In the first modern Olympic Games there where only summer
events included. When the Summer Games became more and
more popular a variety of winter sports was introduced
as regular competitions. The first formal Winter Games
were therefore held in Chamonix, France, in 1924. The
official poster for the International Winter Sports Week
does not identify the event as a separate Winter Olympic
Games but does make a connection with the VIII Olympic
Games being held in Paris later that year. About 5.000
copies of the poster were printed.
1928
St. Moritz
The 1928 Winter Games, hosted by St. Moritz, Switzerland,
were the first to be held in a different nation than
the Summer Games of the same year. A new event was contested:
the skeleton, which is like luge except that the athletes
descend headfirst. The peaks of the Corvatsch Spiz (mountain
of the Grisons) dominate the poster of the Olympic Winter
Games in St. Moritz in 1928. It also featured the Swiss
and International Olympic Committee flags. 12.000 copies
were printed.
1932
Lake Placid
The third Winter Olympics, in 1932, were held in Lake
Placid, New York State, a town of fewer than 4.000 people.
Faced with major obstacles raising money in the midst
of a depression, the president of the Organizing Committee,
Dr. Godfrey Dewey, donated land owned by his family to
be used for construction of a bobsleigh run. A ski jumper
as well as a map of the USA showing Lake Placid are featured
on the poster advertising the 1932 Olympic Games in Lake
Placid.
1936
Garmisch-Partenkirchen
The 1936 Games were held in the twin Bavarian towns of
Garmisch and Partenkirchen. An efficient bus service
allowed 500.000 people to attend the final day's events.
Alpine skiing events were included for the first time,
and this led to a major controversy. The IOC, overruling
the International Ski Federation (FIS), declared that
ski instructors could not take part in the Olympics because
they were professionals. Incensed, the Austrian and Swiss
skiers boycotted the events. The dispute carried on after
the Games and it was decided that skiing would not be
included in the 1940 Olympics. The poster for the 1936
Winter Games suggests a skier giving the nazi salute.
The anti-Semitic posters that had littered Germany before
the games had disappeared. Signs that stated "Jews
not welcome here" were not longer visible - anything
was done to ensure that the Games went smoothly and caused
no upset.
1948
St. Moritz
The 1940 Winter Olympics were scheduled for Sapporo,
Japan. War with China forced the Japanese to admit, in
July 1938, that they would be unable to host the Games.
St. Moritz was chosen as an alternative site, but the
continuing dispute about ski instructors led the Swiss
to withdraw as well. The Germans volunteered Garmisch-Partenkirchen
in July 1939, but four months later the reality of World
War II forced the cancellation of the Olympics. The first
postwar Games were held in St. Moritz in 1948. Germany
and Japan were barred from competing but everyone else
took part eagerly and it was clear that the Winter Olympics
had successfully survived the 12-year hiatus. 15.000
copies of the official poster were printed.
1952
Oslo
In 1952, the Olympics were finally held in Norway, the
birthplace of modern skiing. The Olympic flame was lit
in the home of Sondre Nordheim, the first famous skier,
and relayed by 94 skiers to Oslo. Tied to ski poles,
the national flag of host nation Norway and the Olympic
flag wave side by side on the official poster of the
VI Olympic Winter Games. The best poster was chosen through
a competition. The rules stipulated that the five intertwined
colored rings had to be present as well as the text "VIes
Jeux d'hiver - Oslo - 14 au 25 fevrier 1952". Knut
Yran's design was selected and 30.000 copies were made
in seven languages.
1956
Cortina d'Ampezzo
The 1956 Winter Olympics, held in Cortina d’Ampezzo,
Italy, were most notable for the first appearance by
a team from the USSR. The Soviets immediately won more
medals than any other nation. The official poster of
the Games uses the theme of the official emblem, made
up of the emblem of the Italian National Olympic Committee,
as well as a view of the site of the host city. 11.000
copies were made.
1960
Squaw Valley
The 1960 Squaw Valley Games were preceded by a controversy
when the organizing committee refused to build a bobsleigh
run because only nine nations had indicated an intention
to take part. This was the only time that bobsledding
was not included in the Olympic program. As the Games
were held in California, it seemed fitting that the chairman
of the Pageantry Committee in charge of the Opening and
Closing Ceremonies was none other than Walt Disney. A
new sport, biathlon (a combination of cross-country skiing
and shooting) was added to the Olympic program. The poster
of the Games has the IOC emblem and the background represents
a snow field. 57.228 copies were produced in five languages.
1964
Innsbruck
The 1964 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck were threatened
by a lack of snow. The Austrian army rushed to the rescue,
carving out 20.000 ice bricks from a mountain top and
transporting them to the bobsled and luge runs. They
also carried 40.000 cubic meters of snow to the Alpine
skiing courses. When rain caused further havoc ten days
before the Opening Ceremony, the army packed down the
slopes by hand and foot. Politically, the Games were
notable because East and West Germany entered a combined
team. The poster shows a half snow flake or crystal.
One of the elements contains the Olympic rings. It was
created by Wilhelm Jaruska (Austria), professor at the
federal institute for the teaching of and research into
graphics. He was the winner of the national invitation-only
competition in which 12 artists participated. 59.695
copies were made in 10 languages.
1968
Grenoble
At the 1968 Grenoble Games, sex tests for women were
introduced. French hero Jean-Claude Killy swept the men’s
Alpine events but only after the greatest controversy
in the history of the Winter Olympics. Killy’s
rival, Karl Schranz, claimed that a mysterious man in
black crossed his path during the slalom race, causing
him to skid to a halt. Given a restart, Schranz beat
Killy’s time. However, a Jury of Appeal disqualified
Schranz and gave the victory to Killy. The poster was
created by the publicist Jean Brian. The five Olympic
rings featured on the official poster of the X Winter
Games in Grenoble were shown as though in a fast downhill
skiing competition. 170.000 copies were produced.
