The1988 Winter Olympics, officially known as theXV Olympic Winter Games (French:XVes Jeux olympiques d'hiver) and commonly known asCalgary 1988[b] were amulti-sport event held from February 13 to 28, 1988, withCalgary, Alberta as the main host city. This marks the most recent time that two consecutive Olympic Games were hosted in North America (with the 1984 Summer Olympic Games hosted in Los Angeles, California, United States).[2] It was the firstWinter Olympic Games to be held for 15 days, like the counterpartSummer Olympic Games.[3] The majority of the events took place in Calgary itself. However, the snow events were shared byNakiskaski resort inKananaskis Country at the west of the city[4][5] and theCanmore Nordic Centre Provincial Park in the town ofCanmore.[6]
At approximatelyC$829 million, the Calgary Games were the most expensive Olympics ever held at the time, as all the necessary infrastructure was built from scratch. The facilities that were built for these Winter Olympics helped the host region to turn into the heart of Canada's elite winter sports program, under the tutelage ofWinSport.[13] After the Games, their legacy still standing and in constant use, as the five purpose-built venues for those Games are now used for training and hosting various winter sporting events every year. These policies helped Canada develop into one of the top nations in Winter Olympics competition. The climax of this effort was the overall first-place finish at the2010 Winter Olympics inVancouver, Canada.[14]
Calgary made its fourth attempt at hosting the Winter Games when it bid for the 1988 Winter Olympic Games, which also marked Canada's seventh bid for the Winter Olympic Games.Montreal made the first Canadian bid for theWinter Games in 1956 and won the rights to host the1976 Summer Olympics, andVancouver made attempts to host the1976 and1980 Games. Calgary, alongside neighbouringBanff, under the leadership of theCalgary Olympic Development Association (CODA), submitted bids for the Winter Games in1964,1968, and1972.[16][17][18] However, CODA went dormant in 1966 after losing three consecutive bids. In 1978, Frank King and Bob Niven of Calgary's Booster Club took over the organization's leadership and revived CODA.[19][18][20][21] King and Niven consulted former Olympic Sprinter and CODA founder,Ernie McCullough, and politicianArthur Ryan Smith, who had worked on previous bids, for guidance on the project.[17]
In October 1979, CODA secured theCanadian Olympic Association's (COA) support for Canada's official bid to host the 1988 Winter Olympics, winning over a competing bid by Vancouver with a vote of 27–9.[18][22] Calgary's bid was at the time the most ambitious for the Winter Olympics ever, as the city lacked winter sports facilities and almost everything would have to be built from scratch. CODA proposed constructing all new venues, arguing that if Calgary was awarded the Games, Canada's inventory of training facilities would increase significantly.[18] The Vancouver bidding committee argued that Calgary's bid represented a "Big-ticket Games" idea, and estimated to cost nearly three times what Vancouver was expected to pay to host the Winter Olympics.[18][23] Vancouver's bid was based on already developed infrastructure, including theExpo 86 precinct, thePacific Coliseum andWhistler Blackcomb, which later served as the basis for thesuccessful 2010 Winter Olympics bid and the later unsuccessful2030 Winter Olympics bid.[24]
CODA then spent two years building local support for themegaproject, sellingCA$5 memberships to approximately 80,000 of Calgary's 600,000 residents.[15][18][25] Calgary also securedCA$270 million in funding from the federal (CA$200 million) andprovincial governments.[20] Some civic leaders, including then-mayorRalph Klein, travelled around the world to lobbyIOC delegates.[20] The arrival of theNational Hockey League's (NHL) newly relocatedCalgary Flames fromAtlanta in 1980 drove the city to construct a newmulti-use arena that would later be named theOlympic Saddledome, demonstrating to the IOC Calgary's determination to host the Winter Olympics.[26]
The Olympic bid itself emphasized the unique cultural and natural characteristics who mark theCalgary Metropolitan Region and theAlberta Province and alsocanadian prairies landscapes, as a perfect places for hosting the Winter Olympics. At the bidding documents, the city was marketed with a capitalist, oil-driven and vibrant economy that also had mountain playgrounds, extensivewilderness, and arodeo culture.[27] When the two images of Calgary and Alberta were brought together, they seemed to be contrasting; however, they complemented each other as part of extensive and intense bidding lobby process.[27]
Calgary was one of three finalists during the 1988 Winter Olympics bid process. The other two wereFalun, Sweden, andCortina d'Ampezzo, Italy.[18] The Italian town (comune) had before hosted the1956 Winter Olympics and was seen by many as the favorite.[20] The vote was held on September 30, 1981, inBaden-Baden,West Germany, during the 84thIOC Session and 11thOlympic Congress.[18] After Cortina d'Ampezzo was eliminated in the first round of balloting, Calgary won in the second and final round of balloting over Falun, by a margin of 17 votes.[15] The announcement of CODA's victory sent the delegates in Baden-Baden and Calgary residents into singing and dancing.[28] It also made thenAlberta premier,Peter Lougheed, burst openly into tears in front of the cameras. Later, Ralph Klein sang a rendition ofMac Davis'It's Hard to Be Humble.[29] It was the first Winter Olympics awarded to Canada and the second Olympic Games overall, following the1976 Summer Olympics inMontreal.[3] Cortina d'Ampezzo, along withMilan, would get to host the2026 Winter Olympics.[30] The town will be the fourth to host the Winter Olympics twice, along withSt. Moritz (1928 and1948),Lake Placid (1932 and1980), andInnsbruck (1964 and1976).
