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About This Quiz
Calling all sports fans and history buffs! Take on our Olympics challenge and discover how many world cities you're able to name. We will show you a catalog of Winter and Summer Games logos so that you can choose the right Olympic city.Â
If you didn't know it already, the Olympics are a really big deal! Cities around the world petition the International Olympic Committee (IOC) years in advance for the chance to host the Games. Even the petition phase entails strict rules to deter bribery. Allegedly, a few or more Salt Lake City executives didn't get that memo one year. The Utah city eventually won hosting rights, nevertheless.Â
Legally enticing the IOC is no small feat. Prospective host cities must prove that they have adequate infrastructure (transportation systems, venue space, etc.) to pull off the intricate affair. Many people didn't believe that Nagano, Japan, could accommodate all that was necessary for the '98 Winter Olympics, but the host city did a spectacular job, nailing every detail expected of an Olympic host city and then some. Once a host city wins their hosting bid, unleashing a comprehensive marketing campaign for the Games is a logical next step. Torino, Italy, blamed poor attendance numbers for their 2006 Games on insufficient marketing, and the city's tourism revenue suffered as a result.
Care to compete and learn more Olympic city facts? The race is about to start!
Montreal
Moscow
PyeongChang
The PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Games took place despite ongoing tensions between North and South Korea. The South Korean city chose to capitalize the C in the middle of its name, to avoid confusion with the capital of North Korea, Pyongyang.
Mexico City
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Seoul
Rio de Janeiro
Brazil was experiencing several controversies at the dawn of the 2016 Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. Political unrest threatened to oust President Dilma Rousseff, warnings of Zika virus intimidated participants and raw sewage almost shut down water competition sites.
Los Angeles
Lake Placid
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Sochi
Sochi, Russia, won their bid to host the 2014 Games in July 2007. The city beat out International Olympic Committee favorites like Pyeongchang, South Korea, and Salzburg, Austria. Russia's President Vladimir Putin successfully constructed Olympic venues from scratch in preparation for the Games.
Kazan
Saint Petersburg
Saratov
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Munich
London
Jamaican track star Usain Bolt won the 100-meter dash in 9.63 seconds during the 2012 Olympic Games in London. Immediately before the race, someone threw an empty plastic bottle in front of the runner, which didn't faze Bolt. A female Dutch Judo athlete eventually found the offender and beat him up.
Montreal
Beijing
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Torino
Vancouver
Lack of snow was a primary concern for the city of Vancouver, Canada, during the 2010 Olympic Games. Organizers facilitated "ongoing snow harvesting" to ensure an ample supply of the white flakes by importing it from higher elevations for public ski events held at Cypress Mountain.
Athens
Salt Lake City
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Shenzhen
Xi'an
Beijing
China promised that over 20,000 international journalists would be granted unrestricted access during the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. Additionally, the government assured that it would issue permits for aerial photography, which is normally illegal in the country.
Kunming
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Paris
Tokyo
Sochi
Torino
Elda Tessore, Councillor for the 2006 Torino Olympic Games held in Turin, Italy, blamed spotty attendance on late marketing campaigns and the fact that the city was not well-known internationally. Turin, also known as Torino, had anticipated at least one million visitors to help offset high construction costs.
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Chania
Athens
Many economists agree that the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece, greatly contributed to the country's debt crisis. Greece spent millions constructing a canoe slalom and a fencing arena that the country had no need for after the Summer Games.
Thebes
Corinth
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Salt Lake City
The 2002 Olympic Games in Salt Lake City were plagued with allegations of payoffs and bribes to International Olympic Committee members in order to bring the Games to the city. Some key organizers for the Games resigned amid the controversy.
Seattle
Cleveland
Boston
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Sydney
During the Women's Gymnastics All-Around competition at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games, a number of women had already performed vault exercises - and some fell - before gymnast Allana Slater asked to have the equipment measured. Officials discovered that the vault was two inches too low. Gymnasts were allowed to redo their vaults if they wanted, but the damage was already done.
