1960 Squaw Valley Winter Olympics Vintage PosterExcellent reproduction of the official poster for the 1960 Winter Olympics, which took place in Squaw Valley, California, US. It was the first time in 28 years that the Olympic Games had been held in North America. Opening and Closing Ceremonies were orchestrated by none other than Walt Disney. A throng of 1,000 competitors and 20,000 spectators stood hushed as the Olympic Torch completed a 9,000 mile odyssey from Europe and was placed in front of the Tower of Nations. The VIII Olympic Winter Games at Squaw Valley "Opened" with a kaleidoscope of fireworks and colorful balloons and all forms of pageantry. At that time the 1960 Winter Games were the largest ever held, with 34 nations competing in 15 alpine and ski jumping events, 8 speed skiing contests, 3 figure skating competitions and 28 hockey matches. Making its Olympic debut was women's speed skiing and the men's biathlon, a combination of Nordic skiing and rifle marksmanship.The Squaw Games were highlighted by many other Winter Olympic 'firsts': 1) The speed skating, figure skating and ice hockey events were held on artificial ice for the first time in Olympic history. A refrigeration plant capable of heating 4,800 homes had to be built to generate and maintain the ice. 2) New timing equipment provided by Longines was installed that used a quartz clock to measure to the hundredths of a second. 3) IBM provided a computer that was capable of tabulating results and printing them in English and French.4) They were the first Winter Games to be nationally televised by CBS 5) Although the 1932 Los Angeles Games had the first Olympic Village, this was the first time in Winter Olympic history that the athletes were housed in their own Olympic Village.Participants: Some records show 1,000 competitors and others say 665 athletes competed representing Thirty Nations.Also check out our
Winter Olympics Poster Set (all the Winter Games Olympic posters from 1924 - 2006). 13 x 18 inch quality reproductions.
