Thirty-six years ago, Olympic flame was ignited on Sarajevo's Kosevo stadium, marking the opening ceremony of the 14th Winter Olympic Games observed by an audience of 60,000 and 2 million more who watched the games on their TVs across the world.

Sarajevo hosted 1,272 athletes from 49 countries and the Olympic spirit became part of the city's identity.

Back in 1978, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) named Sarajevo to be the host of the XIV Winter Olympics. Other cities that competed for the organisation of this great sports competition were Sapporo, Japan, and Swedish cities of Falun and Goteborg.

The Bosnian capital thus became the centre of the world and media interest. The Olympic games were held February 8-19 and the Olympic flame was ignited by ice skater Sanda Dubravcic.

The hosts were especially happy after Slovenian Alpine skier Jure Franko won silver in the giant slalom competition – the first medal Yugoslavia will ever win at the Olympics. Sarajevans cheered for Franko with slogans like “We love Jurek more than Burek” (a local pie).

But the biggest stars of the Sarajevo Olympics were British skaters Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean who won gold.

During the closing ceremony, the then head of the IOC Juan Antonio Samaranch said that Sarajevo was the best organizer of the Winter Olympic Games thus far.