Sapporo was the first city awarded the canceled 1940 Winter Olympics.
The International Olympic Committee selected Sapporo, Japan, in March 1936 to host the fifth Winter Games, scheduled for February 3–12, 1940. Japan later returned the Games to the IOC in July 1938 because the Second Sino-Japanese War had made preparations increasingly difficult.
The IOC then transferred the event to St. Moritz, Switzerland, but that plan collapsed over a dispute about the eligibility of ski instructors. In June 1939, the Games were reassigned to Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, host of the 1936 Winter Olympics. World War II led to the final cancellation in November 1939.
Sapporo is sometimes confused with Garmisch-Partenkirchen because both appear in the Games' later history. The distinction is chronological: Sapporo received the original award, while St. Moritz and Garmisch-Partenkirchen were replacement hosts chosen after Japan withdrew.