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The 2002 Winter Olympics, officially the XIX Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Salt Lake 2002 (; Gosiute Shoshoni: ''Tit'-so-pi 2002''; ;
Shoshoni The Shoshone or Shoshoni ( or ), also known by the endonym Newe, are an Indigenous people of the United States with four large cultural/linguistic divisions: * Eastern Shoshone: Wyoming * Northern Shoshone: Southern Idaho * Western Shoshone ...
: ''Soónkahni 2002''), were an international winter
multi-sport event A multi-sport event is an organized sporting event, often held over multiple days, featuring competition in many different sports among organized teams of athletes from (mostly) nation-states. The first major, modern, multi-sport event of intern ...
that was held from February 8 to 24, 2002, in and around
Salt Lake City Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in the state. The city is the core of the Salt Lake Ci ...
,
Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...
, United States. Salt Lake City was selected as the host city in June 1995 at the 104th
IOC Session This is the list of International Olympic Committee (IOC) meetings. Olympic Congresses IOC Sessions There has been a session during all Olympic Games except the 1900, 1904 and 1908 Summer Olympic Games, Summer Olympics and the 1924, 1928 and ...
. They were the eighth Olympics to be hosted by the United States, and the most recent to be held in the country until 2028, when Los Angeles will host the 34th Summer Olympics. The 2002 Winter Olympics and
Paralympics The Paralympic Games or Paralympics is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of disabilities. There are Winter and Summer Paralympic Games, which since the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Kore ...
were both organized by the
Salt Lake Organizing Committee The Salt Lake Organizing Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games of 2002 (SLOC) was the organization responsible for the 2002 Winter Olympics and 2002 Winter Paralympics in Salt Lake City, USA. The SLOC secured their bid for the 20 ...
(SLOC), the first time that both events were organized by a single committee, and inspiring other Olympic and Paralympic Games to be organized by such since then. These were the first Olympic Games under the
International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; , CIO) is the international, non-governmental, sports governing body of the modern Olympic Games. Founded in 1894 by Pierre de Coubertin and Demetrios Vikelas, it is based i ...
(IOC) presidency of
Jacques Rogge Jacques Jean Marie, Count Rogge (, ; 2 May 1942 – 29 August 2021) was a Belgian sports administrator, former athlete, and physician, who served as the eighth president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) from 2001 to 2013. In 201 ...
. The Games featured 2,399 athletes from 78 nations, participating in 78 events in 15 disciplines. Norway topped the medal table, with 13 gold and 25 medals overall, while Germany finished with the most total medals, winning 36 (with 12 of them gold). The hosting United States was third by gold medals and second by overall medals, with 10 and 34 respectively. Australia notably became the first Southern Hemisphere country to ever win gold medals at the Winter Olympics. The Games finished with a budgetary surplus of US$40 million; the surplus was used to fund the formation of the Utah Athletic Foundation—which has continued to maintain the facilities built for these Olympics. The venues have continued to be used for national and international winter sports events after the Olympics, leading to the Winter Olympics return to Salt Lake City for 2034 games.


Host city selection

Salt Lake City was chosen over Québec City, Canada; Sion, Switzerland; and Östersund, Sweden, on June 16, 1995, at the 104th
IOC Session This is the list of International Olympic Committee (IOC) meetings. Olympic Congresses IOC Sessions There has been a session during all Olympic Games except the 1900, 1904 and 1908 Summer Olympic Games, Summer Olympics and the 1924, 1928 and ...
in
Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...
, Hungary. Salt Lake City had previously come in second during the bids for the
1998 Winter Olympics The 1998 Winter Olympics, officially known as the and commonly known as Nagano 1998 (), were a winter multi-sport event held from 7 to 22 February 1998, mainly in Nagano, Nagano, Nagano, Nagano Prefecture, Japan, with some events ...
, awarded to Nagano, Japan, and had offered to be the provisional host of the
1976 Winter Olympics The 1976 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XII Olympic Winter Games (, ) and commonly known as Innsbruck 1976 (), were a winter multi-sport event celebrated in Innsbruck, Austria, from February 4 to 15, 1976. The games were awarded to Inn ...
when the original host,
Denver, Colorado Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...
, withdrew. The 1976 Winter Olympics were ultimately awarded to
Innsbruck Innsbruck (; ) is the capital of Tyrol (federal state), Tyrol and the List of cities and towns in Austria, fifth-largest city in Austria. On the Inn (river), River Inn, at its junction with the Wipptal, Wipp Valley, which provides access to the ...
, Austria. There was a
scandal A scandal can be broadly defined as the strong social reactions of outrage, anger, or surprise, when accusations or rumours circulate or appear for some reason, regarding a person or persons who are perceived to have transgressed in some way a ...
involving allegations of bribery used to win the rights to the Games. Prior to its successful bid, Salt Lake City had attempted four times to secure the games, failing each time. In 1998, members of the
International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; , CIO) is the international, non-governmental, sports governing body of the modern Olympic Games. Founded in 1894 by Pierre de Coubertin and Demetrios Vikelas, it is based i ...
(IOC) were accused of taking gifts from the
Salt Lake Organizing Committee The Salt Lake Organizing Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games of 2002 (SLOC) was the organization responsible for the 2002 Winter Olympics and 2002 Winter Paralympics in Salt Lake City, USA. The SLOC secured their bid for the 20 ...
(SLOC) during the bidding process. The allegations resulted in the expulsion of several IOC members and the adoption of new IOC rules. Although nothing strictly illegal had been done, it was felt that the acceptance of the gifts was morally dubious. In addition, legal charges were brought against the leaders of Salt Lake's bid committee by the
United States Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a United States federal executive departments, federal executive department of the U.S. government that oversees the domestic enforcement of Law of the Unite ...
. Investigations were also launched into prior bidding process by other cities, finding that members of the IOC received bribes during the bidding process for both the
1998 Winter Olympics The 1998 Winter Olympics, officially known as the and commonly known as Nagano 1998 (), were a winter multi-sport event held from 7 to 22 February 1998, mainly in Nagano, Nagano, Nagano, Nagano Prefecture, Japan, with some events ...
and
2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, officially branded as Sydney 2000, and also known as the Games of the New Millennium, were an international multi-sport event held from 15 September to 1 October ...
. In response to the scandal,
Mitt Romney Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American businessman and retired politician. He served as a United States Senate, United States senator from Utah from 2019 to 2025 and as the 70th governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007 ...
was hired as the new president and CEO of the Salt Lake Organizing Committee in February 1999.


