A day to remember: Anniversary of the Sarajevo Winter Olympics

SARAJEVO, (Patria) - Exactly 36 years ago, the 14th Winter Olympic Games began in Sarajevo.

The city at the foot of Trebević won the bid ahead of Japan's Sapporo and Sweden's Gothenburg, and in the following ten days, the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina became the center of the world and the foundation for all future winter Olympics.

The International Olympic Committee selected Sarajevo as the host city for the XIV Winter Olympic Games in 1978, in Athens.

Preparations for the Olympics lasted for years, and in addition to well-organized games, the results included the construction of roads, hotel complexes on the mountains (Bjelašnica, Igman, Jahorina) as well as in the city, the Skenderija and Zetra sports centers, cable cars, ski lifts...

Sarajevo became the center of global and media attention. The XIV Winter Olympic Games were held from February 8 to 19. The program included alpine skiing (Bjelašnica and Jahorina), bobsleigh and luge (Trebević), ice hockey and figure skating (Zetra and Skenderija), biathlon, Nordic skiing, and ski jumping (Igman). 49 national Olympic committees registered for these Games. A record number of participants (over 2500) arrived in Sarajevo. Sarajevo opened its doors and welcomed everyone!

The opening of the XIV Winter Olympic Games was watched by about 60,000 Sarajevans at the Koševo stadium, and about two billion people via TV. The Olympic flame was lit by figure skater Sanda Dubravčić.

The Games remained in very good memory among participants and spectators alike. The hosts were particularly pleased that Slovenian alpine skier Jure Franko won a silver medal in giant slalom - the first medal Yugoslavia would win at the Winter Olympics. Franko was cheered on by Sarajevans at the ski resort with banners that read "We love our Jurek more than homemade burek," or shorter, "We love Jurek more than burek."

However, the biggest stars of the Sarajevo Olympics were the figure skating participants. The best impression was made by the British pair Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean, who won the gold medal. East German figure skater Katarina Witt also won a gold medal at the Games, and it was the Sarajevo Olympics that made her one of the biggest sports icons of the late 20th century.

At the closing ceremony of the Winter Olympic Games on February 19, the then-president of the International Organizing Committee, Juan Antonio Samaranch, said that Sarajevo was the best host of the Winter Olympic Games up to that point in their history. "Goodbye dear Sarajevo," were the words of Juan Antonio Samaranch.

The Olympic spirit still lives in this city and its residents, despite generational changes. The Winter Olympic Games are certainly one of the best things that happened to the city of Sarajevo and the country of Bosnia and Herzegovina.