2002 Winter Olympics the last Olympics to be held in the United States until the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. These were the first Olympic Games under the IOC presidency of Jacques Rogge. The opening ceremony was held on February 8, 2002, and sporting competitions were held up until the closing ceremony on February 24, 2002. Production for both ceremonies was designed by Seven Nielsen, and music for both ceremonies was directed by Mark Watters. Salt Lake City became the most populous area ever to have hosted the Winter Olympics, although the two subsequent host cities' populations were larger. Following a trend,
Winter Olympic Games the Summer and Winter Games on separate four-year cycles in alternating even-numbered years, the next Winter Olympics after 1992 was in 1994. The Winter Games have evolved since their inception. Sports and disciplines have been added and some of them, such as Alpine skiing, luge, short track speed skating, freestyle skiing, skeleton, and snowboarding, have earned a permanent spot on the Olympic programme. Some others, including curling and bobsleigh, have been discontinued and later reintroduced; others have been permanently discontinued, such as military patrol, though the modern Winter Olympic sport of biathlon is descended from it. Still others, such as