Development and preparation


Torch relay

The torch relay ceremonially began on November 19, 2001, with the traditional kindling of an Olympic flame in Olympia, Greece. On December 3, Greek skier Thanassis Tsailas lit the first torch from the cauldron, and transferred its flame to a ceremonial lantern for transport to Atlanta, where it arrived on December 4 to officially launch the U.S. leg of the relay. The route of the relay covered , passed through 300 communities and 46 U.S. states, and was carried by 12,012 torchbearers. The torch was modeled after an icicle, with a slight curve to represent speed and fluidity. The torch measures long, wide at the top, at the bottom, and was designed by Axiom Design of Salt Lake City. It was created with three sections, each with its own meaning and representation.


Budget

In February 1999, in response to the bid scandal and a financial shortfall for the Games,
Mitt Romney Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American businessman and retired politician. He served as a United States Senate, United States senator from Utah from 2019 to 2025 and as the 70th governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007 ...
, then CEO of the private equity firm
Bain Capital Bain Capital, LP is an American Investment company, private investment firm based in Boston, Massachusetts, Boston, Massachusetts, with around $185 billion of assets under management. It specializes in private equity, venture capital, credit, p ...
(and future U.S. presidential candidate,
U.S. Senator The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...
, and
Governor of Massachusetts The governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is the head of government of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The governor is the chief executive, head of the state cabinet and the commander-in-chief of the commonw ...
), was
hired Henry Jamison "Jam" Handy (March 6, 1886 – November 13, 1983) was an American Olympic breaststroke swimmer, water polo player, and founder of the Jam Handy Organization (JHO), a producer of commercially sponsored motion pictures, slidefilms (l ...
as the new president and CEO of the Salt Lake Organizing Committee. Romney, Kem C. Gardner, a Utah commercial real estate developer, and Don Stirling, the Olympics' local marketing chief, raised "millions of dollars from Mormon families with pioneer roots: the Eccles family, whose forebears were important industrialists and bankers" to help rescue the Games, according to a later report. An additional
US$ The United States dollar (Currency symbol, symbol: Dollar sign, $; ISO 4217, currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and International use of the U.S. dollar, several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introdu ...
410 million was received from the federal government. U.S. federal subsidies amounted to $1.3 billion (for infrastructure improvements only), compared to $45 billion of federal funding received by the organizing committee of the
2014 Winter Olympics The 2014 Winter Olympics, officially called the XXII Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Sochi 2014 (), were an international winter multi-sport event that was held from 7 to 23 February 2014 in Sochi, Russia. Opening ro ...
from the Russian government. The Games were financially successful, raising more money with fewer sponsors than any prior Olympic Games, which left SLOC with a surplus of $40 million. The surplus was used to create the Utah Athletic Foundation, which maintains and operates many of the remaining Olympic venues. ''The Oxford Olympics Study'' established the outturn cost of the Salt Lake City 2002 Winter Olympics at US$2.5 billion in 2015-dollars and cost overrun at 24% in real terms. This includes sports-related costs only, that is, (i) ''operational costs'' incurred by the organizing committee to stage the Games, e.g., expenditures for technology, transportation, workforce, administration, security, catering, ceremonies, and medical services, and (ii) ''direct capital costs'' incurred by the host city and country or private investors to build, e.g., the competition venues, the Olympic village, international broadcast center, and media and press center, which are required to host the Games. Indirect capital costs are ''not'' included, such as for road, rail, or airport infrastructure, or for hotel upgrades or other business investment incurred in preparation for the Games but not directly related to staging the Games. The cost and cost overrun for Salt Lake City 2002 compares with costs of US$2.5 billion and a cost overrun of 13% for Vancouver 2010, and costs of US$51 billion and a cost overrun of 289% for Sochi 2014, the latter being the most costly Olympics to date. The average cost for Winter Games since 1960 is US$3.1 billion, average cost overrun is 142%.


Security

The 2002 Winter Games were the first Olympic Games to take place since the
September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...
, which meant a higher level of security than ever before provided for the Games. As a result, the
Office of Homeland Security The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is the U.S. federal executive department responsible for public security, roughly comparable to the interior, home, or public security ministries in other countries. Its missions involv ...
(OHS) designated the Olympics a
National Special Security Event A National Special Security Event (NSSE) is an event of national or international significance deemed by the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to be a potential target for terrorism or other criminal activity. These events hav ...
(NSSE). Aerial surveillance and radar control was provided by the
U.S. Marines The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionary ...
of Marine Air Control Squadron 2, Detachment C, from
Cherry Point, North Carolina Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point or MCAS Cherry Point (*) is a United States Marine Corps airfield located in Havelock, North Carolina, United States, in the eastern part of the state. It was built in 1941, and was commissioned in 1942 an ...
. The
FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...
and NSA arranged with
Qwest Communications Qwest Communications International, Inc. was a United States telecommunications carrier. Qwest provided local service in 14 western and midwestern U.S. states: Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Iowa, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dako ...
to use intercept equipment for a period of less than six months around the time of the 2002 Winter Olympics. When he spoke during the opening ceremonies,
Jacques Rogge Jacques Jean Marie, Count Rogge (, ; 2 May 1942 – 29 August 2021) was a Belgian sports administrator, former athlete, and physician, who served as the eighth president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) from 2001 to 2013. In 201 ...
, presiding over his first Olympics as the IOC president, told the athletes of the United States:


Venues

Work on venues for the 2002 Winter Olympics began as early as 1989, following the passing of a state referendum that authorized the use of taxpayer money to publicly fund the construction of new facilities for a Winter Olympics bid in 1998 or 2002. Their construction was overseen by the Salt Lake Olympic Bid Committee and the Utah Sports Authority—a body created under the referendum. New facilities built for the Games included the
Utah Olympic Oval The Utah Olympic Oval is an indoor speed skating oval located southwest of Salt Lake City, in Kearns, Utah. The Oval was built for the 2002 Winter Olympics and it hosted the Speed skating at the 2002 Winter Olympics, long-track speed skating ev ...
in Kearns,
Utah Olympic Park The Utah Olympic Park is a winter sports park built for the 2002 Winter Olympics, and is located in Summit County, Utah, Summit County ( east of Salt Lake City) northwest of Park City, Utah, Park City, Utah, United States. During the 2002 games ...
in Summit County,
The Ice Sheet at Ogden The Ice Sheet at Ogden, also known as the Weber County Ice Sheet, is located north of Salt Lake City on the campus of Weber State University in Ogden, Utah, Ogden. The Ice Sheet opened in 1994 as a recreational training center for curling, ice ...
, and
Soldier Hollow Soldier Hollow is a cross-country ski venue located at the mouth of a hollow of the same name about southeast of Salt Lake City in Wasatch Mountain State Park in northwestern Wasatch County, Utah, United States. The venue was created for th ...
at the
Wasatch Mountain State Park Wasatch Mountain State Park is a state park of Utah, United States, located in the northern part of the state within the Wasatch Back area on the north and west edges of the Heber Valley in Wasatch County, Utah, Wasatch County near the city of M ...
—the furthest competition venue from Salt Lake City. The
E Center Maverik Center, originally known as the E Center, is a 12,600-seat multi-purpose indoor arena located in West Valley City, Utah, United States. Construction on the arena started in 1996 and was completed in time to hold its first event on Septem ...
in
West Valley City West Valley City is a city in Salt Lake County and an inner suburb of Salt Lake City in the U.S. state of Utah. The population was 140,230 at the 2020 census, making it the second-most populous city in Utah after Salt Lake City. The city inc ...
and the
Peaks Ice Arena Peaks Ice Arena is an indoor ice hockey and figure skating arena in Provo, Utah, located south of Salt Lake City. Along with the Maverik Center (originally known as the E Center) in West Valley City, it was built as an ice hockey and figure sk ...
in
Provo Provo or Provos may refer to: Places United States * Provo, Kentucky, an unincorporated community South Dakota * Provo, South Dakota, an unincorporated community * Provo Township, Fall River County, South Dakota Utah * Provo, Utah, a city ** P ...
were also built with support from the SLOC, and co-hosted hockey.
Delta Center The Delta Center is an indoor venue in Salt Lake City. Opened in 1991, the arena is the home of the Utah Jazz of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the Utah Mammoth of the National Hockey League (NHL). The arena has a seating capacity ...
hosted figure skating and short track speed skating; it was renamed ''Salt Lake Ice Center'' for the duration of the Games due to IOC sponsorship rules. Rice-Eccles Stadium at the
University of Utah The University of Utah (the U, U of U, or simply Utah) is a public university, public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. It was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret (Book of Mormon), Deseret by the General A ...
hosted the opening and closing ceremonies. The
Olympic Village An Olympic Village is a residential complex built or reassigned for the Olympic Games in or nearby the List of Olympic Games host cities, host city for the purpose of accommodating all of the delegations. Olympic Villages are usually located clos ...
was built at historic
Fort Douglas Fort Douglas (initially called Camp Douglas) was established in October 1862, during the American Civil War, as a small military garrison about three miles east of Salt Lake City, Utah. Its purpose was to protect the overland mail route and te ...
, whose land had been acquired by the University of Utah to construct new residences. The SLOC provided funding to the project in exchange for its use during the Olympics. Main Street in Park City was converted into a pedestrian plaza during the Games, with festivities such as concerts, firework shows, and sponsor presences. Medal presentations took place in downtown Salt Lake City; the stage for the ceremony featured the
Hoberman Arch The Hoberman Arch is an architectural element designed by Chuck Hoberman as the centerpiece of the Olympic Medals Plaza in Salt Lake City, during the 2002 Winter Olympics. Following the Olympics, the arch was moved to the Salt Lake 2002 Olympi ...
, an arch-shaped metal "curtain" designed by
Chuck Hoberman Chuck Hoberman (born 1956) is an artist, engineer, architect, and inventor of folding toys and structures, most notably the Hoberman sphere. Early life and education Hoberman's father was an architect, and his mother, Mary Ann Hoberman, was a ...
.


Transport

The largest
public transport Public transport (also known as public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) are forms of transport available to the general public. It typically uses a fixed schedule, route and charges a fixed fare. There is no rigid definition of whic ...
project completed for the Games was the TRAX light rail system, which first began operations ahead of the Games in 1999. To help reduce vehicle traffic to Soldier Hollow and provide a special experience for tourists,
Heber Valley Railroad The Heber Valley Railroad (HVRX) is a heritage railway, heritage railroad based in Heber City, Utah. It operates passenger excursion trains along a line between Heber City and Vivian Park, Utah, Vivian Park, which is located in Provo Canyon. The ...
offered service to
Wasatch Mountain State Park Wasatch Mountain State Park is a state park of Utah, United States, located in the northern part of the state within the Wasatch Back area on the north and west edges of the Heber Valley in Wasatch County, Utah, Wasatch County near the city of M ...
on
steam locomotives A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, oil or, rarely, wood) to heat water in the locomot ...
during the Games. After arriving, passengers then embarked to Soldier Hollow on horse-drawn sleighs.


