The XX ème Winter Olympics took place with Turin, in the area of the Piedmont in Italy, of the 10 to the February 26th 2006.

Organization

Six cities had subjected to them candidature for the organization of the Plays of winter of 2006: Helsinki (Finland), Klagenfurt (Austria), Poprad-Tatry (Slovakia), Sion (Swiss), Turin (Italy) and Zakopane (Poland).

Olympic sites of the Piedmont

Calendar 10 February 26th, 2006


80 delegations present

Five national committees represented at the time of the preceding Olympiads of winter do not introduce an athlete in 2006; they are Cameroun, Puerto Rico and. Moreover Mexico which would have being present fixed price declared before the beginning of the plays.

Medals


Opening ceremony

The opening ceremony of the XXe edition of the Winter Olympics was held on February 10th, 2006 with 20:00, in the Olympic stadium of Turin (ex Communal Stade “Vittorio Pozzo”). The spectacle, which lasted approximately 2:30, mixed moments of celebration of the Italian identity with protocolar moments like the entry of the Olympic flag or the arrival of the flame.

During the parade of the nations, traditionally opened by Greece and enclosed by the country host, for the first time at North Korea, Winter Olympics and South Korea ravelled under the same name of “Korea”, as with the Olympic Games of summer of Athens 2004 and Sydney 2000. In the competitions, the two teams took part separately.

With 21:09, the president of the Italian republic Carlo Azeglio Ciampi, with the traditional ritual formula, stated officially opened the XXe Winter Olympics. The Olympic oath was pronounced by the alpine skier Giorgio Rocca for the athletes and by Fabio Bianchetti for the judges.

The relayeuse last of the flame was the fondist Stefania Belmondo, the Italian athlete who gained the most Olympic medals (10). She lit the Olympic, famous blazing inferno “the torch of Pininfarina”. The 57 meters structure, high, made of this blazing inferno highest ever used at the time of Winter Olympics.

Within the framework of the program Occitan Lenga Olímpica , the anthem occitan Sang was sung in honor of the Piedmontese valleys of culture occitane which accommodated the plays.

Striking facts

  • By gaining the Superone, Kjetil André Aamodt becomes the skier more the medal-holder of the history of the Olympic Games, with a total of eight medals (4 of gold, 2 of money, 2 of bronze). He is also the first skier to gain three times an Olympic test, the Superone (1992, 2002,2006).

  • Among women, Croatian Janica Kostelic adds to its incredible harvest of Salt Lake City a new compound gold medal and a money medal into Super-G. His/her Ivica brother gains the money of compound.

  • In skeleton, the Canadian Duff Gibson becomes, at the 39 years and 150 days age, the oldest athlete to gain an individual gold medal

  • Following the scandal of Salt Lake City, a new marking system is used in Figure skating.

  • No team North-American will reach the semi-finals of the Olympic tournament of Hockey. The gold medal being allocated to Sweden, winner 3-2 vis-a-vis in Finland.

To revive the Olympic Games

Closing ceremony

The closing ceremony was held on February 26th, 2006 with 20:00, with the Olympic stadium of Turin (ex Communal Stade).

The topic chosen for the spectacle was the Italian carnival, whose dates coincided this year with the last days of the Olympic Games. The public and the athletes had received masks. In the various tables of choreography were presented costumes inspired of films of Federico Fellini, tanks of the Carnival of Viagerro, typical masks like Arlequin and Punchinello on board Vespas and FIAT 500.

As into the Olympic Games of summer of Athens 2004, the last handing-over of medals of the plays were inserted during the closing ceremony. In Athens, in fact the medals of the male marathon had been given, in Turin, one gave the medals of the free 50km in ski touring, which had been held the morning even.

The evening continued with the elements traditional and protocolar of the closing ceremony: the procession of the flags of the participating nations preceded the abstract entry by the athletes on the stage, the speeches of thanks of the president of the Organizing Committee and the president of the CIO, the passage of witness of Turin with Vancouver, city which will accommodate nearest the OJ of winter in 2010 and the extinction of the Olympic flame.

During the evening, which ended in a pyrotechnical spectacle, the Italian singers Andrea Bocelli and Elisa, Canadian the Avril Lavigne and Ricky Martin occurred in front of the million spectators and televiewers who followed this ceremony.

See too

External bonds

  • Site of the Steering Committee
  • official Classification of the CIO
  • Site of the team from France Olympic in Turin
  • Winter Olympics of 2006 Newsfeeds
  • Open Directory Project: Web sites in connection with the plays of Turin 2006
    • photo
  • of Turin
    • photo
  • of Bardonecchia
  • Occitan Lenga Olímpica - Olympic Occitan Language

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Simple: 2006 Winter Olympics

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