The 2016 Winter Youth Olympics are scheduled to be held in and around Lillehammer, Norway, from 26 February to 6 March 2016. Nine competition and eleven non-competition venues are to be used—all except the Youth Olympic Village in Lillehammer are existing venues. The Games will be hosted in four municipalities: Lillehammer, with approximately 26,000 inhabitants, and Hamar and Gjøvik, both with approximately 27,000 inhabitants, are all situated on the lake Mjøsa; Øyer, with just under 5,000 inhabitants, is 18 kilometers (11 mi) north of Lillehammer, in the valley Gudbrandsdalen. There will be five competition venues in Lillehammer, two in Hamar and once each in Gjøvik and Øyer.[1]
In Lillehammer, Lysgårdsbakkene Ski Jumping Arena features twin ski jumping hills.[2] The large hill has a hill size of 138 and a K-point of 120, while the normal hill has a hill size of 100 and a critical point of 90. The hill has capacity for 35,000 spectators.[3] Birkebeineren Ski Stadium will host cross-country skiing, biathlon and Nordic combined,[4] with the stadium itself having a capacity for 31,000 spectators during cross-country skiing and 13,500 during biathlon. In addition, spectators could watch from along the tracks.[5] Kanthaugen Freestyle Arena featured a capacity for 15,000 spectators and will host both freestyle skiing and half-pipe snowboarding.[6]
Lillehammer Olympic Bobsleigh and Luge Track is located at Hunderfossen and is the only bobsleigh, luge and skeleton track in the Nordic Countries.[7] Kristins Hall will host both ice hockey and curling.[8] Gjøvik Olympic Cavern Hall is built as a man-made cave and will feature the short track speed skating events.[9] In Hamar, Hamar Olympic Hall will host long track speed skating while Hamar Olympic Amphitheatre will host figure skating.[10] Alpine skiing and slopestyle snowboarding will be hosted at Hafjell in Øyer.[11]
Stampesletta, a multi-sports complex next to Kristins Hall, the Lillehammer village and the ski jumps, will host the opening and closing ceremonies. The medal ceremonies will take place in the town plaza. Athlete and leader accommodation will be provided at two Olympic villages, one in Lillehammer for the Lillehammer and Øyer-based events, and one in Hamar for the Hamar and Gjøvik-based events. The Lillehammer village consists of yet unbuilt student apartments in combination with an hotel and apartment resort. They will use Håkons Hall for dining. The Hamar village will be Hotel Scandic Hamar.[12] In addition, there are five designated cultural venues in Lillehammer: Kulturhuset Banken, Lillehammer Art Museum, Lillehammer University College, Maihaugen and the Nansen Academy.[13] The Main Media Centre will be located at Mesna Upper Secondary School, which is adjacent to Stampesletta.[14]
All the competition venues were built ahead of the 1994 Winter Olympics. Kristins Hall is the only venue not used during those Games, while Håkons Hall and Kvitfjell were used, but will not be used for the Youth Games.
The following list contains the nine venues used for competitions during the 2016 Winter Youth Olympics. They are listed by their name during the Games, as well as containing the sports held at the venue, the municipality where they are located and the spectator capacity.
| Venue | Sport(s) | Location | Capacity | Ref(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Birkebeineren Ski Stadium | Biathlon, cross-country skiing, Nordic combined (cross-country skiing) | Lillehammer | 34,000 | [4][15] |
| Gjøvik Olympic Cavern Hall | Short track speed skating | Gjøvik | 6,000 | [9] |
| Kristins Hall | Ice hockey, curling | Lillehammer | 3,197 | [8] |
| Hafjell | Alpine skiing, snowboarding (slopestyle) | Øyer | 30,000 | [11][15] |
| Hamar Olympic Amphitheatre | Figure skating | Hamar | 6,000 | [16][10] |
| Hamar Olympic Hall | Speed skating | Hamar | 10,600 | [17][18] |
| Kanthaugen Freestyle Arena | Freestyle skiing, snowboarding (half-pipe) | Lillehammer | 15,000 | [6] |
| Lillehammer Olympic Bobsleigh and Luge Track | Bobsleigh, luge, skeleton | Lillehammer | 10,000 | [19][20] |
| Lysgårdsbakkene Ski Jumping Arena | Nordic combined (ski jumping), ski jumping | Lillehammer | 35,000 | [2][3] |
The following list contains the fourteen non-competition venues used during the 1994 Winter Olympics. They are listed with their function, location, capacity, size in square meters and square feet, and the cost of construction, in millions of Norwegian krone (MNOK). For existing structures, the cost indicates what was used to upgrade them ahead of the Games.
| Venue | Type | Location | Capacity | Ref(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Håkon Hall | Dining | Lillehammer | — | [21] |
| Hotel Scandic Hamar | Athlete accommodation | Hamar | — | [22] |
| Kulturhuset Banken | Culture | Lillehammer | — | [23] |
| Lillehammer University College | Culture | Lillehammer | — | [24] |
| Lillehammer Art Museum | Culture | Lillehammer | — | [25] |
| Maihaugen | Culture | Lillehammer | 750 | [23] |
| Mesna Upper Secondary School | Media | Lillehammer | — | [14] |
| Nansen Academy | Culture | Lillehammer | — | [26] |
| Stampesletta | Opening and closing ceremonies | Lillehammer | 8,000 | [12] |
| Town plaza | Medal ceremonies | Lillehammer | — | [12] |
| Youth Olympic Village in Lillehammer | Athlete accommodation | Lillehammer | 1,786 | [12] |
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