At the 91st session of the International Olympic Committee in 1984, France nominated two of its cities at once to host the Winter and Summer Olympics. The "winter option" was more fortunate - in a dispute with five more European and one American cities, the small town of Albertville won. It is located in the southeast of the country, close to the borders with Italy and Switzerland.
Albertville is a small town with a population of less than 20 thousand people, located on the banks of the Arly River in the French Alps. The difference in altitude in the city and the adjacent ski resorts is almost 1,700 meters, and the developed infrastructure of Central Europe creates ideal conditions for organizing competitions in winter sports.
A temporary stadium for 35 thousand spectators was specially prepared for the opening and closing ceremonies, as well as several starts for skaters. It was the last time in the history of the Olympics that speed skating competitions were held in the open air. Part of the stadium structures were brought from Barcelona, where they were used at the Summer Olympics of the same year. Immediately after the closing ceremony, it was dismantled and later used as a traveling circus.
The rest of the competition was held not in Albertville itself, but in nine nearby villages and resort areas. Ski jumping and Nordic combined events were taken to Courchevel, skiers competed in Les Arcs, and skiers in Val d'Isère, Les Menuires and Méribel. In Meribel, the matches of the Olympic hockey tournament were also held. Competitions in biathlon and cross-country skiing were held in Le Sesy, freestyle in Tignes, and curling in Pralognan-la-Vanoise. A bobsleigh and luge track has been prepared at La Plagne.
In total, the XVI Winter Olympic Games included competitions in 57 disciplines of 7 sports. 1,800 Olympians from 64 countries of the world competed for victory in them, the most prepared of which were in the German team, which recently united the athletes of the GDR and the Federal Republic of Germany. The Germans won 26 awards, 3 medals ahead of the representatives of the united team of the six former republics of the USSR.
