Bids for the 1976 Winter Olympics

The selection process for the 1976 Winter Olympics consisted of four bids, and saw Denver, Colorado, United States, selected ahead of Sion, Switzerland; Tampere, Finland; and Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The selection was made at the 70th International Olympic Committee (IOC) Session in Amsterdam on 12 May 1970.[1][2][3] The year 1976 was the centennial for the state of Colorado and bicentennial for the United States.

Bids for the
1976 (1976) Winter Olympics
Overview
XII Olympic Winter Games
Winner: Denver
Runner-up: Sion, Switzerland
Shortlist: Tampere · Vancouver
Details
CommitteeIOC
Election venueAmsterdam
70th IOC Session
Map
Missing location of the bidding cities.
Missing location of the bidding cities.

Location of the bidding cities
Important dates
Decision12 May 1970
Decision
WinnerDenver (29 votes)
Runner-upSion, Switzerland (18 votes)

In early 1972, the venues for the skiing events were changed to established areas west of the continental divide, approved by the IOC in February.[4][5] Alpine events were moved to Vail from the undeveloped Mount Sniktau (and Loveland Ski Area) east of Loveland Pass, and the Nordic events moved from Evergreen to Steamboat Springs.[4][5] The original sites submitted in the 1970 bid satisfied a requirement of proximity to the Olympic Village (at the University of Denver).[6]

Later that year on 7 November, Colorado voters rejected in a referendum to partially fund the games,[7][8] and for the first time a city awarded an Olympics rejected them.[9] Denver officially withdrew on 15 November,[10] and the IOC then offered the Olympics to Whistler, British Columbia, Canada, but they declined, owing to a change of government following elections. Whistler was later part of neighbouring Vancouver's successful bid for the 2010 Winter Olympics.

Original runner-up Sion also declined. Salt Lake City, Utah, initially offered to host, then pulled its bid,[11] and was replaced by Lake Placid, New York.[12] At a meeting of the IOC executive committee in Lausanne, Switzerland, on 4 February 1973, the 1976 Winter Olympics were transferred from Denver to Innsbruck,[13] which had recently hosted in 1964.[14] The next Winter Olympics were in the United States at Lake Placid (awarded in October 1974),[15][16] and Salt Lake City hosted in 2002.

Results
IOC voting – May 1970
CityCountryRound 1Round 2Round 3
Denver United States292939
Sion   Switzerland183130
Tampere Finland128—
Vancouver–
Garibaldi		 Canada9——
Source:[1]
IOC re-selection – February 1973
CityCountryRank
Innsbruck Austria 1
Lake Placid United States2
Chamonix France3
Tampere Finland4
Source:[13][14]

References
  1. "Past Olympic host city election results". GamesBids. Archived from the original on 24 January 2011. Retrieved 17 March 2011.
  2. "Denver and Montreal awarded 1976 Olympic Games". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. May 13, 1970. p. 13.
  3. "Denver, Montreal shock Olympic site hopefuls". Deseret News. (Salt Lake City, Utah). UPI. May 13, 1970. p. 1D.
  4. "Way cleared for '76 Games as Denver changes okayed". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. February 1, 1972. p. 2B.
  5. "Olympic notes: Appeal on Schranz rejected". Pittsburgh Press. UPI. February 1, 1972. p. 30.
  6. Rapaport, Roger (February 15, 1971). "Olympian snafu at Sniktau". Sports Illustrated. p. 60.
  7. "Winter Olympics out in Colorado". Deseret News. (Salt Lake City, Utah). UPI. November 8, 1972. p. A4.
  8. "Voters reject 'privilege'". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. November 8, 1972. p. 1C.
  9. Sanko, John (12 October 1999). "Colorado only state ever to turn down Olympics". Rocky Mountain News. Archived from the original on 1 June 2009. Retrieved 16 March 2011.
  10. "IOC moves toward site for Olympics". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon. Associated Press. November 16, 1972. p. 4D.
  11. "Salt Lake withdrawal may not leave U.S. out". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. January 31, 1973. p. 10.
  12. "Lake Placid assured of welcome". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. February 2, 1973. p. 22.
  13. "Innsbruck gets '76 Games". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. February 5, 1973. p. 10.
  14. "Innsbruck given Winter Olympics". Pittsburgh Press. UPI. February 5, 1973. p. 25.
  15. Miller, Geoffrey (October 24, 1974). "Lake Placid given unanimous approval". Schenectady Gazette. (New York). Associated Press. p. 33.
  16. Wimmer, Ferry (October 23, 1974). "Moscow, Lake Placid awarded Olympics". Nashua Telegraph. (New Hampshire). UPI. p. 38.
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