Fun fact: Denver is the only city to reject the Olympics

DENVER (KDVR) — The 2024 Olympic Games are set to kick off in Paris at the end of July, and preparations are already well underway.

The United States has hosted both the Summer and Winter Olympics on several occasions, and Los Angeles is slated to host them in 2028.

However, despite it being one of the nation’s top winter destinations, they’ve never been held in Colorado. And it’s not for lack of trying – Denver was once selected as a host city but ultimately said no.

The 1976 Olympics

The 1976 Winter Olympics were ultimately held in Innsbruck Austria, but the Mile High City was originally supposed to host, having won the bid in 1970.

According to the Colorado Encyclopedia , in the 1960s, the governor at the time, John Love, worked with business leaders to craft a bid to host the 1976 Winter Olympics.

The Denver Olympic Committee was created for this purpose, and land surveys of potential hosting spots began. Eventually, however, a group called the Citizens for Colorado’s Future organized in opposition to the state’s plans.

The main concern, according to historians, was that hosting the games would prove detrimental to the local environment.

Eventually, in November 1972, Coloradans went to the polls to vote on the issue. Namely, they were voting for a constitutional amendment that would prohibit the state from levying any taxes or appropriating money for the games, which would essentially kill any chance of the state hosting.

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This amendment passed with just under 60% of the vote.

Just over a week later, the city withdrew its bid, and the International Olympic Committee later chose Innsbruck as the replacement.

Despite this, Colorado still maintains close ties to both the Summer and Winter Olympics by raising future Olympians and hosting various training facilities.

Colorado Springs is known as Olympic City USA and hosts the country’s flagship Olympic training center.

The state has also sent many Olympic athletes to both games over the years.

The world-class Olympians from the state range from skiers like Mikaela Shiffrin, who was born in Vail and has won two gold medals, to swimmers like Amy Van Dyken, who was born in Denver and has won six gold medals and was the most successful athlete at the 1996 Summer Olympics.

Others include swimmer Missy Franklin, who grew up in the Denver metro area and won 5 medals, and Lindsey Vonn, who grew up in Vail and has won three Olympic medals.

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