games:

That city is Beijing, China. In preparation for the Winter Olympic Games, organizers worked to bring elements of the 2008 Summer Olympic Games to this year’s games. Elements such as the torch and mascot which will take design cues from 2008. Even the venues where winter events will be hosted were also used in 2008 for summer events. Additionally Beijing, China and Oslo, Norway are the only capitals in the world to host the games.

 

2. This year, 109 sets of medals will be awarded to athletes from around the world. That’s 7 more than the previous Winter Olympic Games held in Pyeong Chang, South Korea.
    
3. 45% of athletes at Beijing will be women, making it the most gender-balanced Winter Games in Olympic History. We’ve come a long way, considering that at the 1924 inaugural Winter Olympics, women were only permitted to complete in one event: Figure Skating.
    
4. All eyes will be on Mikaela Shiffrin from Vail, Colorado. She will compete in 5 alpine skiing events. It’s reported that she brought 35 pairs of skis with her to Pyeong Chang in 2018, where she competed in 3 events. How many will she bring this year?
    
5. Since its inception, only 12 countries have participated in every Winter Olympic Games:
6. 1. Austria
   2. Canada
   3. Finland
   4. France
   5. Great Britain
   6. Hungary
   7. Italy
   8. Norway
   1. Poland
   10. Sweden
   11. Switzerland
   50. United States
       
       The United States is the only country to have won a gold medal at every Winter Olympic Games.
7. The first ever Winter Olympics to be broadcast in color was the 1968 Grenoble Games. For most of us, it would be hard to imagine watching in anything other than 4K!
    
8. This year’s Winter Olympics will take place during Chinese New Year, which runs from February 1^st through February 11^th.
    
9. No Snow? No Problem! The entire Olympic Winter Games will feature mostly artificial snow because Beijing is one of the driest parts of China.

You can start planning your Winter Olympics viewing strategy by checking out the events schedule here. Being that there is a 13-hour time difference, you may be setting your DVR as well.