1976 Winter Olympics elections. Whistler would go on to be associated with neighbouring Vancouver's successful bid for the 2010 games. Salt Lake City offered to host the games, but the IOC, still reeling from the Denver rejection, declined and selected Innsbruck to host the 1976 Winter Olympics, which had hosted the 1964 Winter Olympics games twelve years earlier, on 5 February 1973. Salt Lake City would then host the Winter Olympics in 2002. The mascot of the 1976 Winter Olympics was "Schneemann", German for "snowman", a snowman in a red Tyrolean hat. Designed by Walter Pötsch, Schneeman was purported to represent the 1976
1952 Winter Olympics Games featured one demonstration sport, bandy, but only three Nordic countries competed in the tournament. Norway dominated the overall medal count with 16 medals, seven of them gold. The Games closed with the presentation of a flag that would be passed from one Winter Olympics host city to the next. The flag, which became known as the "Oslo flag", has been displayed in the host city during each subsequent Winter Games. Oslo had unsuccessfully bid to host the 1936 Winter Olympics, losing to Germany, which had hosted the 1936 Summer Olympics. At that time, the nation that hosted the Summer