Celebrations Innsbruck Act I

Innsbruck is the only city in the world that hosted the Winter Olympic Games three times: 1964 and 1976 for the Winter Olympics; and 2012 for the first edition of the Winter Youth Olympic Games.

The Innsbruck 50^th Olympic Anniversary was a series of activities held in the City to mark the 50 years since the City first hosted the Winter Olympic Games in 1964.

The programme was a joint venture between Innsbruck Tirol Sports – which is a direct affiliate of the City of Innsbruck – and the Region of Tirol, with particularly heavy involvement from the relevant sports departments.

The Innsbruck 50th Olympic Anniversary took place over the months of January and February in line with the timing of the Innsbruck Games exactly half a century earlier. A host of sporting and cultural events, as well as other activities designed to engage residents and tourists alike were held across the City. These events were either connected to commemorating the City’s Olympic heritage or used as a launchpad for activations of current and future City projects.

The organisers planned the event and its various activities around incorporating as much of the venues of the 1964 Winter Games as possible. The Olympic Village and various competition sites played host to receptions, dances and theatrical performances. There was also a host of national and international snow sports events hosted in the Alpine City leading up to, during and after the official months of celebration. These spanned both elite competition and participation events open to the public, both of which extensively incorporated the Jubilee theme into their delivery.

The 50th Olympic Anniversary was also the perfect platform to announce the official inclusion of the City of Innsbruck in the World Union of Olympic Cities.

The event was remarkably well received by all those involved. Public officials, local residents and media all agreed that the event was a huge success, shining a light on the Innsbruck’s Olympic heritage and connecting this with a current vision of the City of which residents can be proud.

Celebrating Olympism and its values

One of the central aims of the 50th Olympic Anniversary was to increase awareness among the local citizens about the City’s rich Olympic heritage and to generate a sense of civic pride around this unique social asset. Activities such as the Olympic Walk were designed to highlight how the Games had impacted the structural landscape of the City. Other activities focused on the social impact that the Games had brought to the City, reflecting on how the Games had boosted the brand and reputation of the City as a top vacation destination for winter tourism.

Promoting the City by leveraging its affiliation with the Olympic Movement

Innsbruck has hosted more Winter Olympic Competitions than anywhere else in world. It first welcomed the Winter Olympic Games in 1964, again in 1976 and more recently in 2012 with the staging of the first ever Youth Winter Olympic Games. While the 50th anniversary celebrations were focused on the occasion of the first Games held in the City, they also strongly reflected the entire scope of its Olympic history, using this to showcase Innsbruck as a leader in world-class winter sports facilities and services. This served to mark Innsbruck as one of the foremost centres of excellence for winter sports anywhere in the world.

Highlighting the city as a world-class Sport Events Host

Thanks to its wide range of facilities, Innsbruck has become a high-level host for winter sport events. This strategy has been combined with diversification towards summer sports such as road cycling and mountain biking. Building on previous editions of the Games in a forward-looking perspective, Innsbruck hosted the 2012 Winter Youth Olympic Games and the 2016 Winter International Children’s Games. The City welcomed the UCI Road World Championships in 2018 and is getting prepared to host the Winter World Master Games in January 2020. All these events contribute to consolidating Innsbruck’ image as a top-level Olympic and sport city.