The 1970s were an eventful decade for countries around the world, both social and political. In 1976, the Vietnam War had just ended and many American citizens were expressing their beliefs, trying to make progress in creating a more equal society and protesting against the war. Americans were also beginning to pay more attention to the environmental movement, which played an important role in where the Olympics were held. Because the Olympics were held at the height of the Cold War, athletes were eager to express their fullest potential to represent the strength of their country and fuel the patriotism of their citizens. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay The 1976 Winter Olympics, which took place in Innsbruck, Austria, from February 4 to 15, 1976, were almost halfway through, arguably one of the most eventful decades for the United States and the rest of the world. Many Americans were unhappy with the political events of the early 1970s, and the anti-war movement was born. Americans were not only dissatisfied with the state of the country during the Vietnam War, but also with the state of social and political rights. Although many Americans were against the Vietnam War, Nixon refused to surrender for fear that the United States would be seen as weak. Finally, in July 1975, Vietnam was unified under communist rule and the war ended. This was a very important part of the Cold War, because another country fell under communist rule, which certainly didn't help the United States' paranoia towards the Soviet Union. In order not to be seen as weak, it was very important for the United States to perform well at the Olympics, especially after the defeat in the Vietnam War. The IOC initially decided that the 12th Winter Olympics in 1976 would be held in Denver, Colorado. However, this decision sparked a great debate with the citizens of Denver. Many citizens voted to ban their tax funds from being used to pay for the Olympic Games, and it was argued that the environmental impact was not worth the honor of holding the competitions. In the 1970s American citizens were increasingly involved in environmentalism, so it was not surprising that there were protests against the Olympic Games being held in Denver. In 1970, the first Earth Day was celebrated and the National Environmental Policy Act was also passed. The 1970s were a major turning point in environmentalism and the issue of pollution. Not only did the Denver government underestimate the costs of building new sports facilities, but citizens were very unhappy with the potential environmental damage it would cause. Therefore, Denver made the decision not to host the Olympic Games, and the IOC granted Innsbruck, Austria the honor of hosting the Games. Innsbruck was a much better option, considering that the 1964 Olympic Games were held there and that only minor renovations were needed for the facilities already available. The Games were considered a huge success, for the second time. The country that received the most medals was the Soviet Union, which finished with twenty-seven medals, thirteen of which were gold. Tatyana Averina-Barabash, representing the Soviet Union, won the most medals out of 1,123 athletes, with two gold and two bronze. Tatyana Averina-Barabash was considered one of the world's greatest figure skaters in the 1970s, setting eight world records in 1975 and winning medals in all four events she competed in during the Games.