Olympic historians, John E. Findling and Kimberly D. Pelle noted that once the Games were awarded to Calgary, the cultural and community aspects of the bid were pushed aside by the newly formed Calgary Olympic organizing committee called theOlympiques Calgary Olympics '88 (OCO'88). It then proceeded to take on a "vigorous, resilient, and impersonal corporate business strategy" based in the work made byLos Angeles 1984 Organizing Committee (LAOCOG) toward the planning and operation of the Games.[27]
The IIHF called the Olympic Saddledome "the finest international rink in the world". It is also the largest hockey arena ever used at the Olympics with a capacity of 20,016 in 1988.[31]
Bill Pratt was a formergeneral contractor who took over as OCO'88 president in 1983. He was the mainmanager that oversaw the construction of the Olympicmegaproject. Donald Jacques, a former general manager of theCalgary Exhibition and Stampede, once said, "Because of him, everything was built on time and on budget." However, Bill Pratt was controversial by rubbing many of his colleagues the wrong way. One former co-worker once predicted back in 1983: "He will get everything built. There may not be many (of us) left around to enjoy it, but he'll get it done." His relations with thenews media were also strained at times. He had barely settled into his new position when the Calgary press media began criticizing OCO'88 for excessivesecrecy and for awarding Olympic contracts to Calgary'sPR firm Francis Williams and Johnson Ltd.[32] Pratt was a director of that firm, before accepting the organizing committee job. OCO'88 had insisted that there was no conflict of interest involved in the whole process. Therefore, Pratt declared: "I have been nailed for a lot, but that does not bother me. The record stands".[29] After the 1988 Winter Olympics bid was won in 1981, OCO'88 made a new technical assessment and had to re-plan all the originally proposed competition venues except for the few that already existed and were within the campus of theUniversity of Calgary.[33]
McMahon Stadium, the primary outdoor facility used mainly by theCanadian Football League's (CFL)Calgary Stampeders and inside of theUniversity of Calgary and had originally been chosen to host only theopening ceremonies and the Saddledome was chosen to be the place of theclosing ceremonies. But with the constant revisions of the project, the later addition of 4 more days in competition and mainly the gigantic demands for tickets, the Organizing Committee decided to move the closing ceremony to the Stadium which held twice the capacity of the Saddledome.[34] The last time that the two Winter Olympic ceremonies were held at the same venue was at the1960 Winter Olympics inSquaw Valley,California.[35]
The 1988 Winter Olympics' five main all-purpose venues were created at a significant cost at that time.[36] Three of them are located within Calgary and the other two are located west of the city. First, theOlympic Saddledome was planned to be the main venue of the games, hostingice hockey andfigure skating finals.This arena is also part ofStampede Park and was expected to costC$83 million, but acost overrun pushed it to nearly C$100 million and caused a nine-month delay.[35] Second, theOlympic Oval was built on the campus of the University of Calgary for C$40 million.[37] Contrary to what was proposed in the bid in which this infrastructure would be outdoors, throughout the process it was realized that it would have to be 100% covered and is the first fully enclosed 400-metrelong track speed skating in the world, to protect the athletes and public from bitterly coldweather and theChinook winds.[38] Third,Canada Olympic Park (formerly called thePaskapoo Ski Hill) was renovated for C$200 million and is located on the western outskirts of Calgary. This most expensive venue of these Winter Olympics hosted the men'sbobsleigh,luge, and men'sski jumping and its portion of theNordic combined events.[35] Also, it hosted some events of thedemonstration sport offreestyle skiing.
From the west of Calgary, the other two main all-purpose venues were built at thefoothills of theRocky Mountains. First, theCanmore Nordic Centre was 90% funded by theprovince of Alberta, for C$17.3 million.[37] It is located beside the town ofCanmore and it hostedcross-country skiing, plus its men's portion of the Nordic combined, and the men'sbiathlon events.Was projected that the area could become a year-round destination for Albertans, by facilitating and accelerate Canmore's economic transition away fromcoal mining to tourist attraction.[37][39] However, theNakiska (Cree meaning "to meet")ski resort was the most controversial and polemic complex built for these Winter Olympics.[38] It is located on Mount Allan (insideKananaskis Country) and it hosted thealpine skiing events.It cost around C$25 million to Alberta government funds. This venue drew a lot of criticisms because of the various environmental concerns, the rejection byInternational Ski Federation (FIS) of slopes for each of the 10 events in the program and the use of artificial snow due the lack of natural snow on that season.[33][40] After the first inspections, theInternational Ski Federation (FIS) officials noted the venue's lack of technical difficulties needed for the Olympic competition.[38] Therefore, these FIS delegates proposed some major changes in the slopes in an action to cause bigger difficulties. These modifications were met with praise from Olympic alpine skiing competitors.[41] Like at Canada Olympic Park, this venue also hosted some freestyle skiing events as a demonstration sport.
