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SALT LAKE CITY — Wednesday marks the 15-year anniversary of the 2002 Salt Lake Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony.
Salt Lake’s journey to hosting the Winter Games began on June 16, 1995, when it was selected to host. Of course, 1995 to 2002 was a little rocky for the Olympics.
In November 1998, an Olympic bribing scandal broke out. Mitt Romney then was named the president of the Games in 1999 as the Olympics looked to get past the controversy.
And Utah got decked out for the Games.
The Olympic torch made its way out to Salt Lake City, with its course beginning in Greece before starting in the U.S. in Atlanta, where the 1996 Olympics were held. The torch then made its way all across the country before ending up in Utah for the opening ceremony.
The opening ceremony was held at Rice-Eccles Stadium on Feb. 8, 2002.
An American flag rescued from the World Trade Center during the Sept. 11 attacks that occurred just months before in New York was carried into the arena by first responders and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir sang “The Star-Spangled Banner.”
American Jim Shea recited the Olympic oath — less than three weeks after his grandfather, an Olympian in the 1932 Games, was killed in a crash.
The evening honored everything from Utah’s native American history to its wildlife.
It ended with the 1980 gold medal U.S. hockey team lighting the Olympic torch before President George W. Bush announced the Games were opened.
In all, 2,399 athletes from 77 nations competed and there were 25,000 Olympic volunteers. And in the end, the Olympics reached 2.1 billion television viewers in 160 nations and it was one of the highest-attended Olympics, according to the IOC’s final marketing report on the 2002 Olympics.
While it started out with a scandal, the Salt Lake Olympics turned out to be a grand success.
What are some of your memories of the 2002 Olympics? Share them in the comments.