1972
Sapporo
The 1972 Sapporo Games in Japan were the first to be
held outside Europe or the United States. The subject
of amateurism stirred controversy when skier Karl Schranz
was banned for receiving payment from ski product manufacturers
while full-time ice hockey players from Communist nations
were allowed to compete. Various well-known Japanese
designers were involved in the creation of the posters.
Four were selected.
1976
Innsbruck
The 1976 Winter Olympics were awarded to the U.S. city
of Denver, but the people of the state of Colorado voted
to prohibit public funds from being used to support the
Games. Innsbruck stepped in and hosted the Games only
12 years after its last Olympics. Guided by the principle
of not showing one sporting discipline in particular,
Arthur Zelger, the designer of the poster, created a
neutral poster showing a skate, a common feature of winter
sports. This skate symbolizes all the disciplines found
in the Winter Games: a ski run, a sledge or bobsleigh
and the blade of a skate. The white rectangle on the
tip makes the “I” of Innsbruck. On the right,
in the background, the colored peaks symbolize the Tyrolean
mountains.
1980
Lake Placid
The 1980 Winter Games, held in Lake Placid, New York,
were filled with impressive performances. In an unprecedented
achievement, Eric Heiden of the United States won all
five speed skating races, from 500m all the way up to
10.000m. Nonetheless, for the home crowd, the highlight
was the unexpected victory of the US ice hockey team.
It features the official emblem representing a mountain
and a double Olympic cauldron, commemorating the Games
already held in Lake Placid in 1932.
1984
Sarajevo
In 1984, for the first and only time the Winter Games
took place in a Socialist country. The people of Sarajevo
gained high marks for their hospitality and there was
no indication of the tragic war that would engulf the
city only a few years later. The official poster of these
Winter Games features the emblem and a stylized snowflake
with the Olympic rings above.
1988
Calgary
For the first time, the Winter Olympics were extended
to 16 days, including three weekends. The Alpine events
were expanded from three to five with the inclusion of
the super giant slalom and the Alpine combined. Team
events were added in Nordic combined and ski jumping.
The poster had a view of the city of Calgary, above the
Olympic rings, the official emblem and the title "Come
Together in Calgary Host City for the XV Olympic Winter
Games February 13-28, 1988 Calgary, Alberta, Canada".
1992
Albertville
The 1992 Albertville Olympic Games were the last Winter
Games to be staged in the same year as the Summer Games.
Only 18 of the 57 events were held in Albertville itself
while nearby resorts hosted the rest. Freestyle skiing
and short-track speed skating made their debuts as medal
disciplines, as did women’s biathlon. Mountains,
snow, blue sky, the sun and Olympism are the different
elements that make up this poster. The range of bold
colors and the overall simplicity of the design makes
it immediately recognizable to all. Jean-Claude Killy
and Michel Barnier presented the official poster of the
XVI Olympic Winter Games in Albertville and Savoie for
the first time on 7 February 1991, exactly one year before
the Games.
1994
Lillehamer
In 1986 the IOC voted to change the schedule of the Olympic
Games so that the Summer and Winter Games would be held
in different years. To adjust to this new schedule, the
Lillehammer Games were held in 1994, the only time that
two Games have been staged two years apart. The 1994
Games were extremely well organized and the Norwegian
host' natural love of winter sports added a refreshing
purity of spirit. The posters were meant to incorporate
three main aspects : Norwegian originality and particularity,
human contact and contact between mankind and nature.
They showed the Lillehammer emblem, the pictograms, the
emblems, the crystal theme, colors, typography and the
mascots.
1998
Nagano
After 26 years, the Winter Olympic Games returned to
Japan in 1998. Snowboarding and curling debuted as official
disciplines and women’s ice hockey was introduced
to the Olympic program. For the first time, the men's
ice hockey tournament was opened to all professionals.
Five kinds of official posters and seven sport posters
were printed for these Games. In addition, for the first
time at the Olympic Winter Games, a special poster was
created for the Opening Ceremony. The first poster created
was designated as the official poster for the XVIII Olympic
Winter Games to be preserved for posterity. It shows
a thrush perched on a ski pole with mountains in the
light of dawn, evoking the concept of harmony with nature.
It was designed by Masuteru Aoba.
2002
Salt Lake City
The Salt Lake City Olympic Winter Games saw the expansion
of the Olympic program to 78 events, including the return
of skeleton and the introduction of women's bobsleigh.
Athletes from a record 18 nations earned gold medals.
Polychrome poster composed of a photo representing a
flag carrying the logo of the XIX Olympic Winter Games.
The flag floats above the mountaintop in the background.
Publisher: SLOOC; Fine Art, Saint-Louis.
2006
Torino
The official poster for Torino 2006 represents the image
of the games and serves as a souvenir for all those spectators
who wish to keep a reminder of this event in their homes
as well. The
poster has as central element, the Mole Antonelliana,
a symbol that encompasses one single image of the values
of the Games, of Sport and of the hosting territory.
As
explained by Marco Testa, president of the Agenzia
Armando Testa who designed the poster, “the
Mole, recalling already in the brand of the Games,
through imagination, humbly inclines to become
a mountain and suggests, through a symbolic and
multi-colored interpretative style, the idea of
the Olympic slopes”. “Thanks
to a graphic negative/positive technique, the light
blue color of the image highlights the profile
of another “Mole”, this time as white
as snow, on which the Torino 2006 logo and claim
were placed: Passion Lives Here”.