Sarajevo was the center of the world: On this day, the 14th Winter Olympic Games opened

(Patria) - Exactly 41 years ago today, the Olympic flame was lit at the Koševo Olympic Stadium, officially marking the start of the 14th Winter Olympic Games (WOI).

Sarajevo was chosen as the host city for the 1984 WOI by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in Athens in 1978. At that time, the competition included Japan's Sapporo and a joint bid from the two Swedish cities of Falun and Gothenburg.

On February 8, 1984, Sarajevo was the center of the world, the focus of all global media attention. Enormous funds were spent on organizing the WOI.

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

The 14th 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 2,500) arrived in Sarajevo. Sarajevo opened its doors and welcomed everyone.

The opening of the 14th WOI at the Koševo Stadium was watched by about 60,000 spectators, and about two billion people on small TV screens. 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 the giant slalom – the first medal Yugoslavia would win at the Winter Olympics.

However, the biggest stars of the Sarajevo Olympics were the figure skating participants. The British pair Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean, who won the gold medal, left the best impression.

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 greatest sports icons of the late 20th century.

At the closing ceremony on February 19, the then IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch said that Sarajevo was the best host of the WOI up to that point in their history.

"Goodbye dear Sarajevo," were Samaranch's words.

The Olympic spirit continues to live in the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina and among its residents, despite generational changes.

The Winter Olympic Games were certainly one of the best things that happened to the city of Sarajevo and the country of Bosnia and Herzegovina.