1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Da jeg bes\u00f8kte Norge en gang<\/strong>, (when I visited Norway one time),\u00a0reiste jeg\u00a0med tog<\/strong> (I traveled by train) til\u00a0Lillehammer<\/strong>.\u00a0 I was shocked that this small town hosted the Olympics!\u00a0 In 2009, the population census counted just over 26,000 people.\u00a0 The Olympics must have generated enough tourist revenue for decades!\u00a0 Lillehammer’s winning bid was made public at the 1988 summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea.\u00a0 Lillehammer was selected over Anchorage, Alaska; \u00d6stersund, Austria; and Sofia, Bulgaria.\u00a0<\/p>\n One thing that was particularly significant about the 1994 Olympics was the lack of summer Olympics.\u00a0 This was the first time that the two (summer and winter) were not held together.\u00a0 Another thing you may remember about the 1994 Olympics are two names: Tonya and Nancy.\u00a0 That is, Tonya Harding and Nancy Kerrigan.\u00a0 Both\u00a0kunstl\u00f8pere<\/strong> (figure skaters), Tonya’s ex-husband and a cohort\u00a0attacked Kerrigan\u00a0during practice one day.\u00a0 In Oslo, drama ensued when tyver stjal (thieves stole) Edvard Munch’s The Scream<\/em> from the National Museum.\u00a0 Some stats:\u00a0 1.2 million billetter<\/strong> (tickets) were sold and an additional 500,000 spectators viewed the games along the courses.\u00a0 With a total of 26 medaljer<\/strong>, Norway placed second in the overall competition, behind Russia.\u00a0 President of the IOC (International Olympic Committee),\u00a0Juan Antonio Savaranch, stated that ”the 1994 Olympics were the best winter games ever”-this statement has not been made since then.<\/p>\n Also of significant importance\u00a0 was Norway’s environmentally friendly approach to hosting the olympics.\u00a0 The planners of the event worked with environmentalist groups to focus on four things-<\/p>\n 1) use of natural materials as much as possible<\/p>\n 2) energy conservation in heating and cooling systems<\/p>\n 3) recycling system for the entire area hosted by the Olympics<\/p>\n 4) arenas to blend in and work with their surrounding natural environment<\/p>\n The 1994 Vinter-OL<\/strong> in Lillehammer were the first winter games to be recognized for being ”green.”\u00a0 In fact, the IOC was so impressed that\u00a0it revised it’s procedures for choosing cities to host the games.\u00a0<\/p>\n G\u00e5 gr\u00f8nn<\/strong>!\u00a0 Go green!<\/p>\n \ufffd<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer.\u00a0 Da jeg bes\u00f8kte Norge en gang, (when I visited Norway one time),\u00a0reiste jeg\u00a0med tog (I traveled by train) til\u00a0Lillehammer.\u00a0 I was shocked that this small town hosted the Olympics!\u00a0 In 2009, the population census counted just over 26,000 people.\u00a0 The Olympics must have generated enough tourist revenue for decades!\u00a0 Lillehammer’s…<\/p>\n