Three other existing facilities served as secondary competition venues for the Games. The first one, was theMax Bell Centre hosted the demonstration sports ofcurling andshort track speed skating. TheFather David Bauer Olympic Arena and theStampede Corral shared the functions of secondary venues for the ice hockey tournament and the figure skating preliminaries.[35] Though the Stampede Corral did not support theInternational Ice Hockey Federation's (IIHF) standard-sized Olympic ice surface, OCO'88 was able to convince the IIHF to sanction theice rink for Olympic competition, in exchange for a C$1.2 million payment.[38]
There were 46 events contested in 6 sports (10 disciplines). In addition, there were 22 events in 4 demonstration sports and disciplines that have no official status in the overall medal tally.
The weather conditions were a problem facing OCO'88 during the Games, with temperatures ranging from −28 to 22 °C (−18 to 72 °F).[43] After an unexpectedly freezing opening ceremony,[44] the outdoor competitions scheduled to start the next day had to be postponed. This ended up affecting the men'sdownhill skiing event atNakiska which was postponed for one day, due toChinook winds blowing up to 160 km/h.[45] The women's downhill event also experienced the same scenario. With theski jumping venue facing north atCanada Olympic Park (COP), the same winds also disrupted those events,[37] with the large hill event being postponed four times.[46] It also disrupted theNordic combined events, in which the ski jumping part had to be postponed as well. This situation ended up causing something unprecedented in the history of the Winter Olympics, as for the first time both the ski jumping and Nordic combined cross-country skiing events were contested in a single day.[47] Despite using artificial cooling,[37] thebobsleigh andluge events did not need to be rescheduled; however, several races had to be postponed because of the high temperatures recorded and also because of the dirt that was carried away by these winds.[48]
TheCalgary Olympic Development Association (CODA) Board of Directors had originally 25 members. It was chaired by Frank King,[21] followed by formerMayorsRalph Klein andRoss Alger, and other prominent Calgarians. The executive committee president was Robert Niven.[49] The Olympic Organizing Committee (OOC) was formed by utilizing many of the original board of directors members.[50] It was initially started with 11 members and was grown to 25 members by October 1983.[51] It grew further to 29 members by 1985, when formerAlberta premier,Peter Lougheed, was added to the list.[27][52] An Olympic biographer, Kevin Wamsley, noted that theCEO Frank King, PresidentBill Pratt, Ralph Klein, and formerCOA PresidentRoger Jackson had collectively the most influence on all aspects of these Winter Olympics.[27] This organizing committee took ahierarchical form for planning these Olympics, which caused consternation from some staff, volunteers, and people in executive roles. The original staff, who were at odds with the current management structure, were either fired or willingly resigned. Also, there were claims that some of the volunteers were verbally abused.[27] As a result, David Leighton resigned as OOC President in 1982, after only five months on the job. Therefore, Bill Pratt, a former general manager of theCalgary Stampede, became the new OCOG's president shortly afterwards.[27][53] TheCity of Calgary and the Canadian Olympic Association (COA) delegated officially all Olympic responsibilities, including staging the Winter Olympics under theOlympic Charter, to the newly formed OCO'88 in February and September 1983 respectively.[53]
However, conflicts within OCO'88 grew in the public eye and a review of the entire management structure was conducted after Ralph Klein threatened it with a public inquiry in 1986.[33] Thus, Frank King remained as CEO, but with the addition of more full-time staff. Also, more than 9,000 volunteers were registered who were allocated to the most diverse areas.[33] Despite these changes, there was still some animosity within OCO'88. Kevin Walmsley noted that Bill Pratt and Frank King continued to have a very tense relationship and that any movement caused sparks with each other.[29] Some members of themedia commented that the changes made further alienated the general public, with ahost broadcaster producer,Ralph Mellanby, describing it as "an oilman's and cattleman's Calgary thing."[29] Long-timeIOC memberDick Pound, on behalf of theInternational Olympic Committee (IOC), went on record to say that the IOC grew increasingly frustrated, as it saw the actions of OCO'88 as a refusal to collaborate with them.[29]
The 1988 Winter Olympic Games coincided with a shift intelevision policy by the International Olympic Committee and growing enthusiasm by broadcasters in the United States. Amendments to theOlympic Charter in 1977 established a policy mandating joint television rights involving the IOC and the local organizing committee and was enshrined in the 1981 bid agreement for the Calgary games.[54]
The joint negotiating committee convened in 1984 late-January, some weeks before the Sarajevo 1984 Winter Games at the IOC's president residency at theLausanne Palace were held to negotiate the Calgary television contracts with American broadcasters.[55] The negotiating committee was represented byDick Pound for the IOC, Bill Wardle for OCO'88 and consultant Barry Frank. The co-negotiating committee designed a new tender process for the television rights bid with an emphasis on creating a level playing field for all broadcasters. For the first time, the negotiations were based on a series ofsealed bids and representatives fromABC,CBS andNBC vied for the opportunity to broadcast the Games.[54]
