Nostalgia – Origins of the
Olympic Winter Games
To mark Beijing 2022, the Olympic Agora is looking back in time to tell the epic story of the beginnings of Olympic Winter Games.
This curated selection of rare black-and-white photographs presents this history through the lens of groundbreaking sports photographers, who blended art, sport, aesthetics and technical mastery to capture immortal moments of winter sports.
From the first winter competitions held at London 1908, through to Chamonix 1924 and Grenoble 1968, these photographs from the photo archives of the Olympic Foundation for Culture and Heritage are being publicly displayed for the first time.
Welcome to “Nostalgia”.
Click on each photograph to discover the Olympic Winter Games history.
London 1908 - Antwerp 1920
Chamonix 1924
St-Moritz 1928
Lake Placid 1932
Garmisch-Partenkirchen 1936
St-Moritz 1948
OSLO 1952
Cortina d’Ampezzo 1956
Squaw Valley 1960
Innsbruck 1964
Grenoble 1968
This "Nostalgia” selection is part of a temporary exhibition at The Olympic Museum in Lausanne (Switzerland) devoted to the history and evolution of the Olympic Winter Games. Entitled “Rêver en blanc (Dreaming in white), the epic story of the Olympic Winter Games”, this exhibition traces the history of the event and explores current and future challenges, with the goal of making the Olympic Games more responsible, inclusive and sustainable.
This entire exhibition can be visited online through a 360-degree virtual tour.
The permanent exhibition of The Olympic Museum in Lausanne is also accessible virtually here.
And to discover more about the history of the Olympic Games in general: The Olympic Studies Centre, and the Olympic World Library.