Lillehammer (Norwegian pronunciation: [ˈlɪləˈhɑmər]  (listen)) is a town and municipality in Oppland county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Lillehammer. As of May 2011, the population of the town of Lillehammer was 26,639 . The city centre is a late 19th century concentration of wooden houses, which enjoys a picturesque location overlooking the northern part of lake Mjøsa and the river Lågen, surrounded by mountains. Lillehammer hosted the 1994 Winter Olympics and will host the 2016 Winter Youth Olympics.

The municipality is named for the old timur (Old Norse: Hamarr, "rocky hill") farm, since the first church was built there. To distinguish it from the nearby town and bishopric of Hamar, it began to be called "little Hamar": Lilþlæ Hamar and Litlihamarr and finally Lillehammer.

It is also mentioned in the Old Norse sagas as Litlikaupangr ("Little Trading Place").

The coat-of-arms was granted in 1898. The arms show a birkebeiner, carrying a spear and a shield, who is skiing down a mountainside. It symbolizes the historical importance of when the Birkebeiners carried the to-be-King Haakon from Lillehammer to Rena on skis.

Kate Gulbrandsen (born 6 August 1965, Slemmestad) is a Norwegian singer. In 1986 she represented Norway at the Yamaha Song Festival in Tokyo with the song "Carnival". She won the Norwegian national final Melodi Grand Prix 1987 in a very close regional vote, giving her the opportunity to compete for Norway at the Eurovision Song Contest 1987 with the song "Mitt liv" (My Life), written by Rolf Løvland and Hanne Krogh. There, in Brussels, she came a respectable ninth.

Kate tried to represent Norway again in 1989, singing "Nærhet" (Closeness) at the Melodi Grand Prix, although was unplaced. The song was rerecorded by Gulbrandsen in 1991, with a slightly different arrangement.

Her version of Jørn Hansen's "Med gullet for øyet" was the official song of the 1998 Winter Paralympics in Nagano, Japan.

In 2004, after more than ten years away from the Norwegian popular music scene, Kate made a musical comeback in country style with two new tracks reaching Norsktoppen, Norway's main pop chart. These included a new version of the Dolly Parton hit "Jolene", which was included on her 2005 album release "Vi to" (We Two). Kate's "Jolene" spent 11 weeks in Norsktoppen, and was cited as the 8th most popular song of Norsktoppen in 2004.

Thomas Alsgaard (born 10 January 1972) is a Norwegian cross-country skier. Alsgaard is regarded by many as the best performer of the skate-style in cross-country skiing and many of today's best skiers have studied his technique. In total, Alsgaard won 15 medals in the Winter Olympics and FIS Nordic World Ski Championships, making him one of the most successful skiers of all time.

Born in Flateby, Enebakk, Alsgaard began cross-country ski racing at the age of three. That was when he was entered into a race against many 5-year olds. He beat all of them. A year later, it was rumored that he was lost in the village the family lived in. In fact, he was found at the local ski area, just about to start his third time around a 9-kilometer loop. Alsgaard says that his passion for skiing comes from liking to be outdoors.

Alsgaard got his international breakthrough in the Lillehammer 1994 Winter Olympics winning the 30 kilometre freestyle event. In total, Alsgaard won 15 medals in the Winter Olympics and FIS Nordic World Ski Championships, making him one fo the most successful skiers of all time. Alsgaard retired from racing after the 2003 World Championships.

Katarina Witt (born 3 December 1965) is a German figure skater and model. In Germany she was commonly called "Kati" in the past, but today her full name is used more often.

She won two Olympic gold medals for East Germany, first in the 1984 Sarajevo Olympics and the second in 1988 at the Calgary Olympics. She won the World Championships four times (in 1984, 1985, 1987 and 1988), and six consecutive European Championships (1983–1988). She won silver medals at both the 1982 and 1986 World Figure Skating Championships. Her competitive record makes her one of the most successful figure skaters of all time.

Witt was born in Staaken in East Germany, just outside of West Berlin, which is today part of Berlin. Her mother worked in a hospital as a physiotherapist and her father was a farmer. She went to school in Karl-Marx-Stadt (which today has reverted to its pre-war name of Chemnitz). There she attended Kinder- und Jugendsportschule, a special school for athletically talented children. She represented the club SC Karl-Marx-Stadt for the GDR (East Germany). Jutta Müller began coaching her in 1977. Witt trained six days a week, sometimes for seven hours a day with three hours spent on compulsory figures.