After six rounds of sealed bids, the ABC delegation led by producerRoone Arledge was successful with an agreement paying a recordUS$309 million (CA$386 million Canadian at the time) in exchange for exclusive rights for the games.[56][57] CBS exited the bidding process after the second round with a final offer of $257 million, while ABC and NBC both reached the fifth round with an offer of $300 million.[54][57] In the sixth and final stage, the IOC and OCO'88 decided acoin flip would determine which of ABC or NBC had the right to submit the first bid or defer, a decision neither network supported.[57] NBC's president of sports Arthur A. Watson elected to call the coin-flip, although he remained silent on the first flip, so a second coinflip was required, and NBC won with a choice of "heads", and after 30 minutes of deliberation submitted a $304 million bid.[57] ABC's representative Arledge made a quick phone call to executive Fred Pierce, and ABC submitted a $309 million bid, exceeding NBC's bid by $5 million.[54][57] ABC's record-setting bid was immediately controversial, first Arledge had exceeded the maximum allowable bid set by ABC's executives by $34 million, and in the coming weeks ABC's coverage of the1984 Winter Olympics which cost $91.5 million[33][58] returned poorNielsen ratings.[56] Early estimates speculated the network would lose $50-$60 million televising the games.[56]The Wall Street Journal described the NBC agreement as the "biggest prize of theWinter Olympics".[56] The deal which was at the time the highest amount ever paid for a sporting event, allowed OCO'88 to announce the Games would be debt-free.[59]
The negotiations with American television broadcasters were in sharp contrast to negotiations for Western European rights with theEuropean Broadcasting Union quickly closing an exclusive deal with the IOC forUS$5.7 million led byJuan Antonio Samaranch andMarc Hodler on behalf of the IOC.[60] TheCalgary Herald headline after the announcement negatively reflected on the "bargain" the European network received, and OCO'88 chairman Frank King publicly expressed his disappointment with the IOC.[60] Samaranch's argument for providing for a privileged negotiation with EBU was ensuring European viewers had equal access and coverage of the games, something he did not believe would occur if private networks from each nation were provided with the opportunity to bid.[60] Dick Pound was also critical of the decision and argued more revenue could be brought in from BBC and RAI alone and the privileged status suppressed the willingness of the EBU to make a market-value bid on the games.[61]
TheCTV Television Network won the bid to broadcast the Games in Canada in December 1983, payingCA$4.5 million for the exclusive rights.[62][63] CTV also won the $23.5 million contract to serve as the host broadcaster, responsible for the manpower and equipment to televise the games.[62] In 1978, while the bid was strengthened, CBC and CTV signed an agreement that if Calgary were the eventual winner, the two broadcasters would create a consortium in which the purchase of television rights would take place jointly. The previous arrangement had CBC provide full coverage for Summer Games with CTV broadcasting a nightly summary, while CTV had the rights to Winter Games with CBC broadcasting a nightly summary.[64] The nightly summary of the Games was also televised onCBC.[65][66]
Japan's broadcast rights were awarded toNHK in July 1986 forUS$3.9 million.[67]
OCO'88 made several alterations to the Olympic program as part of efforts to ensure value for its broadcast partners. Now, the premier and main events, including ice hockey and figure skating, were scheduled forprime time and the Games were lengthened to 15 days from the previous 12 to ensure three weekends of coverage.[68] However, a significant downturn in advertising revenue for sporting events resulted in ABC forecasting significant financial losses on the Games. Calgary organizers appreciated their fortunate timing in signing the deal. King described the timing of the contract with ABC as "the passing of the sun and the moon at the right time for Calgary".[65][66] The revenue growth from broadcasting was significant for the Calgary Games, OCO'88 generated $324.9 million in broadcast rights, which was a significant growth over an eight-period (the1980 Lake Placid Games generatedUS$20.7 million).[69] ABC had net losses of more than $60 million, and broadcast rights to the1992 Winter Olympics were later sold to theCBS network for $243 million, a 20 per cent reduction compared to Calgary.[70]
A series of ticket-related scandals plagued the organizing committee as the Games approached, resulting in widespread public anger.[71] Demand for tickets was high, particularly for the main events which had sold out a year in advance. Residents had been promised that only 10 per cent of tickets would go to "Olympic insiders", IOC officials and sponsors, but OCO'88 was later forced to admit that up to 50 percent of seats to top events had gone to insiders.[38] The organizing committee, which was subsequently chastised by mayor Klein for running a "closed shop", admitted that it had failed to properly communicate the obligations it had to supply IOC officials and sponsors with priority tickets.[72]
These events were preceded by the ticketing manager for OCO'88 being charged with theft and fraud after he sent modified ticket request forms to Americans that asked them to pay in United States funds rather than Canadian and to return them to his company's post office box rather than the office of the organizing committee. At that time, the American dollar wastrading 40 cents higher than the Canadian dollar, resulting in significantly higher than anticipated revenue through currency conversion.[73][29][74] The ticket manager maintained his innocence claiming he was used as a scapegoat and sponsor credit cardVisa was responsible for the error, despite his claims, the ticketing manager was convicted offraud,theft, andforgery, and sentenced to 5 years in prison.[75]
