Winter Olympics: Venues throughout history

If you're thinking of holding your own mini 'bowling Olympics' with friends or colleagues in light of the current Winter Olympics in Sochi, picking a venue is easy - ZONE BOWLING alleys have all you need for parties for kids or a more corporate party.

However, venue choice for these iconic Winter Games is a little more complicated, and often ends up in some of the most culture-rich and interesting locations you can think of. The only obvious requirement is that they have to have snow - and lots of it!

Let's take a look at the history of the Winter Olympics and its exciting venues:

1924: Chamonix, France

The first ever Winter Games were named after the success of what was meant to be a "Winter Sports Week" supported by the International Olympic Committee. The sports week attracted a minimum of 10,004 spectators, and so the Winter Olympics was born. This modest-sized snowy town was the perfect venue for the Games and saw impressive skills from athletes in events like speed skating and cross country skiing.

1952: Oslo, Norway

Perhaps fittingly, the Games had to be hosted in Norway - after all, it was one of the first countries associated with the sport of skiing! This event was one full of firsts. It was the first time the Games mixed snow with the ocean when held at this seaside town, and was also the first time a capital city was selected to host. 

2014: Sochi, Russia 

This year, the Games are currently underway in Russia's city of Sochi. Like Oslo, it's another seaside city and has a rather warm climate considering it is now hosting the best of skiing, skating and curling athletes.

And what about in the future?

2018: PyeongChang, South Korea

The venue for each Olympic Games must be planned well ahead in order to give each country (and athletes) time to get organised. In 2018, it has been announced as PyeongChang, a self-confessed natural beauty of a county in South Korea that has been described as the "Alps of Korea" after its gorgeous snow-capped mountains.