1972 Winter Olympics /

The 1972 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XI Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event which was celebrated from February 3 to February 13, 1972 in Sapporo, Hokkaidō, Japan. It was the first Winter Olympics to be held outside Europe and North America, and only the 3rd games (summer or winter) held outside those regions over all, after Melbourne (1956 Summer Olympics) and Tokyo (1964 Summer Olympics). Sapporo was the largest city to host a Winter Games at the time. Sapporo first won the rights to host the 1940 Winter Olympics, but Japan resigned as the Games' host after its 1937 invasion of China. The 1940 Games were later cancelled. All the cities awarded Games that were cancelled due to war have since hosted the Games (Berlin, London, Tokyo, Helsinki, Sapporo and Cortina d'Ampezzo). Sapporo competed with Banff, Alberta, Canada; Lahti, Finland; and Salt Lake City, United States. The Games were awarded at the 64th IOC Session in Rome, Italy, on April 26, 1966. With the 1972 Games, the organizers of the Sapporo Games turned a healthy profit in part because they arranged a record $8.47 million for broadcast rights. ¹ New facilities constructed in preparation for