Organizers attempted to respond to public concern by asking sponsors to consider reducing their orders and by paying $1.5 million to add 2,600 seats to the Saddledome, as well as increase capacity for ski jumping, alpine skiing and the opening ceremonies. This led to a change of the venue of the closing ceremonies from Saddledome to McMahon Stadium, as the stadium capacity was about two times bigger than the indoor venue.[74] King also noted that the Calgary Games offered a then-record 1.9 million tickets for sale,[74] three times the amount available at Sarajevo or Lake Placid and that 79 percent of them were to be allocated to Calgarians.[74][72] By the start of the 1988 Winter Games, a record of over 1.4 million tickets had been sold,[76] a figure that eclipsed the previous three Winter Games combined.[77] In the OCO'88's final report, the Committee admits the culmination of fraud charges, a large portion of premier tickets requested by Olympic insiders, and poor communications led to a negative public reaction to the ticketing process.[74]
For the first time in the history of the Olympics, both summer and winter, the Organizing Committee worked with a refund policy for returned or unused tickets. When an event was postponed by at least 24 hours, the ticketholder was eligible for a refund. Due to weather issues, the 8 events that were scheduled for the first 24 hours had to be rescheduled, resulting in 130,000 ticket refunds totallingCA$2.9 million, with transactions handled by theRoyal Bank of Canada.[78]
Hidy and Howdy were the mascots of the Calgary Games.
The city of Calgary is world-renowned for the enthusiasm of its population for volunteer work which is reflected in the annualCalgary Stampede, which also relied heavily on volunteers to run the Olympics. Over 22,000 people signed up for more than 9,400 positions, no matter how inglorious: doctors, lawyers and executives even offered to collect the waste generated during the opening ceremony.[79] Also, for the first time, a "Homestay" program was created and several local families opened their homes to visitors from around the world, and others were renting their rooms or houses to those who could not stay in pay a reserve in a hotel.[38]
Klein was among those who felt it necessary that the event be community driven, a decision which allowed the city's welcoming spirit to manifest.[80] The Games' mascots,Hidy and Howdy, were designed to evoke images of "western hospitality".[81] The smiling, cowboy-themedpolar bears were popular across Canada. Played by a team of 150 students fromBishop Carroll High School, the sister-brother pair made up to 300 appearances per month in the lead-up to the Games.[82][83] From their introduction at the closing ceremonies of the Sarajevo Games in 1984 until their retirement at the conclusion of the Calgary Games, the pair made about 50,000 appearances.[82] The iconic mascots graced signs welcoming travellers to Calgary for nearly two decades until they were replaced in 2007.[84] The mascot's names "Hidy" and "Howdy" were chosen by a public contest.[51]
The 1988 Winter Olympic Games were the most expensive Games, summer or winter, to be held at that time, with total expenses exceedingCA$879.6 million.[76][d] The high cost was anticipated, as organizers were aware at the outset of their bid that most facilities would have to be constructed.[23] The venues, constructed primarily with public money, were designed to have lasting use beyond the Games and were planned to become the home of several of Canada's national winter sports teams.[87] The record-breaking cost of the Calgary Olympics came in stark contrast to the original projections during the 1981 bid, which estimated a total cost ofCA$218 million, split betweenCA$126 million in capital costs andCA$92 million in operating costs.[88] The significant growth in capital expenditures came despite the three levels of government taking over projects which constituted nearly half of the original budgeted capital projects.[89]
The primary source of revenue for OCO'88 was the lucrative television contracts, bringing inCA$325.9 million (58.3 per cent of revenue), the absolute majority coming from American broadcasters, followed by corporate sponsorships atCA$88 million (15.8 per cent of revenue), and ticket sales ofCA$41.9 million (7.5 per cent of revenue).[89] Of the total expenses for the Games (CA$879.6 million), the Government of Canada contributedCA$200 million (22.7 per cent), the Government of Alberta contributedCA$130 million (14.8 per cent), and the City of Calgary contributedCA$43 million (4.9 per cent).[86] TheCA$320.8 million of government capital contributions not directly included in OCO'88's revenue statements included the Government of Canada constructing theCA$72.2 millionCanada Olympic Park,[90] andCA$40 million for theOlympic Oval.[91] Provincial expenses includedCA$14.4 million to build theCanmore Nordic Centre,[39] andCA$25.3 million to buildNakiska.[92] All three governments contributed to theCA$97.7 millionOlympic Saddledome.[26] Of OCO'88's reported revenue ofCA$526.8 million,CA$110 million was paid to the IOC as a share of television and market rights, and an additionalCA$7 million was paid to the United States Olympic Committee for rights to broadcast the Games in the United States, andCA$3 million was reimbursed to NOC's for accommodation fees at the Games.[93]
The Games were a major economic boom for the city, which had fallen into its worstrecession in 40 years following the collapse of both oil and grain prices three years before the games.[77][94] A report prepared for the city in January 1985 estimated the games would create 11,100man-years of employment and generateCA$450 million in salaries and wages.[95] In its post-Games report, OCO'88 estimated the Olympics createdCA$1.4 billion in economic benefits across Canada during the 1980s, 70 percent within Alberta, as a result of capital spending, increased tourism and new sporting opportunities created by the facilities.[93]
