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
London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games not responsible for building permanent venues, reported spent £2.38 billion since winning the bid in 2005 and generated £2.41 billion. On 30 May 2013 it handed back to the government, Britain's Olympic committee and other beneficiaries a surplus of £30 million from the 2012 Games. The British Olympic Association received £5.3 million, the British Paralympic Association £2.6 million, and £20 million was returned to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. On 6 July 2005 the International Olympic Committee (IOC) chose London as the host city for the 2012 Olympic Games. After the success of the London bid, LOCOG was