Lillehammer became the first city to host both the regular Olympic Games and the Youth Olympic Games, reusing venues from 1994.
Key Facts
- Official title
- II Winter Youth Olympic Games
- Dates
- 12 to 21 February 2016
- Edition
- 4th Youth Olympics, 2nd winter edition
- Host awarded
- 7 December 2011
- Candidate cities
- 1 (Lillehammer only)
- Host municipalities
- Lillehammer, Hamar, Gjøvik, Øyer
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
The International Olympic Committee awarded Lillehammer the 2016 Winter Youth Olympics on 7 December 2011, selecting it as the sole candidate city. The existing infrastructure from the 1994 Winter Olympics made Lillehammer a practical and cost-effective choice for hosting the games.
The II Winter Youth Olympic Games were held in and around Lillehammer, Norway, from 12 to 21 February 2016. Venues across Lillehammer, Hamar, Gjøvik, and Øyer municipalities were used, all repurposed from the 1994 Winter Olympics, bringing together young athletes from around the world.
Lillehammer became the first city in history to have hosted both the full Olympic Games and the Youth Olympic Games, establishing a precedent for reusing legacy venues. The games demonstrated the viability of leveraging existing Olympic infrastructure for future Youth Olympic editions.