Perth
Canberra
Darwin
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Kyoto
Kobe
Nagano
When Nagano won the bid to host the 1998 Winter Olympic Games, critics did not believe that the Japanese city of 360,000 people could pull it off. The '98 Games are regarded as one of the most successful. Foreign attendees made note of the city's hospitality and intricately-organized events.
Yokohama
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San Francisco
Philadelphia
Atlanta
Following the Atlanta 1996 Summer Olympics, the athletes' accommodations at the Olympic Village were converted into dorms - some for the Georgia Institute of Technology. Many Atlantans benefited economically, but other neighborhoods remain in decline.
Houston
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Bergen
Drammen
Lillehammer
The Soviet Union had recently crumbled when Russia's athletes were sent to perform their best at the 1994 Winter Olympic Games in Lillehammer, Norway. Although Russian skiers could not afford high-altitude training and the bobsled team had to rent sleighs, the nation won the most gold medals, at 11.
Oslo
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Seville
Bilbao
Toledo
Barcelona
The 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain, generated a superb legacy for the city. The success of the Games helped Barcelona to win many international accolades in the following decades, including premier European city for innovation, second-best sports city in the world and a smart city designation.
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Albertville
The 1992 Winter Olympic Games in Albertville, France, and Summer Games in Barcelona, Spain, were the last that took place in the same year. Since then, Winter and Summer Games have alternated, with one taking place every two years.
Vancouver
Sydney
Salt Lake City
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Ottawa
Montreal
Calgary
The 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, Canada, lasted for 16 days and featured the debut of the Jamaican bobsled team. It was also the year of the dueling Brians, between American skater Brian Boitano and Canadian Brian Orser.
Victoria
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Busan
Seoul
Amateur boxing conducted the first rematch in Olympic history at the 1988 Summer Games in Seoul, Korea. The fight's redo between American light welterweight Todd Foster and Chun Jim-chil of South Korea occurred after initial confusion concerning bell and buzzer sounds.
Incheon
Suwon
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Paris
Barcelona
Budapest
Sarajevo
Sarajevo's Olympic venues lay in ruins today, following war in the former Yugoslavia. British skaters Torvill and Dean won perfect scores in a skating arena that has since been destroyed.
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Sacramento
Los Angeles
Hollywood composer-conductor John Williams, who scored music for "Star Wars" and "Jaws," composed the "Olympic Fanfare and Theme" for the 1984 Summer Olympics held in Los Angeles, California. Williams won a Grammy Award for the composition.
Fresno
Oakland
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Albany
Lake Placid
The 1980 Winter Olympic Games, held at Lake Placid, New York, generated a significant economic boom for the small year-round resort town. Lake Placid's "1980 Rink" is where the United States men's hockey team defeated the dominant Soviet Union team during the Games.
Ithaca
Cortland
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Moscow
The 1980 Summer Olympics held in Moscow, Soviet Union, was the first Olympics ever awarded to a Communist country. The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979 led to the U.S.-led boycott of the 1980 Summer Games.
Grenoble
Rome
Helsinki
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Innsbruck
After participating in one of the most celebrated downhill races in Olympic history against fellow ski-racer Franz Klammer from Austria, Swiss Olympian Bernhard Russi designed downhill courses for the games. Klammer defeated Russi for gold during the 1976 Innsbruck Olympics in Austria.
Graz
Bregenz
Vienna
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Ottawa
Winnipeg
Montreal
Canada recognized the People's Republic of China as the sole representative of China for the 1976 Montreal Olympic Games and refused to allow China-controlled Taiwan to participate separately. Amid international controversy, the Taiwanese team left the Games.
Toronto
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Tokyo
Sapporo
The 1972 Olympics in Sapporo, Japan, was the first ever Winter Games held outside of Europe and the United States. Sapporo hosted 35 events for 10 sports that involved 1,006 competitors.
Fukuoka
Kobe
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Berlin
Munich
Gunter Behnisch and Partners, a German architecture firm, designed the 75,000-square-meter Olympic roof for the 1972 Munich Summer Olympic Games. German graphic artist Otl Aicher crafted the Games' iconic emblem and posters.
