The emblem is a stylized, pentagon-shaped, snowflake and maple leaf, made up of five large and five small letters of “C” to symbolize the country of Canada and the city of Calgary, above the Olympic rings.
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Host city | Calgary, Alberta, Canada | ||
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Motto | Can You Feel It? (French: Peux tu le Sentir?) |
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Nations participating | 57 | ||
Athletes participating | 1,423 (1,122 men, 301 women) | ||
Events | 46 in 6 sports (10 disciplines) | ||
Opening ceremony | February 13 | ||
Closing ceremony | February 28 | ||
Officially opened by | Governor General Jeanne Sauvé | ||
Athlete's Oath | Pierre Harvey | ||
Judge's Oath | Suzanna Morrow-Francis | ||
Olympic Torch | Robyn Perry | ||
Stadium | McMahon Stadium | ||
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The 1988 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XV Olympic Winter Games (French: Les XVes Jeux olympiques d'hiver), was a Winter Olympics multi-sport event celebrated in and around Calgary, Alberta, Canada between February 13 and 28, 1988. The host city was selected in 1981 over Falun, Sweden and Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy. Most events took place in Calgary while several skiing events were held in the mountain resorts of Nakiska and Canmore, west of the city.
A then-record 57 nations competed and 1,423 athletes participated. The Soviet Union won the most medals with 29, followed by East Germany with 25. As it had in Montreal in 1976, Canada again failed to win a gold medal in an official medal event as the host nation. Finnish ski jumper Matti Nykänen and Dutch speed skater Yvonne van Gennip were individual medal leaders, capturing three gold medals apiece. The games are also remembered for the "heroic failure" of British ski jumper Eddie "The Eagle" Edwards, and the Winter Olympic début of the Jamaica national bobsled team, both of which would be subjects of major feature films about their participation in the games.
The Calgary games were at the time one of the most expensive Olympics ever held, but the organizing committee turned record television and sponsorship revenue into a net surplus that was used to maintain the facilities built for the Olympics and develop the Calgary region into the heart of Canada's elite winter sports program. The five purpose-built venues continue to be used in their original functions, and have helped the country develop into one of the top nations in Winter Olympic competition; Canada more than quintupled the five medals it won in Calgary at the 2010 games, the next Winter Olympics hosted on Canadian soil in Vancouver.