The Games


Opening ceremony

The opening ceremony of the 2002 Winter Olympics was held at Rice–Eccles Stadium at the University of Utah on February 8, 2002. The facility was renovated and expanded for the Games. The Games were officially opened by President
George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...
, who was standing among the US athletes (previous heads of state opened the Games from an official box), while the Olympic cauldron was lit by members of the gold medal-winning U.S. men's ice hockey team from the
1980 Winter Olympics The 1980 Winter Olympics, officially the XIII Olympic Winter Games and also known as Lake Placid 1980, were an international multi-sport event held from February 13 to 24, 1980, in Lake Placid, New York, United States. Lake Placid was elected ...
in
Lake Placid, New York Lake Placid is a Administrative divisions of New York#Village, village in the Adirondack Mountains in Essex County, New York, Essex County, New York (state), New York, United States. In 2020, its population was 2,205. The village of Lake Placid ...
(as made famous by the "
Miracle on Ice The "Miracle on Ice" was an ice hockey game during the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York. It was played between the hosting United States and the Soviet Union on February 22, 1980, during the medal round of the men's ice hockey t ...
"). In an acknowledgment of the
September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...
, the ceremony opened with the entrance of a damaged
American flag The national flag of the United States, often referred to as the American flag or the U.S. flag, consists of thirteen horizontal Bar (heraldry), stripes, Variation of the field, alternating red and white, with a blue rectangle in the Canton ( ...
recovered from the wreckage of the
World Trade Center World Trade Centers are the hundreds of sites recognized by the World Trade Centers Association. World Trade Center may also refer to: Buildings * World Trade Center (1973–2001), a building complex that was destroyed during the September 11 at ...
, carried by an
honor guard A guard of honour (Commonwealth English), honor guard (American English) or ceremonial guard, is a group of people, typically drawn from the military, appointed to perform ceremonial duties – for example, to receive or guard a head of state ...
of police officers from the
Port Authority of New York and New Jersey The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, (PANYNJ; stylized, in logo since 2020, as Port Authority NY NJ) is a joint venture between the U.S. states of New York (state), New York and New Jersey, established in 1921 through an interstate c ...
, the
New York City Police Department The City of New York Police Department, also referred to as New York City Police Department (NYPD), is the primary law enforcement agency within New York City. Established on May 23, 1845, the NYPD is the largest, and one of the oldest, munic ...
, and firefighters from the
New York City Fire Department The New York City Fire Department, officially the Fire Department of the City of New York (FDNY) is the full-service fire department of New York City, serving all Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs. The FDNY is responsible for providing Fi ...
, joined by athletes nominated by fellow members of the U.S. team. The flag was presented during the playing of the U.S. national anthem "
The Star-Spangled Banner "The Star-Spangled Banner" is the national anthem of the United States. The lyrics come from the "Defence of Fort M'Henry", a poem written by American lawyer Francis Scott Key on September 14, 1814, after he witnessed the bombardment of Fort ...
", as performed by the
Tabernacle Choir The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square, formerly known as the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, is an American choir affiliated with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). It has performed in the Salt Lake Tabernacle for ov ...
. The Olympic cauldron was designed to look like an
icicle An icicle is a spike of ice formed when water falling from an object freezes. Formation and dynamics Icicles can form during bright, sunny, but subfreezing weather, when ice or snow melted by sunlight or some other heat source (such as a poor ...
and was made of glass, allowing the fire to be seen burning within, reflecting the Games' slogan "Light the Fire Within" and an overarching "fire and ice" theme. The actual glass cauldron stands atop a twisting glass and steel support, is high, and the flame within burns at . Together with its support, the cauldron stands tall and was made of 738 individual pieces of glass. Small jets send water down the glass sides of the cauldron to keep the glass and metal cooled (so they would not crack or melt) and give the effect of melting ice. The cauldron was designed by
WET Design WET, also known as WET Design, is a water feature design firm based in Los Angeles, California. Founded in 1983 by former Disney Imagineers Mark Fuller, Melanie Simon, and Alan Robinson, the company has designed over two hundred fountains and wa ...
of Los Angeles, its frame built by roller coaster manufacturer
Arrow Dynamics Arrow Dynamics was an American manufacturing and engineering company that specialized in designing and building amusement park rides, especially roller coasters. Based in Clearfield, Utah, the company was the successor to Arrow Development (19 ...
of
Clearfield, Utah Clearfield (Shoshone: , "Place where the wind blows hard") is a city in Davis County, Utah, United States. The population was 31,909 at the 2020 census. The city grew rapidly during the 1940s, with the formation of Hill Air Force Base, and in ...
, and its glass pieces created by Western Glass of
Ogden, Utah Ogden ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Weber County, Utah, Weber County, Utah, United States, approximately east of the Great Salt Lake and north of Salt Lake City. The population was 87,321 in 2020, according to the United States Census ...
. The cauldron's cost was $2 million, and it was unveiled to the public when originally installed at Rice–Eccles Stadium on January 8, 2002. Production for the opening and closing ceremonies was designed by Seven Nielsen, and music for both ceremonies was directed by
Mark Watters Mark Watters (born May 25, 1955) is an American composer of music for film and television. Biography Watters is a six-time Emmy award-winning composer, conductor and arranger. He was born in Irving, Texas and majored in Saxophone at the Unive ...
.


Sports

Confirmed in 1997, this edition's sports program featured seven sports divided into 15 disciplines, totaling 78 events, an increase of 10 events over the 1998 Winter Olympics.
Skeleton A skeleton is the structural frame that supports the body of most animals. There are several types of skeletons, including the exoskeleton, which is a rigid outer shell that holds up an organism's shape; the endoskeleton, a rigid internal fra ...
made its return to the Winter Olympic program for the first time since
1948 Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The current Constitutions of Constitution of Italy, Italy and of Constitution of New Jersey, New Jersey (both later subject to amendment) ...
, while a women's doubles event was contested for the first time in bobsleigh. A fourth distance was introduced in short track speed skating for men and women, and the pursuit events were added to biathlon and cross-country skiing. The sprint event was also added to the Nordic combined program. # Biathlon #* # Bobsleigh #* #* # Curling #* # Ice hockey #* # Luge #* # Skating #* #* #* # Skiing #* #* #* #* #* #* ''Numbers in parentheses indicate the number of medal events contested in each separate discipline.''


Participating National Olympic Committees

A total of 78 teams qualified at least one athlete to compete in the Games. Five NOCs made their Winter Olympic debut in Salt Lake, including Cameroon, Hong Kong, Nepal, Tajikistan, and Thailand.Th
IOC site for the 2002 Winter Olympic Games
gives figure of 77 participated NOCs, however one can count 78 nations looking through official results of 2002 Game
Part 1

Part 2

Part 3
. Probably this is consequence that Costa Rica's delegation of one athlete joined the Games after the Opening Ceremony, or this is consequence that Puerto Rico delegation of two athletes did not start in two-man bobsleigh event.
Costa Rica and Lebanon returned to the Winter games after a 10-year absence, and Fiji, Mexico and San Marino returned after 8 years. Four countries, Luxembourg, North Korea, Portugal and Uruguay which were at the 1998 Games, did not participate in 2002.


Number of athletes by National Olympic Committee

2,399
athlete An athlete is most commonly a person who competes in one or more sports involving physical strength, speed, power, or endurance. Sometimes, the word "athlete" is used to refer specifically to sport of athletics competitors, i.e. including track ...
s from 78 NOCs


Calendar

In the following calendar for the 2002 Winter Olympic Games, each blue box represents an event competition, such as a qualification round, on that day. The yellow boxes represent days during which medal-awarding finals for a sport are held. The number in each box represents the number of finals that were contested on that day. :''All dates are in
Mountain Standard Time The Mountain Time Zone of North America keeps time by subtracting seven hours from Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) when standard time ( UTC−07:00) is in effect, and by subtracting six hours during daylight saving time ( UTC−06:00). The clo ...
( UTC−7)''


Medal table

At the 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City, the "medal plaza" was popularized as a way for the public to see presentations that would have otherwise taken place at far-flung, low-capacity or high-altitude venues and to have an evening program that often included musical performances.


Podium sweeps


Records

Several medal records were set and/or tied, including: * Norway tied the Soviet Union at the 1976 Winter Olympics for most gold medals at a Winter Olympics, with 13. * Germany set a record for most total medals at a Winter Olympics, with 36. * The United States set a record for most gold medals at a home Winter Olympics, with 10, tying Norway at the 1994 Winter Olympics. All of the above records were broken at the
Vancouver Olympics The 2010 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XXI Olympic Winter Games () and also known as Vancouver 2010 (), were an international winter multi-sport event held from February 12 to 28, 2010 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with ...
in 2010.