Hamburg
Dresden
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Grenoble
The southeastern city of Grenoble, France, lies at the edge of the Alps. It is surrounded by the Belledonne, Vercors and Chartreuse mountain ranges. Grenoble is also referred to as the "Capital of the Alps."
Lucerne
Annecy
Zurich
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Tijuana
Mexico City
Ten days before the start of the 1968 Summer Olympic Games in Mexico City, Mexico, a government-backed security agency opened fire on student protesters in the plaza at Tlatelolco in Mexico City. That summer, thousands of pro-democracy students had been protesting the government's one-party rule.
Toluca
Merida
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London
Amsterdam
Innsbruck
All 18 members of the transitional U.S. figure skating team were lost during a 1961 plane crash in Berg, Belgium. The United States hastened to replace the lost talent in time for the 1964 Innsbruck Games.
Sarajevo
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Osaka
Nagasaki
Tokyo
The 1964 Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo allowed Japan to demonstrate post-war recovery achievements two decades after World War II. The Tokyo Games symbolized the dawn of architectural modernity for both the country and the Games' international governing body.
Nara
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Anaheim
Monterey
Malibu
Squaw Valley
Squaw Valley, California, hosted the 1960 Winter Olympic Games that included 30 countries, 27 events and 665 athletes. Alpine Meadows and Sugar Pine Point Park near Tahoma were key event locations during the Squaw Valley Games.
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Venice
Rome
Ultimately winning the gold medal, U.S. track star Wilma Rudolph ran one leg of the 4x100-meter relay in the 1960 Summer Olympic Games in Rome, Italy. She broke three world records that summer.
Milan
Pisa
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Cortina d'Ampezzo
The 1956 Winter Olympic Games were held at Cortina d'Ampezzo, a resort town in northern Italy, in the Dolomites near the Austrian border. Every event held at the Games was held outdoors.
Verona
Siena
Sorrento
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Lillehammer - Calgary
Beijing - Torino
Melbourne - Stockholm
Due to horse quarantine restrictions in place in Australia, the equestrian segments of the 1956 Summer Olympic Games took place in Stockholm, Sweden. Stockholm also hosted the 1912 Games.
Paris - Los Angeles
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Oslo
The first time that women competed in the cross-country event was at the 1952 Winter Olympics held in Oslo, Norway. Lydia Wideman from Finland won gold in the 10-kilometer race.
Hamar
Larvik
Molde
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Helsinki
At age 17, Hawaii native Bill Woolsey was the youngest member of the U.S. gold medal 4x200-meter freestyle relay team, at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, Finland. Initially, the city had been slated to host the 1940 Summer Games.
Turku
Espoo
Vantaa
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Zermatt
Basel
St. Moritz
The 1948 St. Moritz Winter Games were known as the "Games of Renewal." They followed a 12-year hiatus, due to World War II. In this post-war Games, 22 events were held.
Geneva
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Rio de Janeiro
London
Harrison "Bones" Dillard failed to make the 1948 U.S. hurdle team, but he managed to qualify as a sprinter during the 100-meter trials. During the 1948 Summer Olympic Games in London, England, Dillard won gold in the event.
Torino
Athens
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Berlin
U.S. athlete Jesse Owens won four gold medals at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, Germany. In 1984, Germany renamed a street near Berlin's Olympic Stadium "Jesse-Owens-Allee" to commemorate Owens' top achievements from the historic Games.
Nuremberg
Lubeck
Mainz
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Amsterdam
India began dominating the Olympics field hockey event, starting with the 1928 Amsterdam Summer Games when the team won gold. Between 1928 and 1980, India won eight gold, one silver and two bronze medals in the sport.
Madrid
Dublin
Lisbon
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Vancouver
Salt Lake City
Chamonix
In 1922, the International Olympic Committee resolved to produce "International Sports Week" at Chamonix, a city in eastern France. The event was renamed the first Winter Olympic Games.
Honolulu
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