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The city of Vancouver was elected host city of the XXI Olympic Winter Games in 2010 at the 115th IOC Session in Prague on 2 July 2003. Eight cities applied to host the Games: Andorra la Vella (Andorra), Bern (Switzerland), Harbin (China), Jaca (Spain), PyeongChang (Republic of Korea), Salzburg (Austria), Sarajevo (Bosnia-Herzegovina) and Vancouver (Canada).

The following cities were accepted as Candidate Cities to host the XXI Olympic Winter Games in 2010 by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Executive Board on 28 August 2002 (in the order of drawing of lots):

   - Vancouver (Canada)
   - Salzburg (Austria)
   - PyeongChang (Republic of Korea)
   - Bern (Switzerland)
 
On 27 September 2002, the city of Bern withdrew its candidature to host the XXI Olympic Winter Games.

115th IOC Session, 2 July 2003, Prague: Election of the Host City of the XXI Olympic Winter Games:

The venues for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games stretch over a 120-kilometre zone from Richmond, through downtown Vancouver and north to the mountain resort of Whistler. Drawing on both new and existing facilities, VANOC’s goal was to create spectacular theatres for sport that provide top conditions for athletes and a welcome place for spectators to experience the excitement of competition.

Vancouver Venues Overview

The 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games events in Vancouver included curling, figure skating, ice hockey, sledge hockey, short-track speed skating and wheelchair curling.
Speed skating took place in Richmond, while the snowboard and freestyle skiing events were hosted at Cypress Mountain in the District of West Vancouver. The Olympic Games Opening and Closing Ceremonies, as well as the Paralympic Games Opening Ceremony, were staged indoors at BC Place in Vancouver city centre.

Whistler Venue Overview

For the 2010 Winter Games, Whistler hosted Olympic and Paralympic Alpine skiing, cross-country skiing and biathlon, as well as Olympic Nordic combined, ski jumping, bobsleigh, luge and skeleton. Olympic and Paralympic Villages and media facilities were located in Vancouver and Whistler.

Paralympic Venues Overview

The Vancouver 2010 Paralympic Winter Games will highlight both the small-town spirit and big-city facilities and provide world-class exposure to the Paralympic athletes who will compete.
In August 2006, VANOC proposed that sledge hockey and wheelchair curling take place in Vancouver and that Alpine skiing, biathlon and cross-country skiing take place in Whistler. The
International Paralympic Committee (IPC) approved this concept in November 2006.

Quick Facts about the Vancouver 2010 Winter Games

   - 17 days of Olympic Games events
   - 10 days of Paralympic Games events
   - 5,500 Olympic Games athletes and officials (projected)
   - 1,350 Paralympic Games athletes and officials (projected)
   - 80+ countries participating in Olympic Winter Games
   - 40+ countries participating in Paralympic Winter Games
   - 10,000 media representatives
   - 3 billion television viewers worldwide
   - 75 million visitors worldwide to vancouver2010.com (projected) 

PyeongChang

PyeongChang is one of 18 local administrative districts in Gangwon Province, with legal and financial rights. Gangwon Province is one of 16 regional governments and has a population of 1.56 million. PyeongChang City has a population of approximately 50,000. The population of each of the two other major venue cities (Gangneung and Wonju) is between 250,000 and 280,000.
The concept of the PyeongChang 2010 Olympic Winter Games was to host the “Games of Purity and Peace for All”.

The three Olympic Villages - Dragon Valley (PyeongChang), Wonju and Gangneung - were closely situated to most of the venues.

Salzburg

The City of Salzburg (population approximately 150,000) is in the Province of Salzburg which has a population of 520,000. The provinces of Salzburg, Tyrol and Styria were involved in the bid. The German province of Bavaria was also part of the bid as the venue for the bobsleigh, luge and skeleton competitions.
The motto of the bid was “The Sound of Winter Sports”, reflecting the combination of the country's famous winter sports and musical history.

Three Olympic Villages were proposed: one in Salzburg, one in Kitzbühl and one in the Amadé region. The concept of three Olympic Villages ensured that the majority of athletes could stay very close to their venues.