Closing ceremonies

The closing ceremony of the 2002 Winter Olympics was held on February 24, 2002, at Rice–Eccles Stadium. It was narrated by Utah natives
Donny Donnie or Donny is a familiar form (hypocorism) of the masculine given name Donald, Donal, Don, or Donovan. It may refer to: People Arts and entertainment * Donny Baldwin, American drummer best known as a member of Jefferson Starship and Starsh ...
and
Marie Osmond Olive Marie Osmond (born October 13, 1959) is an American singer, actress, television personality, author, and businesswoman. She is known for her girl next door, girl-next-door image and her decades-long career in many different areas. Her musi ...
(who voiced
animatronic An animatronic is a puppet controlled electronically to move in a fluent way. Animatronics are the modern adaptation of the automaton and are often used for the portrayal of characters in films, video games and in theme park attractions. Anim ...
dinosaur Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic Geological period, period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the #Evolutio ...
skeletons designed by Michael Curry), and featured performances by a number of musicians and bands, including
Bon Jovi Bon Jovi is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Sayreville, New Jersey in 1983. The band consists of singer Jon Bon Jovi, keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres, guitarists John Shanks and Phil X, percussionist Everett Bradley ...
,
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, Donny and Marie Osmond,
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,
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,
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, and
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. It also featured appearances by figure skaters such as
Kurt Browning Kurt Browning (born June 18, 1966) is a Canadian figure skater, choreographer and commentator. He is the first skater to land a ratified quadruple jump in competition. He is a four-time World Champion and Canadian national champion. He comp ...
,
Dorothy Hamill Dorothy Stuart Hamill (born July 26, 1956) is a retired American figure skater. She is the 1976 Olympic champion and 1976 World champion in ladies' singles. Early life Hamill was born in Chicago, Illinois, to Chalmers and Carol Hamill. Her fat ...
, and Ilia Kulick, as well as dancer
Savion Glover Savion Glover (born November 19, 1973) is an American tap dancer, actor and choreographer. Early life The youngest of three sons, Glover was born to a white father, who left the family before he was born, and a black mother. Glover's great-grand ...
. Departing from
Juan Antonio Samaranch Juan Antonio Samaranch y Torelló, 1st Marquess of Samaranch ( Catalan: ''Joan Antoni Samaranch i Torelló'', ; 17 July 1920 – 21 April 2010) was a Spanish sports administrator under the Franco regime (1973–1977) who served as the seventh ...
's tradition of declaring each Olympics the "best ever", IOC president Jacques Rogge began a tradition of assigning each Games their own identity in his comments, describing the 2002 Winter Olympics as having been "flawless". Italian singers
Irene Grandi Irene Grandi (born 6 December 1969) is an Italian singer-songwriter. During her career she has sung in Spanish and has performed duets in German, French and in Indian and African languages. She has sold around 5 million records and earned 9 t ...
and
Elisa The enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) (, ) is a commonly used analytical biochemistry assay, first described by Eva Engvall and Peter Perlmann in 1971. The assay is a solid-phase type of enzyme immunoassay (EIA) to detect the presence of ...
performed during the cultural presentation by
Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...
, host city of the
2006 Winter Olympics The 2006 Winter Olympics (), officially the XX Olympic Winter Games () and also known as Torino 2006, were a winter multi-sport event held from 10 to 26 February in Turin, Italy. This marked the second time Italy had hosted the Winter O ...
, while
Josh Groban Joshua Winslow Groban (born February 27, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actor. His first four solo albums have been certified multi-platinum, and he was charted in 2007 as the number-one best selling artist in the United States, ...
and
Charlotte Church Charlotte Maria Church (born Charlotte Maria Reed, 21 February 1986) is a British singer-songwriter, actress, and television presenter from Cardiff, Wales. As a child, Church was a popular classical singer with a less-successful attempt to mov ...
performed a duet of " The Prayer" as the Olympic cauldron was extinguished.


2002 Cultural Olympiad

The 2002 Cultural Olympiad, which ran from January to March 2002, was an arts festival that accompanied the 2002 Winter Olympics. It included specially commissioned works, such as
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater Founded in 1958, the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater (AAADT) is the largest modern dance company in the United States.Dance Data Project (October 2024) 2024 Largest Contemporary and Modern Companies Report Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater ...
's work ''Here...Now'' inspired by the life of Olympian
Florence Griffith Joyner Florence Delorez Griffith Joyner (born Florence Delorez Griffith; December 21, 1959 – September 21, 1998), also known as Flo-Jo, was an American track and field athlete and the fastest woman ever recorded. She was married to Al Joyner, a 198 ...
, accompanied by music by
Wynton Marsalis Wynton Learson Marsalis (born October 18, 1961) is an American trumpeter, composer, and music instructor, who is currently the artistic director of Jazz at Lincoln Center. He has been active in promoting classical and jazz music, often to young ...
. An art exhibition was held at
Springville Museum of Art The Springville Museum of Art in Springville, Utah, United States is the oldest museum for the visual fine arts in Utah. In 1986, the building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. As of 2022, the museum's director is Emily Lars ...
that celebrated 150 years of Utah's art history. The programme also featured many other performances, including dance, theatre, singing, and literature, as well as the glass art of
Dale Chihuly Dale Chihuly ( ; born September 20, 1941) is an American glass artist and entrepreneur. He is well known in the field of Glassblowing, blown glass, "moving it into the realm of large-scale sculpture". Early life Dale Patrick Chihuly was born on ...
.


