1976 Innsbruck Winter Olympics

Also called: XII Olympic Winter Games, 1976 Winter Olympics

When Denver, USA, gave up the Games, Innsbruck hosted the Winter Olympics again after twelve years.

Denver had been chosen for 1976, but returned the Games after Colorado voters, worried about cost and the environment, rejected public funding in a 1972 referendum. Innsbruck, which already had the venues, stepped in, and 37 nations took part from 4 to 15 February. Two cauldrons were lit to mark the city’s two Games. Ice dancing became an Olympic event, and local hero Franz Klammer of Austria won the downhill.