Lillehammer 2016

Lillehammer 2016, the second Winter Youth Olympic Games, returned the Olympic movement once again to Lillehammer, Norway, exactly 22 years after the 1994 Olympic Winter Games. Expectations were high and Lillehammer 2016 aimed to “Go beyond. Create tomorrow,” by building on its Olympic legacy in a new way for a new generation of athletes. 

The 1994 Winter Olympics set new standards within environmental work. Historical sports venues built for the 1994 Winter Olympic Games were upgraded for the Youth Olympic Games, and at Lillehammer 2016, youth created a renewed environmental legacy that included the Games’ first Norwegian ISO certification as a sustainable event. The event included 1,067 athletes from 71 NOCs participating in 70 events in seven sports, while Sjogg, the mountain lynx mascot enjoyed some of the 108 concerts organized during the YOG. The 3,278 volunteers, over half of whom were under 30 years old, helped to build a movement where youth are taken seriously, and seize the possibility to learn, develop, and be a part of a fellowship far larger than any one person.