The identity of the final torchbearer who would light the Olympic cauldron was one of the Organizing Committee's most closely guarded secrets.[101] The relay began at St. John's withBarbara Ann Scott andFerd Hayward representing Canada's past Olympians and ended withKen Read andCathy Priestner carrying the torch into McMahon Stadium representing the nation's current Olympians.[102] They then stopped to acknowledge the contribution of parathleteRick Hansen and his "Man in Motion" tour[103] before handing the torch to 12-year-oldRobyn Perry, an aspiring figure skater who was selected to represent the future of the Olympic Movement three years before the IOC changed the year of the Winter Games, to light the cauldron.[101][104]
The design of the Olympic Torch for the Calgary games was a reproduction of the main landmark building of the Calgary skyline, theCalgary Tower.[105] TheNational Research Council Canada developed the design for the Torch,[105] the base of the torch is made ofmaple wood, the national tree of Canada,aluminum, and hardened steel, all 100% collected in Canadian territory. The torch was designed to remain lit despite the extreme conditions of Canadian winters.[106] The Torch had to be light enough for relay runners to carry comfortably, and the final design came in at 60 centimetres in length and 1.7 kilograms in weight.[105][37][107] The maple handle portion included laser-incised pictograms of the 10 official Olympic Winter sports, and lettering was engraved on the steel caldron portion.[105] The torch used a mixed type of three fuels (gasoline, kerosene and alcohol) to allow a continuous burn during the unpredictable Canadian winter.[105] Approximately 100 torches were manufactured for the Games.[105]
The 1988 Winter Games began on the afternoon of February 13 with a $10 million opening ceremony in front of 60,000 spectators at McMahon Stadium that featured 5,500 performers,[108] an aerial flyover by theRoyal Canadian Air Force'sSnowbirds,[109] the parade of nations and the release of 1,000homing pigeons.[108] Canadian composerDavid Foster performed the instrumental theme song ("Winter Games") and its vocal version ("Can't You Feel It?"),[110] while internationally recognized Canadian folk/country musiciansGordon Lightfoot singingFour Strong Winds andIan Tyson performingAlberta Bound were among the featured performers.[110][111]Governor GeneralJeanne Sauvé opened the Games on behalf of QueenElizabeth II as an estimated 1.5 billion people watched the ceremony.[112][113]
Katarina Witt won gold in women's figure skating
The weather was a dominant story throughout much of the Games, as strong chinook winds that brought daily temperatures as high as 17 °C (63 °F) wreaked havoc on the schedules for outdoor events. Events were delayed when winds were deemed unsafe for competitors and organizers used artificial snow making equipment to ensure skiing venues were properly prepared.[114] It was the first time in Olympic history that alpine events were held on artificial snow.[115] The Games were also marred by the death of the Austrian ski team's doctor, Joerg Oberhammer, on February 25 after a collision with another skier threw him underneath a working snow grooming machine at Nakiska, crushing and killing him instantly. The incident was ruled an accident.[116]
The top individual competitors at the Olympics were Finnish ski jumperMatti Nykänen and Dutch speed skaterYvonne van Gennip as they each won three gold medals.[7][9][115] Italy'sAlberto Tomba won gold in two skiing events, his first of five career Olympic medals en route to becoming the first alpine skier to win medals at three Winter Games.[117] East Germany'sKatarina Witt defended her 1984 gold medal in women's figure skating, capturing a second gold in Calgary.[117] Her compatriotChrista Rothenburger won the gold medal in the 1000 metre race in speed skating, then went on to win a silver medal in theteam sprint cycling event at the 1988 Summer Games to become the only person in Olympic history to win medals at both Olympic Games in the same year.[115] The Soviet Union won gold in ice hockey as Nordic neighbours Finland and Sweden took silver and bronze, respectively.[118]
As it had in 1976, Canada again failed to win an official gold medal as the host of an Olympic Games.[119] Canadians won two gold medals in demonstration events, including bySylvie Daigle as one of her five medals in short-track speed skating.[120] Canada's top official performances came in figure skating whereBrian Orser andElizabeth Manley each won silver medals. Promoted by the media as the "Battle of the Brians"—the competition between Orser and American rivalBrian Boitano—and the "Battle of the Carmens"—between Witt and American rivalDebi Thomas, who had both elected to skate toBizet'sCarmen in their long programs—were the marquee events of the Games. Boitano won the gold medal over Orser by one-tenth of a point.[121] Witt won the gold while Thomas won the bronze medal.[122] Manley was not viewed as a medal contender, but skated the greatest performance of her career to come within a fraction of Witt's gold medal-winning score.[117]
American speed skaterDan Jansen's personal tragedy was one of the more poignant events of the Games as he skated the 500 metre race mere hours after his sister Jane died ofleukemia.[123] A gold medal favourite, Jansen chose to compete as he felt it is what his sister would have wanted. Viewers around the world witnessed his heartbreak as he fell and crashed into the outer wall in the first quarter of his heat.[124] In the 1000 metre race four days later, Jansen was on a world record pace when he again fell. After failing again in Albertville, Jansen finally won a gold medal at the1994 Lillehamer Games.[125]
The Netherlands' Yvonne van Gennip (left) won three gold medals in Calgary
