Chamonix: 100 years of the Olympic Games celebrated on February 3
In 2024, it will be 100 years since the Olympic Games were held in Chamonix Mont-Blanc. And while the festivities will mainly take place next year, they will nonetheless begin as early as February 3, 2023, with the Paris 2024 flag tour.
Chamonix will celebrate the 100 years of its Olympic Games in 2024
In 2024, Chamonix will celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Olympic Games, the first of many. But the festivities will begin as early as February 2023, with the Paris 2024 Olympic flag tour.
The festivities begin on February 3
Friday, February 3, the stroll will begin at 5 pm from the Triangle de l’Amitié square to the Mont Blanc square. Then, from 5:30 to 6:10 p.m., the official anniversary period of 100 years of the first Olympic Winter Games will be launched. The city of Chamonix has already announced the presence of many Olympians on this occasion.
To close the evening, the drawing of the bibs of the Kandahar will be done at the place du Mont-Blanc. As a reminder, this stage of the Alpine Skiing World Cup will take place on Saturday February 4th on La Verte des Houches.
Chamonix and the first Winter Olympics
In June 1921, Paris is chosen to organize the 1924 Olympic Games. The International Committee asks itself then the question to register the winter sports in the program of the Olympic disciplines. The Olympic Games named as such and officialized will be it only several years after.
After long hours of discussion, it is finally decided to attribute the organization of the week of the Winter sports to the nation which will welcome the summer Olympic Games in 1924, namely France.
Several French stations in the running
While several resorts say they are ready to prepare and host the competition, certain climatic or material conditions are taken into account in the final choice:
The obligation to have snow in sufficient quantity, in particular for the events of ski and bob
The need to provide a perfect ice rink
The certainty of finding sufficient accommodation.
The village of Chamonix was finally chosen by the IOC. One of the points put forward will be the fact that it is the only ski resort directly accessible by train.
6 sports in the program of the Olympic Games
6 sports are on the program of these first Olympic Winter Games in Chamonix:
- Skiing
- The field hockey
- The speed skating
- Figure skating
- The bobsleigh
- Curling
On the ski side, the French delegation is mostly represented by Chamonix residents. The team will compete in all five events: long distance, cross country, jumping, combined race and military race.
Finally, the French team will come out of this week with three bronze medals. One in team patrol event, the ancestor of the biathlon, one in figure skating and the last one in curling. It is the Norwegians who will distinguish themselves during the competition.
Thorleif Haug will be crowned triple Olympic champion, winning the cross-country, the long distance and the combined event.
Great success for field hockey
If there is one discipline that was a great success in Chamonix in 1924, it was field hockey. 2003 spectators will thus come the United States to oppose to Canada. It is also important to know that at that time, the field hockey players did not have all their safety gear and were content to wear a cap or a beret. At the end of a meeting marked by the many injured, it is finally Canada which gains the first Olympic title.
The team will have scored 122 goals during the competition, against only 3 conceded.