Highlights

* Competition highlights included biathlete
Ole Einar Bjørndalen Ole Einar Bjørndalen (; born 27 January 1974) is a retired Norwegian professional biathlete and coach, often referred to by the nickname, the "King of Biathlon". With 13 Winter Olympic Games medals, he is second on the list of multiple medali ...
of Norway, winning gold in all four men's events (10 km, 12.5 km, 20 km, 4 x 7.5 km relay),
Nordic combined Nordic combined is a winter sport in which athletes compete in cross-country skiing (sport), cross-country skiing and ski jumping. The Nordic combined at the Winter Olympics has been held since the first 1924 Winter Olympics, Winter Olympics in ...
athlete Samppa Lajunen of Finland winning three gold medals,
Simon Ammann Simon Ammann (; born 25 June 1981) is a Swiss ski jumper. He is one of the most successful athletes in the history of the sport, having won four individual Winter Olympic gold medals in 2002 Winter Olympics, 2002 and 2010 Winter Olympics, 2010. ...
of Switzerland taking the double in ski jumping. In alpine skiing,
Janica Kostelić Janica Kostelić (; born 5 January 1982) is a Croatian former alpine ski racer. She is a four-time Olympic gold medalist. In addition to the Olympics, she won five gold medals at the World Championships. In World Cup competition, she won thir ...
won three golds and a silver (the first Winter Olympic medals ever for an athlete from Croatia), while
Kjetil André Aamodt Kjetil André Aamodt (born 2 September 1971) is a former World Cup alpine ski racer from Norway, a champion in the Olympics, World Championships, and World Cup. He is one of the most successful alpine ski racers from Norway. Biography Born ...
of Norway earned his second and third career golds, setting up both athletes to beat the sport's record with their fourth golds earned at the next Winter Olympics near Turin (Aamodt also set the overall medal record in the sport with eight). *
Team GB Team GB is the brand name used since 1999 by the British Olympic Association (BOA) for their British Olympic team. The brand was developed after the nation's poor performance in the 1996 Summer Olympics, and is now a trademark of the BOA. ...
's victory in
Women's Curling Women's curling is the participation of Woman, women in the sport of curling. In casual play and at tournaments, women may participate in mixed curling competitions with men or in a separate women's competition. Women have competed at the World Cur ...
saw them win their first gold medal in any Winter Olympic sport since
Torvill and Dean Torvill and Dean ( Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean) are British ice dancers and former British, European, Olympic, and World champions. At the Sarajevo 1984 Winter Olympics the pair won gold and became the highest-scoring figure skat ...
in
1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...
. * Ireland reached its best-ever position and came close to winning its first winter medal when
Clifton Wrottesley Clifton Hugh Lancelot de Verdon Wrottesley, 6th Baron Wrottesley (born 10 August 1968) is an Irish and British peer and Conservative member of the House of Lords. He represented Ireland in men's skeleton at the 2002 Winter Olympics, finishing ...
(Clifton Hugh Lancelot de Verdon Wrottesley, 6th Baron Wrottesley) finished fourth in the men's skeleton event. * A feature of these Games was the emergence of extreme sports, such as snowboarding, moguls, and aerials, some of which appeared in previous Olympic Winter Games but subsequently captured greater public attention. * The United States completed a sweep of the podium in halfpipe
snowboarding Snowboarding is a recreational and competitive activity that involves descending a snow-covered surface while standing on a snowboard that is almost always attached to a rider's feet. It features in the Winter Olympic Games and Winter Paralym ...
, with Americans
Ross Powers Ross Powers (born February 10, 1979) is an American world champion halfpipe snowboarder and Olympic gold medalist. Hailing from South Londonderry, Vermont, he is currently the director of the snowboarding program at the Stratton Mountain Schoo ...
,
Danny Kass Daniel "Danny" Kass (born September 21, 1982) is an American professional snowboarder who has competed at the Olympic level. In Snowboarding at the 2002 Winter Olympics, Kass won silver in the Men's Halfpipe. Career Kass was born in Pompton Pla ...
, and
Jarret Thomas Jarret John "JJ" Thomas (born April 6, 1981) is an American snowboard coach and former professional competitor for the US half pipe team. At the 2002 Winter Olympics The 2002 Winter Olympics, officially the XIX Olympic Winter Games an ...
all winning medals. * American
Sarah Hughes Sarah Elizabeth Hughes (born May 2, 1985) is an American former competitive figure skater. She is the 2002 Olympic Champion and the 2001 World bronze medalist in ladies' singles. Personal life Hughes was born in Great Neck, New York, a subu ...
won the gold medal in ladies' singles figure skating. Her team-mate
Michelle Kwan Michelle Wingshan Kwan (born July 7, 1980) is a retired American competitive figure skating, figure skater and diplomat who served as List of ambassadors of the United States to Belize, United States Ambassador to Belize from 2022 to 2025. In ...
fell during her long program and received the bronze medal. * China won its first and second Winter Olympic gold medals, both by women's short-track speed skater
Yang Yang (A) Yang Yang (; born 24 August 1976) is a Chinese sports administrator, retired short track speed skater, and businesswoman. She is a two-time Olympic Champion from 2002 Winter Olympics and a six-time Overall World Champion for 1997–2002. Known ...
. * In the men's 1000m competition in short-track speed skating, Australian
Steven Bradbury Steven John Bradbury OAM (born 14 October 1973) is an Australian former short-track speed skater and four-time Olympian. He won the 1,000 m event at the 2002 Winter Olympics. He was the first athlete from Australia and also the first fr ...
(who had won a bronze in
1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...
as part of a relay team) became both the first-ever Australian, and the first-ever athlete from a country in the Southern Hemisphere, to win a gold medal at the Winter Olympics. Despite being off their pace, Bradbury benefitted from crashes involving his opponents in both the semi-finals and finals, with the latter occurring coming out of the final turn. A few days later in women's aerials, Australian skier
Alisa Camplin Alisa Peta Camplin, (born 10 November 1974) is an Australian former Freestyle skiing, aerial skier who won gold at the 2002 Winter Olympics, the second ever winter Olympic gold medal for Australia. At the 2006 Winter Olympics, Camplin finished ...
won Australia's second gold medal. After the Games, the phrase "doing a Bradbury" would become a local idiom for an unexpected victory in a sporting event at the expense of one's opponents, and was added to the second edition of The Australian National Dictionary, ''The Australian National Dictionary'' in 2016. * Belarus's Vladimir Kopat scored a game winning goal from center ice against Sweden in the men's ice hockey quarterfinals, getting Belarus to their best place in international hockey so far. * The Canada men's national ice hockey team, Canadian men's ice hockey team defeated the United States team 5–2 to claim the gold medal, ending a 50-year drought without hockey gold. The Canadian women's team also defeated the American team 3–2 after losing to them in Ice hockey at the 1998 Winter Olympics – Men's tournament, Nagano. In a post-game press conference after the men's gold medal game, Team Canada's executive director Wayne Gretzky revealed that a Loonie, Canadian $1 coin (colloquially known as a "Loonie") had been secretly placed at center ice by one of the ice technicians. The "lucky Loonie" subsequently became a notable symbol of Canada's victory in the tournament.


Marketing

The overall branding of the 2002 Winter Olympics was based on a concept entitled "Land of Contrast — Fire and Ice", which featured a palette of warm and cool colors to contrast the warmer, rugged, Colorado Plateau, red-rock areas of Southern Utah from the colder, mountainous regions of Northern Utah. The emblem for the 2002 Winter Olympics was unveiled in August 1997, consisting of a stylized snowflake with segments colored in blue, orange, and yellow. The emblem was designed to resemble an Olympic cauldron and flame, as well as a sun rising from behind mountains. The orange center section of the flame was intended to reflect traditional Navajo weaving. The official event pictograms were inspired by branding irons, and the line thickness and 30-degree angles mirrored those of the emblem.