One of the most popular athletes from the games was British ski jumperMichael Edwards, who gained infamy by placing last in both the 70 and 90 metre events finishing 70 and 53 points behind his next closest competitor, respectively.[117][126] Edwards' "heroic failure" made him an instant celebrity; he went from earning £6,000 per year as a plasterer before the Games to making £10,000 per hour per appearance afterward.[127] Left embarrassed by the spectacle he created, the IOC altered the rules following Calgary to eliminate each nation's right to send at least one athlete and set minimum competition standards for future events.[128] Regardless, the President of the Organizing Committee, Frank King, playfully saluted Edwards' unorthodox sporting legacy, which would also be commemorated with a 2016 feature film,Eddie the Eagle.[129]
TheJamaican bobsleigh team, making their nation's Winter Olympic debut, was also popular in Calgary.[117] The team was the brainchild of a pair of Americans who recruited individuals with strong sprinting ability from the Jamaican military to form the team.[130] Dudley Stokes and Michael White finished the two-man event in 30th place out of 41 competitors and launched the Jamaican team into worldwide fame.[117] The pair, along with Devon Harris and Chris Stokes, crashed in the four-man event, but were met with cheers from the crowd as they pushed their sled across the finish line.[130] Their odyssey was made into the 1993 movieCool Runnings, a largely fictionalized comedy byWalt Disney Pictures.[131]
A set of medals from the Games on display at theScotiabank Saddledome in Calgary.Postage stamp depictingMatti Nykänen at the Calgary Winter Olympic Games
All of the long trackworld (WR) andOlympic records (OR) that occurred during these Games were later broken at succeeding Winter Olympics and other world events.[35]
Prior to 1988, the Winter Olympics were viewed as a second-rate event, in comparison to the Summer Olympics. TheIOC had, at one point, considered eliminating it altogether.[68] First, there are only a few mountainous areas in the world that would be able to host the Winter Olympics. Second, there were major challenges in generating revenues for the host city and the IOC from such Games.[132] However,CODA convinced the IOC that it could not only generate enough revenues to make a profit but have enough money left over to ensure a lasting legacy of winter sports development.[68] OCO'88 followed mainly the example of LAOOC which organized the1984 Summer Olympics. Under LAOOC's president,Peter Ueberroth, he was able to attract a large United States television contract andLos Angeles became the first Olympic host city to make a profit.[132] For the 1988 Winter Olympics, OCO'88 attracted financial support from over two dozen major Canadian andmultinational corporations, in order to generate millions of dollars in revenues.[63]
For OCO'88, itforesaw somewinter sports, like the debut of theSuper-G and other new winter sports events, as a way to increase theaudience's appeal of the Winter Olympics. Thus, for the sponsors, the Games' length of time to 15 days provided an extra weekend of Olympic media coverage to the world. This additional programming time was filled mainly byTV-friendly demonstration events that are popular in Canada. The 1988 Winter Olympics' exposure tocurling,freestyle skiing, andshort track speed skating events in Calgary influenced the worldwide popularity of all of them. So much so that all these events became the new and official Olympic finals in the period between the1992 Winter Olympics to the2002 Winter Olympics.[132]
Hosting the Winter Olympics helped fuel a significant increase in Calgary's reputation on the world stage.[80] Crosbie Cotton, a reporter for theCalgary Herald who covered the city's Olympic odyssey from its 1979 initiative to the closing ceremonies, noted an increased positive outlook of the city's population over time. He believed that the populace began to outgrow its "giantinferiority complex" that is "typically Canadian", by replacing it with a new level of confidence as the Games approached.[133] This outcome helped the city grow from a regional oil and gas centre, best known for theCalgary Stampede, to a destination for international political, economic, and sporting events.[80] A study prepared for the organizing committee of the2010 Winter Olympics, (VANOC), claimed that Calgary hosted over 200 national and international sporting competitions between 1987 and 2007, due to the facilities it had constructed for these Olympic Games.[134]
The Games' enduring popularity within Calgary has been attributed to efforts in making them "everybody's Games." Aside from the sense of community fostered by the high level of volunteer support, OCO'88 included the general public in other ways. For example, the citizens were given an opportunity to purchase abrick with their names engraved on it. Those bricks were used to build theOlympic Plaza, where the medal ceremonies were held in 1988. It remains a popular public park and event site in the city'sdowntown core today.[135]
After the success of these Olympic Games, Calgary was wanting to bring back the Olympic experience again. It offered, to theIOC, in becoming a possible alternate host city of the2002 Winter Olympics, after abidding scandal resulted in speculation thatSalt Lake City would not be able to remain the host city.[136] Next, the city was attempting to be Canada's bid for the2010 Winter Olympics, but theCOC decided to give it toVancouver andWhistler.[137] Later, a 2013Calgary Sun online poll found that 81% of respondents said they would support the idea of hosting another Winter Olympics.[138] On November 13, 2018, Calgary held a public non-bindingplebiscite on whether it should bid to host the2026 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. On November 19, 2018, the results of the plebiscite showed that 56.4% (171,750) of eligible voters said "No", while 43.6% (132,832) of them said "Yes." Therefore, thecity council concluded that the bid would be withdrawn.[139]
Canada increased its medal totals in each successive Winter Games from Calgary until Vancouver in 2010.
