VIDEO Sarajevo celebrates 40 years since the Winter Olympics: Jure Franko speaks emotionally about those Olympic days and his medal

(Patria) - On this day 40 years ago, the 14th Winter Olympic Games were opened in the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sarajevo.

From 8 to 19 February 1984, Sarajevo was the centre of the world, and the entire former Yugoslavia took part in organising the Olympics.

Companies from Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as from all over Yugoslavia, were engaged in the construction of the facilities. At the same time, each of the RTV stations from the republics of the former Yugoslavia, from Ljubljana to Skopje, had one venue they covered.

Sarajevo was then experiencing development in all spheres, and a positive social climate was created.

What the Sarajevo Olympic Games will be remembered for is the snow that fell the night before the grand opening. Students from the First and Second Gymnasiums manually cleared snow from the seats at the Koševo stadium to ensure the opening proceeded without issues. And indeed, the entire opening ceremony was spectacular.

The Winter Olympic Games held in Sarajevo cost a total of 141,647,000 dollars and ended with a surplus of 12,000,000 dollars. These were the first Olympic Games to end with a surplus. All previous ones had debts, and many cities had difficulty covering costs.

The Sarajevo Games were record-breaking in many ways. They were the first Games without a boycott by either the North Atlantic or Warsaw Pact, and they set a record for the number of participating countries.

They were followed by about two and a half billion viewers worldwide, featured 49 national teams, 222 medals were awarded, 2,691 athletes and coaches participated, 640,000 tickets were sold, and 7,825 journalists from 760 newsrooms covered them.

The most successful countries were the then East Germany (nine gold, nine silver, and six bronze medals) and the USSR (six gold, ten silver, and nine bronze medals).

On the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the Winter Olympics, some of the athletes who won medals have arrived in Sarajevo. On the BHRT programme, skier Jure Franko was a guest, and he will remember 1984 not only for his silver medal in the giant slalom but also for the saying "We love Jure more than burek." In 2020, Franko became an honorary citizen of Sarajevo.

"When I return to Sarajevo, it is so emotional. Such memories, beautiful feelings, a completely different world. Everyone has their own memories, but we are all connected to Sarajevo. The organisation was phenomenal," Franko said.