<Li> Nordic combined (1) (details) </Li> <Li> Ski jumping (1) (details) </Li> <P> The chairman of the Pageantry Committee was Walt Disney, who was responsible for producing both the opening and closing ceremonies . He organized an opening that included 5,000 entertainers, the release of 2,000 pigeons, and a military gun salute of eight shots, one for each of the previous Winter Olympic Games . The opening ceremonies were held on February 18, 1960, at Blyth Arena in the midst of a blizzard . The heavy snow fall caused traffic problems that delayed the ceremony by an hour . The festivities began with a sustained drum roll as the flags of each participating nation were raised on specially designed flag poles . Vice President Richard Nixon represented the United States government and declared the Games open . The Olympic cauldron was lit by Kenneth Henry, Olympic champion of the 500 meter speed skating race at the 1952 Winter Olympics in Oslo . The Olympic oath was taken by Carol Heiss on behalf of all the athletes . As the national delegations left the stadium fireworks concluded the ceremonies . </P> <P> The ice hockey tournament took place at Blyth Arena and the Squaw Valley Olympic Skating Rink . Controversy over the amateur status of some of the players overshadowed the event . Canadian Olympic officials objected to the use of "professional amateurs" by Eastern Bloc countries, and especially the Soviet Union . They alleged that the Soviets were giving their elite hockey players phantom jobs in the military that allowed them to play hockey full - time, which gave Soviet teams an advantage that they used to dominate Olympic hockey tournaments for nearly 30 years . This issue started coming to light during the 1960 Games and would culminate in a Canadian boycott of the Olympic hockey tournament at the 1972 and 1976 Winter Olympics . The team from the United States won an improbable gold medal, defeating the favored Canadian and Soviet teams, who took silver and bronze respectively . This was the first Olympic gold medal in ice hockey for the United States and it would mark the last time a Soviet team did not win the Olympic tournament until the United States victory at the 1980 Winter Olympics . </P>

Who was in charge of the opening ceremonies in the 1960 winter olympics