The 1998 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XVIII Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event which was celebrated in 1998 in Nagano, Japan. These Games marked the return of the Winter Olympics to Japan since the 1972 Winter Olympics, when the games were held in Sapporo. Overall this was the third Olympic Games (summer or winter) to be held in Japan with the first being the 1964 Summer Olympics held in Tokyo.