Mascots

The designs of the mascots of the 2002 Winter Olympics were unveiled on May 19, 1999, during an event marking 1,000 days until the opening ceremony. The mascots represent three animals native to the western United States — a snowshoe hare, coyote, and American black bear respectively, with each mascot symbolizing a character from the legends of local Native Americans, and wearing a charm around their neck with an original Ancestral Puebloans, Anasazi or Fremont culture, Fremont-style petroglyph. For the first time in Olympic history, the names of the mascots were determined by a public vote, using name suggestions submitted by local students; on September 25, the names of the mascots were officially announced as Powder, Copper, and Coal respectively.


Media coverage

International Sports Broadcasting (ISB) served as the host broadcaster for the 2002 Winter Olympics; the Salt Palace convention center served as the International Broadcast Centre and press center for the Games. The IOC estimated that the 2002 Winter Olympics were viewed by over two billion people worldwide, with 13 billion viewer-hours watched. In the United States, the 2002 Winter Olympics were broadcast by NBC Olympic broadcasts, NBC-owned networks. They were the first Winter Olympics under a multi-year rights agreement between NBC and the IOC, under which it would hold exclusive rights to all Olympic Games from 1996 Summer Olympics, 1996 through 2008 Summer Olympics, 2008. The contract had excluded the 1998 Winter Olympics, as CBS Olympic broadcasts, CBS Sports had an existing deal to exclusively televise the Winter Olympics from 1992 Winter Olympics, 1992 through 1998. NBC partnered with HDNet to produce an eight-hour block of daily coverage in High-definition television, high definition, which was carried by HDNet and on the Digital television in the United States, digital signals of participating NBC Network affiliate, affiliates. Despite being held in a Mountain Time Zone, time zone only one hour ahead of Pacific Time Zone, Pacific Time, NBC still Broadcast delay, tape delayed much of its coverage for the west coast, although Salt Lake City's local NBC affiliate KSL-TV was given permission to air the live, east coast broadcasts to ensure their availability in the Games' host city. Coverage of the Games by the Seven Network Olympic broadcasts, Seven Network in Australia featured ''The Ice Dream with Roy and HG, The Ice Dream'', a miniseries presented by comedy duo Roy and HG as a follow-up to ''The Dream with Roy and HG, The Dream''—their series for the
2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, officially branded as Sydney 2000, and also known as the Games of the New Millennium, were an international multi-sport event held from 15 September to 1 October ...
. The series featured a running gag of the duo proposing an Australian bid to hold the 2010 Winter Olympics in Smiggin Holes, New South Wales.


Legacy


Ski industry and winter sport

The 2002 Winter Olympics brought a huge amount of success to the Utah skiing industry. Since hosting the Winter Games, Utah has seen a 42% increase in skier and snowboarder visits –11. This increase resulted in direct expenditures from skiers and snowboarders growing 67% from $704 million in 2002–2003 to $1.2 billion in 2010–2011. Fourteen venues were constructed or expanded in preparation for the Winter Games. One of the venues constructed for the Games was the
Utah Olympic Park The Utah Olympic Park is a winter sports park built for the 2002 Winter Olympics, and is located in Summit County, Utah, Summit County ( east of Salt Lake City) northwest of Park City, Utah, Park City, Utah, United States. During the 2002 games ...
, which has proven to be one of the most successful venues to date because it has been maintained in top competition form. Owing to the routine maintenance of the park, Utah has been able to host a large number of winter competitions since 2002, including more than 60 World Cup events (e.g. the FIS Freestyle Skiing World Cup), as well as seven world championships, and various other sporting events. Hosting these high-profile competitions has resulted in approximately $1 billion being injected into the local economy. During 2013–2014, Utah held 16 various winter sport events, bringing $27.3 million to the economy of Utah. After holding the Olympics, Utah became home to two National Governing Bodies of Sport. The U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association is headquartered in Park City, Utah and the U.S. Olympic speed skating team is based out of the
Utah Olympic Oval The Utah Olympic Oval is an indoor speed skating oval located southwest of Salt Lake City, in Kearns, Utah. The Oval was built for the 2002 Winter Olympics and it hosted the Speed skating at the 2002 Winter Olympics, long-track speed skating ev ...
.


University of Utah expansion

The
University of Utah The University of Utah (the U, U of U, or simply Utah) is a public university, public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. It was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret (Book of Mormon), Deseret by the General A ...
was one of the hosts of the 2002 Winter Olympics; the planning committee approached the University of Utah and asked them to build several student dormitories which would serve as athletes' accommodation during the Games. It was agreed that the university would pay approximately $98 million out of the total required amount of $110 million to complete the construction. As a result, students of the university have benefited as almost 3,500 of them would be housed here after the Games. This was a great economic benefit to the university since the amount of money used to complete such dormitories could take long to be afforded. The university was also asked to expand Rice Eccles Stadium to accommodate 50,000 people up from 32,000. The university would then be refunded almost $59 million and be given an extra $40 million for its maintenance. The 2002 Olympic Games also benefited the university economically since the Salt Lake 2002 Olympic Cauldron Park was elevated by the renovations that took place. Ice rinks were very scarce in Utah, but they became plentiful and offered several entertainment and training opportunities for hockey players and figure skaters due to the Olympic Games. The Cauldron Park located at the University of Utah which was built with $6.5 million in profits and had the following features: a visitors' center which had a theater that showed a thrilling movie about the Olympic Games of 2002 and a "park" which had a dazzling pool and a V-shaped stone wall with the names of all the medalists of the 2002 Olympic Games. Besides, the park had 17 plates that hung on the stadium's fence celebrating the highlights of each day of the Olympics. All these features acted as tourist attraction that boosted the economic development of the university. In addition, it is indicated that the approximate value of media exposure through print during the Games was equated to $22.9 million. Mainly, this was a huge economic benefit to the university as more and more people got to know about the educational establishment, and this also boosted enrollment and future development.


Immigration

Holger Preuss in his book ''The Economics of Staging the Olympics: A Comparison of the Games 1972–2008'' argues that "The export of the 'Olympic Games' service results in an inflow of funds to the host city, causing additional production which, in its turn, leads to employment and income effects." According to the study "2002 Olympic Winter Games, Economic, Demographic and Fiscal Impacts", the estimated creation of new job years of employment was 35,424, and additional earnings of $1,544,203,000. It was noted that the increase of Olympic related job started in 1996 and continued until 2003. These effects can be estimated on the ground of historical relationship between job and corresponding population growth. A lot of people migrated into the future place of the Olympic Games for expanding and favorable employment opportunities that the Olympics ensured. Although residents occupied many of the higher paying jobs created by the Games, many of the vacated jobs were filled by immigrants who relocated for the better employment opportunities. Basically, the immigration rate was even larger because the employees immigrated with their families. The additional people paid diverse taxes and fees from their income, creating additional revenue on the state and local levels.