In light of the1976 Summer Olympics' disastrous financial legacy,[140] the Calgary Olympic organizing committee, OCO'88, parlayed its ability to generate television and sponsorship revenues, along with the three levels of government support, into what was ultimately aC$170 million surplus.[68] While OCO'88 reported officially a surplus after the Games were over, the accounting practices of the final report did not include federal, provincial, and municipal capital and operations funding infrastructures.[141][142]
The overall surplus was turned intoendowment funds that were split betweenCanada Olympic Park (C$110 million) andCODA. They were subsequently reformed later, in order to manage the Olympic facilities with atrust fund that had grown steadily to be worth over C$200 million by 2013.[68] Consequently, all five primary facilities built for the 1988 Winter Olympics remained operational for their intended purposes, 25 years after the Games concluded.[143] Calgary andCanmore became the heart of winter sports in Canada, as CODA (now known as WinSport) established itself as the nation's leader in developing elite winter athletes. For the2006 Winter Olympics, a quarter of Canada's Olympic winter athletes were from the Calgary region and three-quarters of its medalists were from or trained in Alberta.[134]
Before 1988, Canada was not a winter sports power. The nation's five overall medals won in Calgary was its second-best total at a Winter Olympics, behind the seven overall medals it won at the1932 Winter Olympics inLake Placid, New York.[144] After 1988, Canada won an increasing number of gold and overall medals at each successive Winter Olympics.[145] It culminated in an overall performance of 26 medals won at the2010 Winter Olympics, which included the previous Olympic record of 14 gold medals.[146] Until 2010, Norway won the most Olympic gold medals on home soil at the1952 Winter Olympics. However, Norway recaptured the record of winning the most Olympic gold medals at a single Winter Olympics in2022, claiming 16. At the2018 Winter Olympics, Canada earned its highest overall medal count in the Winter Olympics to date, with a total of 29 medals.[147]
^The emblem is a stylized, pentagon-shaped, snowflake and maple leaf. It is made up of five large and five small letters of "C." The large "C"s symbolizes the country of Canada. The small "c"s symbolizes the city of Calgary. The whole emblem is above the Olympic rings.
^abDoes not include capital expenditures by the Government of Canada (additional $151 million), Government of Alberta (additional $127 million) and City of Calgary (additional $43 million).
^The Boston Globe lists the Games' expenses atCA$829 million,[76] while the OCO'88 reports the committee spentCA$558.8 million, in addition to federal, provincial and municipal capital expenditures ofCA$320.8 million, resulting in a total ofCA$879.6 million. The total does not include services rendered by the three levels of government.[86]
^Abrams, Bill (February 22, 1984). "Olympic Gold: How Networks Vied In Grueling Bidding For '88 Winter Games --- As Sarajevo Games Neared, ABC Won Calgary Prize; Is It Worth $309 Million? --- The Exasperating Coin Toss".The Wall Street Journal. p. 1.ProQuest397846430.
^"Canadian Olympians". CP PHOTO and COA. 1988. RetrievedNovember 27, 2018."Canada's Cathy Preistner (left) and Ken Read (centre) receive the Olympic flame from Rick Hanson during the opening ceremonies of the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary
Calgary Olympic Development Association (1981).Calgary, Canada (Candidature File) (in English and French). Calgary: Calgary Olympic Development Association.
Dunn, Bob, ed. (1987),Official Souvenir Program – XV Olympic Winter Games, XV Olympic Winter Games Organizing Committee
International Olympic Committee (1988).Calgary '88, the Official Book of the International Olympic Committee: Come Together, Ensemble: 13th-28th February, 1988. The Committee.
.jpg)
.svg)
