Winter sports are increasingly popular in Scandinavia  the Nordic countries, winter sports are becoming increasingly popular. Norwegians for example have long been renowned for their skiing skills, and the country is very proud to be able to boast a high number of medal winners at the winter Olympics. However, there is a lot more to the national winter sport culture than alpine ski.

One of the most important factors for this is that many of Norway’s top athletes also love cross-country skiing and ski jumping. The famous Holmenkollbakken ski jump at the Oslo sports park within Holmenkollen is a symbol of this, but there are many other great places to watch or participate in these kinds of winter sporting events in Norway.

But there are other winter sports that are growing in popularity in the country too. For instance, bobsledding and Nordic combined are popular sports among younger people. There is also a rising interest in ice skating and figure skating, although it is hard to say whether this will survive in the long term.

Chasing Snow and Thrills: The Surging Popularity of Winter Sports in Scandinavia

Unfortunately, the global warming linked to greenhouse gas emissions has a negative effect on winter sports in general. For example, according to a recent report from Badvertising and think tank New Weather Sweden, snow cover on the continent has shrunk by 90,600 square kilometres since 1970. This is about the same as the surface area of Sweden’s famous Vasaloppet ski race. It’s no wonder that many international sporting events are ending their sponsorship deals with polluting companies.