1998 Winter Olympics

The 1998 Winter Olympics, officially the XVIII Olympic Winter Games (第十八回オリンピック冬季競技大会, Dai Jūhachi-kai Orinpikku Tōkikyōgi Taikai), was a winter multi-sport event celebrated from 7-22 February 1998 in Nagano, Japan.

72 nations and 2,176 participants contested in 7 sports and 68 events at 15 venues. The Games saw the introduction of women's ice hockey, curling and snowboarding. National Hockey League players were allowed to participate in the men's ice hockey.

The host was selected on June 15, 1991 over Salt Lake City, Östersund, Jaca and Aosta. They were the third Olympic Games and second winter Olympics to be held in Japan, after the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo and the 1972 Winter Olympics in Sapporo. Nagano is so far the southernmost city to host a Winter Olympics, next to Squaw Valley, host of the 1960 Winter Olympics. The games were succeeded by the 1998 Winter Paralympics from 5 to 14 March.

Host city selection

Other candidate cities for the 1998 Olympics were Aosta, Italy; Jaca, Spain; Östersund, Sweden; and Salt Lake City, United States. The host city selection was held in Birmingham, United Kingdom, on 15 June 1991, at the 97th IOC session. Nagano prevailed over Salt Lake City by just 4 votes. In June 1995, Salt Lake was chosen as the host of the following 2002 Winter Olympics.