For the first time
Azerbaijan, Kenya, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Uruguay and Venezuela took part in the Olympic Winter Games.
National Hockey League (NHL)
For the first time, professional players from the National Hockey League (NHL, USA) participated.
A Special Price for the Schoolchildren
A 50% discount on all regular Olympic tickets were offered for all schoolchildren.
Ecological Clothes
Official staff uniforms were made from fully recyclable materials.
Curling is in
Originally included for men at the Olympic Winter Games in 1924, curling made its return to the official sports programme in Nagano, where both a men’s and a women’s event were contested.
Snowboard is in
Snowboard became a new discipline with both men’s and women’s events in giant slalom and halfpipe being contested.
Ice Hockey for Women
Women took part in ice hockey for the first time in Olympic history.
Ceremonies
7 February 1998. Opening Ceremony. Dancers and the planet Earth.
Official opening of the Games by: His Majesty the Emperor Akihito
Lighting of the Olympic Flame by: Midori Ito (figure skating)
Olympic Oath by: Kenji Ogiwara (Nordic combined)
Officials' Oath by: Junko Hiramatsu (figure skating)