List of participating nations at the Winter Olympic Games
The first Winter Games were held in 1924, in Chamonix, France. They were originally called "International Winter Sports Week" and held in association with the 1924 Summer Olympics, but were in retrospect designated by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as the "I Olympic Winter Games".
Sixteen nations participated in these Games: fourteen from Europe and two from North America.
Four years later, 25 nations were represented at the 1928 Winter Olympics, in St. Moritz, Switzerland, including Argentina (the first nation from the Southern Hemisphere), Japan (the first Asian nation), and Mexico.
Participation in the 1932 Games, held in Lake Placid, United States, during the Great Depression, was reduced to 17 nations.
The 1936 Winter Games, in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, had 28 participating nations, the largest number to that date.
These would be the last Winter Games for twelve years, as the planned 1940 Games and 1944 Games were cancelled due to World War II.
Denmark at the 1988 Winter Olympics
Denmark joined the modern Olympic movement at the beginning, participating in the first modern Games, the 1896 Summer Olympics. The National Olympic Committee and Sports Confederation of Denmark was formally recognised by the International Olympic Committee on 1 January 1905. Denmark has sent a team to every Summer Olympic Games except the 1904 St. Louis Olympics, and they first participated in the Winter Olympic Games in the 1948 St. Moritz Olympics. Their participation at Winter Olympics has been sporadic, and these Calgary Games were their first time competing at a Winter Olympics since the 1968 Grenoble Olympics 20 years prior. The 1988 Winter Olympics were held in Calgary, Alberta, Canada from 13–28 February 1988; a total of 1,423 athletes representing 57 National Olympic Committees took part. Denmark was represented in Calgary by a single figure skater, Lars Dresler, who was selected as the flag-bearer for the opening ceremony.