The Olympic landmark comes just three days after the 15th anniversary of the Sarajevo Market Massacre in which 67 people died in a mortar attack on the city's Markale market on February 5, 1994.

 

Bosnian singer Jadranka Stojakovic will return to her native city for a concert tomorrow.

 

Stojakovic, who sang the theme song for the Games 25 years ago, is now based in Japan and returns to a city that has been through so much since 1984, including undergoing the longest siege in modern military history during the Bosnian War.

 

Many of the venues used for the Games were devastated during the war, including the Zetra sports hall, where Torvill and Dean scored 12 perfect 6.0 marks for their interpretation of Maurice Ravel's Bolero, which was destroyed by missiles.

 

The basement was used morgue and the wooden seats that Torvill and Dean brought the spectators from with their spell-binding performance used to make coffins.

 

The Skenderija complex, which hosted ice hockey matches and accommodated the 8,000-strong media contingent, was damaged as well, with one snow crystal at the entrance the only things that survived the bloodshed and destruction of the War.

 

Torvill and Dean are the most-remembered sports act, but there was also the rise to fame of East German figure skater Katarina Witt, who got the first of two golds and was later named "the most beautiful face of socialism" by Time magazine.

 

Finnish cross-country skier Marja-Liisa Hamalainen was the most decorated athlete, winning all three individual races and a bronze with the relay.

 

Witt contributed to East Germany's medal haul for first place in the final tally with nine gold, nine silver and six bronze medals.

 

The United States team delighted in Bill Johnson's run to downhill gold and compatriot Phil Mahre beat his brother Steve for slalom gold.

 

The host nation could only celebrate a giant slalom silver from Jure Franko, but organisers and volunteers outdid themselves as snowstorms and arctic winds played havoc with the competition schedule.

 

The then International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Juan Antonio Samaranch called the Games "the best ever" winter edition in his final verdict at the closing ceremony.

 

Little did Samaranch know at the time that he would require United Nations protection a decade later when he made a much publicised visit from the Lillehammer Games to Sarajevo - less than a fortnight after the market place incident - to promote the Olympic Truce.

 

Samaranch's visit and a solidarity athletics meet in 1996 showed the destruction of the Olympic facilities to a global audience.

 

The IOC donated more than a third of the estimated $32 million (£21.6 million) to help rebuild the Zetra Hall in 1997.

 

IOC spokeswoman Emmanuelle Moreau said: "The Olympic Games in Sarajevo 25 years ago are a clear demonstration of how sport can convey a message of peace and bring hope in the middle of the turmoil of the war.

 

"Just as athletes strive to achieve the best performances at the Games, the IOC and the Olympic Movement strive to contribute to a better and peaceful world through sport."