In December 1967, Denver, Colorado was chosen to be the host of the 1976 Winter Olympic Games. The city won against bids from Sion, Switzerland, Tampere, Finland, and Vancouver, Canada.
Due to increased pushback from both local citizens and government, Denver forfeited the bid after a referendum blocking state funding of the games was passed in November 1972. This marks the only time in Olympic history that a host city has rejected its delegation. Innsbruck, Austria would later be picked as the new host for the games.
