Winter Olympic Games well as Summer) Games to proclaim the superiority of their political systems. The Winter Olympics has been hosted on three continents by twelve different countries. The Games have been held four times in the United States (in 1932, 1960, 1980 and 2002); three times in France (in 1924, 1968 and 1992); and twice each in Austria (1964, 1976), Canada (1988, 2010), Japan (1972, 1998), Italy (1956, 2006), Norway (1952, 1994), and Switzerland (1928, 1948). Also, the Games have been held just once each in Germany (1936), Yugoslavia (1984), Russia (2014) and South Korea (2018). The IOC has selected Beijing, China,
Winter Olympic Games was necessary to accommodate technological advances, however critics disputed this, alleging that the layout would incorporate the best possible venues for television broadcasts at the athletes' expense. The 1972 Winter Games, held in Sapporo, Japan, were the first to be hosted on a continent other than North America or Europe. The issue of professionalism was disputed during these Games when a number of alpine skiers were found to have participated in a ski camp at Mammoth Mountain in the United States; three days before the opening ceremony, IOC president Avery Brundage threatened to bar the skiers from competing in the