The Banff Winter Olympics: Sport, tourism, and Banff National Park

• Author / Creator

  Williams, Cheryl

• This case study deals with the failed bid by Calgary Olympic Development Association to host the 1972 Winter Olympics in Banff National Park. The bid committee argued that the international exposure garnered by a locality would result in economic growth and amateur athletic development. Opponents to the use of a national park as an Olympic site challenged the importance of the Games to Banff’s identity as a world class destination, and the recreational role of national parks. Through textual analysis of newspaper and archival documents, and interviews, the case of the failed 1972 Winter Olympic bid reveals discourses of the role of national parks in the 1960s. As a result of the 1972 Winter Olympics bid, multiple constructions of Banff National Park emerged, as a site of importance for sport, tourism, and environmental protection.

• Subjects / Keywords

  • Banff National Park
  • Winter Olympics

• Graduation date

  Fall 2011

• Type of Item

  Thesis

• Degree

  Master of Arts

• DOI

  https://doi.org/10.7939/R3B593

• License

  This thesis is made available by the University of Alberta Libraries with permission of the copyright owner solely for non-commercial purposes. This thesis, or any portion thereof, may not otherwise be copied or reproduced without the written consent of the copyright owner, except to the extent permitted by Canadian copyright law.