Bids for the 2002 Winter Olympics Bids for the 2002 Winter Olympics Four cities made the shortlist with their bids to host the 2002 Winter Olympics (formally known as "XIX Olympic Winter Games"), which were awarded to Salt Lake City, on June 16, 1995. The other cities shortlisted by the IOC Selection Committee chaired by Thomas Bach were Sion, Östersund and Quebec City. The host city selection procedure to for the 2002 Winter Olympics will go down in history as one of the most controversial, in light of the scandal regarding the interactions between the Salt Lake City bid team and International Olympic Committee (IOC) members;
Winter Olympic Games only country to have earned a gold medal at every Winter Olympics is the United States. Norway leads the all-time medal table for the Winter Olympics both on number of gold and overall medals, followed by the United States, Germany, and the former Soviet Union. A predecessor, the Nordic Games, were organised by General Viktor Gustaf Balck in Stockholm, Sweden in 1901 and were held again in 1903 and 1905 and then every fourth year thereafter until 1926. Balck was a charter member of the IOC and a close friend of Olympic Games founder Pierre de Coubertin. He attempted to