©IOC

Two cauldrons were lit at the Opening Ceremony of the Innsbruck Games on 4 February 1976 for a very simple reason: Innsbruck had already hosted the Games in 1964, and it was decided to light both the old 1964 cauldron and the new 1976 one. It is interesting to note that the 1976 Games were not originally awarded to Innsbruck. Indeed, the event had been awarded to Denver (USA), but had been withdrawn in 1972 following a referendum rejecting the construction of Olympic facilities. As Innsbruck had already organised the Games 12 years earlier, the IOC opted for this alternative solution.