In 2010, Canada will host the Olympic Winter Games for the second time in history. The XXI Olympic Winter Games come to Vancouver 22 years after Calgary hosted the XV Olympic Winter Games in 1988. Vancouver will mark the third overall appearance of Canada as host (the Games of the XXI Olympiad were held in Montreal in 1976).
At the 2006 Torino Games, 2,508 athletes from 80 nations took part in what was the most ever for a Winter Olympics. Four nations made their Winter Olympic debuts in Torino: Albania, Ethiopia, Madagascar, and Serbia and Montenegro.
| Nation |  |  |  | TOTAL | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Norway | 98 | 98 | 84 | 280 |
 | Soviet Union | 87 | 63 | 67 | 217 |
 | United States | 78 | 80 | 59 | 217 |
 | Austria | 51 | 64 | 70 | 185 |
 | Germany | 68 | 65 | 46 | 179 |