Employment

Olympic related jobs in Utah started in 1996 with slight job opportunities of less than 100. However, from the job measurement conducted from 1996 to 2002, steady attainment of job opportunities established and a maximum level was noted in 2001 where there were 12,500 job opportunities attained yearly, and approximately 25,070 jobs created in 2002. Therefore, from 1996 to 2002 the sum of employment equated to 35,000 jobs which lasted a year. February 2002 is when the highest employment opportunities were created compared to other years. There were around 25,070 job opportunities created compared to 35,000 created from 1996 to 2001. It is difficult to quantify the impact of the 2002 Olympics on the unemployment rates in Utah, due mostly to the effect of the early 2000s recession. In 1996, the unemployment rate in Utah was approximately 3.4%, while the U.S. national average was 5.4% and by the end of 2001, the unemployment rate in Utah was around 4.8%, while the national average had risen to 5.7%. There was a high percentage of visitors to the Games, which raised the number of tourists whose consumption and demand prompted the establishment of job opportunities to meet the demands.


2034 Winter Olympics

In 2017, an exploratory committee was formed to consider a Salt Lake City bid for a future Winter Olympics. In December 2018, the United States Olympic Committee (USOC, now the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee [USOPC]) named Salt Lake City as its preferred candidate to bid for a future Winter Olympics, citing that its experience and existing venues could be leveraged. In February 2022, amid the 2022 Winter Olympics and the 20th anniversary of the Games in Salt Lake City, the USOPC stated that it was "already in dialogue with the IOC, not yet for a specific year but as part of their evolving process", and acknowledged that there was "very high excitement and support from the local population." In November 2023, the IOC recommended that Salt Lake City be invited to engage in "targeted dialogue" as preferred host for the 2034 Winter Olympics due to its reliance on private funding and existing infrastructure inherited from the 2002 Games. On July 24, 2024, during the 142nd IOC Session in Paris just before the 2024 Summer Olympics in that city, Salt Lake City was selected to host the 2034 Winter Olympics and 2034 Winter Paralympics, Paralympics. IOC President Thomas Bach said: "Salt Lake City and Utah are long-time friends of the Olympic Movement, and we are confident that they will organize exceptional Olympic and Paralympic Games, just as they did years ago. The legacy of 2002 is tangibly and passionately alive in Utah. The legacy of 2034 starts today." With the 2034 Winter Olympics, Salt Lake City will become the fourth city to host multiple Winter Games after Innsbruck (1964 Winter Olympics, 1964 and 1976 Winter Olympics, 1976), Lake Placid (1932 Winter Olympics, 1932 and 1980 Winter Olympics, 1980), and Cortina d'Ampezzo (1956 Winter Olympics, 1956 and 2026 Winter Olympics, 2026).


Concerns and controversies


Disqualifications for doping

The 2002 Winter Olympics were the first Winter Olympics held after the formation of the World Anti-Doping Agency, resulting in the first instances of athletes being disqualified for failing drug testing. Athletes in cross-country skiing (sport), cross-country skiing were disqualified for various reasons, including doping (sport), doping by two Russians and one Spaniard, leading Russia to file protests and threaten to withdraw from the competition.


Pairs figure skating judging controversy

A major scandal emerged during the Figure skating at the 2002 Winter Olympics, pairs figure skating competition; the Canadian pair of Jamie Salé and David Pelletier narrowly lost to the Russian pair of Elena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharulidze, despite the Canadians being deemed the favorites to win after their free skate program. The French judge Marie-Reine Le Gougne alleged that the head of the French Federation of Ice Sports, Didier Gailhaguet, had pressured her to judge the competition in favor of Russia regardless of performance. Amid criticisms of the incident by both Canadian and American media outlets, and suspicions that this was part of a vote swapping scheme with Russia to benefit the French ice dance team, the International Skating Union (ISU) voted to suspend Le Gougne for failing to immediately inform officials of Gailhaguet's actions. They also recommended to the IOC that the gold medal be jointly awarded to both pairs. An IOC panel voted in favor of the motion, resulting in both Salé and Pelletier, as well as Berezhnaya and Sikharulidze, being jointly awarded gold medals.


Disqualification of Kim Dong-Sung

In the final race A, with one lap remaining and currently in second place, Apolo Ohno of the United States attempted to make a pass on the leader Kim Dong-Sung of South Korea, who then drifted to the inside and as a result, Ohno raised his arms to imply he was blocked. Kim finished first ahead of Ohno, but the Australian referee James Hewish disqualified Kim for what appeared to be impeding, awarding the gold medal to Ohno. The South Korean team immediately protested the decision of the chief official of the race, but their protests were denied by the International Skating Union (ISU).Epstein (2002), 272–273. The South Korean team then appealed to the
International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; , CIO) is the international, non-governmental, sports governing body of the modern Olympic Games. Founded in 1894 by Pierre de Coubertin and Demetrios Vikelas, it is based i ...
(IOC) and the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). The IOC refused to see the case, stating, "This is a matter for the ISU to decide on. At this time, the IOC has received no proposal and taken no action". The disqualification of Kim upset South Korean supporters, many of whom directed their anger at Ohno and the IOC. A large number of e-mails protesting the race results crashed the IOC's email server, and thousands of accusatory letters, many of which contained death threats, were sent to Ohno and the IOC. South Korean media accused Ohno of simulating foul, using the Konglish word "Hollywood action". The controversy continued at the 2002 FIFA World Cup, held jointly in South Korea and Japan several months after the Olympics. When the South Korea national football team, South Korean soccer team scored a goal during the 2002 FIFA World Cup Group D#South Korea vs United States, group stage match against the United States men's national soccer team, U.S. team, South Korean players Ahn Jung-Hwan and Lee Chun-Soo made an Goal celebration, exaggerated move imitating the move Ohno had made during the speed skating event to imply the other athlete had drifted into his lane.


See also

* 2007 Winter Deaflympics * :Competitors at the 2002 Winter Olympics


References


Notes


Citations


External links

*
Official Salt Lake 2002 Legacy website
an

on the Wayback Machine
Olympic Legacy image archives
– Utah State Historical Society
2002 Olympic Winter Games Museum
in Park City, Utah
2002 Olympic Cauldron Park
in Salt Lake City. {{Authority control 2002 Winter Olympics, 2002 in multi-sport events, O 2002 in winter sports, Olympics Sports competitions in Salt Lake City Olympic Games in the United States Winter multi-sport events in the United States 2002 in American sports 2002 in Utah Winter Olympics by year 2000s in Salt Lake City February 2002 sports events in the United States Olympic Games in Utah 2002 in sports in Utah