Which nation hosted the 1972 Winter Olympics?

The nation that hosted the 1972 Winter Olympics was Japan. The Games were held in Sapporo, on Japan’s northern island of Hokkaido, from February 3 to 13, 1972.

Sapporo 1972 was a landmark Winter Olympics because it was the first edition held outside Europe or North America. Japan had originally been awarded the 1940 Winter Games, but withdrew after the outbreak of war in Asia; those Games were ultimately cancelled. Sapporo later won the 1972 bid at an IOC session in Rome in 1966.

Japan’s hosting effort included new venues, expanded transport infrastructure, and a full test event in 1971. The home crowd celebrated when Yukio Kasaya, Akitsugu Konno, and Seiji Aochi swept the medals in the normal-hill ski-jumping event. Kasaya’s victory was Japan’s first Winter Olympic gold medal.

A common mix-up is confusing the host nation with the host city: the answer is Japan, while Sapporo is the city. These Games also preceded the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich later that year.