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2002 Winter Olympics opening ceremony

The opening ceremony of the 2002 Winter Olympics took place at the Rice-Eccles Olympic Stadium in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States, on 8 February 2002.

2002 Winter Olympics
opening ceremony
Part of 2002 Winter Olympics
The Olympic Cauldron
Date8 February 2002 (2002-02-08)
Time19:00 – 21:47 MST (UTC−07:00)
VenueRice-Eccles Stadium
LocationSalt Lake City, Utah, United States
Coordinates40°45′36″N 111°50′56″W / 40.76000°N 111.84889°W / 40.76000; -111.84889
Filmed byInternational Sports Broadcasting (ISB)
FootageThe ceremony on the IOC YouTube channel on YouTube
The announcement of past Winter Olympic Games.
George W. Bush at the Opening Ceremony

U.S. president George W. Bush opened the Winter Olympics — the first U.S. president to do so — which took place five months after the September 11 attacks, with: On behalf of a proud, determined and grateful nation..., then the standard opening formula followed. The president was standing among the U.S. athletes, while previous heads of state opened the Games from an official box. NBC's Bob Costas applauded the move during the network's coverage of the Opening Ceremony.

The opening ceremony was produced and directed by Don Mischer. The production team included Kenny Ortega as the artistic director, Mark Watters as the musical director, and David Goldberg as a producer.[1] The opening ceremony was nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Variety Music Or Comedy Special.[2]

Officials and Guests

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The official box was occupied by the President's Olympic delegation, which featured four future members of their respective sport's Hall of Fame:

Proceedings

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An American Indian Chief during the opening ceremony.
 
U.S. President George W. Bush takes a phone call from an athlete's family during the opening ceremony.
 
The American flag, held by U.S. Olympians and saluted by members of the NYPD, FDNY, and PAPD.

Prior to the ceremony, the turf inside the stadium was removed and a giant, abstract-shaped ice rink, designed by Seven Nielsen, was installed covering a large part of the stadium floor. Music was directed by Mark Watters. Figure skaters, speed skaters, and hockey players performed on the ice, while cloggers, dancers, and some of the local Native American tribes performed authentic ceremonial dances on the surrounding platform. [citation needed]

A torn American flag recovered from the wreckage of the September 11 attacks was carried into the stadium by an honor guard of American athletes and escorted in by firefighters and police officers of the NYPD, FDNY, and Port Authority Police, who then stood at attention and saluted the flag. The Mormon Tabernacle Choir, clad in white sweaters, performed "The Star-Spangled Banner", the US national anthem, as the flag (the Challenger flag) was raised. The parade of the 2,300 athletes was led by the Child of Light and began traditionally with Greece and ending with the host nation, the United States of America. As the artistic section kicked off, the five native Utah Native American tribes arrived together on horseback and performed several traditional "Welcome" stomp dances. Robbie Robertson performed during this segment.

It was reported that the IOC had rejected a proposal by the USOC to have its flagbearer carry the Ground Zero flag during the parade of nations, and a USOC spokesperson stated that another idea for the flag and honor guard to enter after the U.S. team in the parade of nations would violate the official protocol.[3][4][5]

The beauty of the Utah landscape was showcased as huge puppets of native Utah animals, including a 15-foot-long bison and the American bald eagle (the national bird and animal of the U.S.), entered the stadium, as well as dancing pioneer settlers as two trains came together on, symbolizing the US railroad industry which was beneficial to Utah's economy beginning in the 1860s, as well as economically linking the Western U.S. and the Eastern U.S. At the end of this segment, the performers unfurled a giant quilt that covered the entire stadium floor with the 2002 Winter Olympics logo in the center.[6] Two figure skaters, Olympians Kristi Yamaguchi, Jozef Sabovcik (the fire within), and Scott Hamilton performed on the oversized ice rink to the song "Gold" by Linda Eder.[7] Other notable skaters included a young local skater and Beatrisa Liang as younger versions of Kristi Yamaguchi's character.

The ceremonies were choreographed and rehearsals led by Sarah Kawahara. Sarah won an Emmy for her work in both the opening and closing ceremonies for the Games. Performers were auditioned and put in over 150 hours of practice on the weekends leading up to the Games. Practices were held at both Steiner Ice Arena and on the official venue ice. The main child of light was played by Ryne Sanborn, a young local hockey player who was in the seventh grade at the time of the ceremonies. Sanborn later went on to co-star in the Salt Lake City-based musical trilogy, High School Musical.

After speeches by Jacques Rogge, President of the IOC and Mitt Romney, the CEO of the Salt Lake Organizing Committee, U.S. President George W. Bush, standing with the U.S. Olympic athletes, formally opened the Games, saying so on "behalf of a proud, determined, and grateful nation", due to the U.S. still recovering from the 9/11 attacks half of a year earlier. The Olympic flame, which had traveled 13,500 miles (21,700 km) was carried into the stadium by figure skaters Dorothy Hamill and Dick Button. They passed it to other pairs U.S. Olympians, who either ran or skated their short relay. Alpine skier Picabo Street and hockey player Cammi Granato carried it up the steps to the towering torch where they were met by Mike Eruzione, captain of the "Miracle on Ice" hockey team that won the Olympic gold medal in 1980. Eruzione summoned the other members of the team, who together lit the Olympic torch.[8] The Opening Ceremony would win seven Emmy Awards.[6][9]

Following the lighting of the cauldron, "Light the Fire Within," the 2002 Winter Olympic's theme song, was sung by LeAnn Rimes[6] to conclude the ceremony.

The President opened the Games standing among the athletes, while previous heads of state opened the Games from an official box. NBC's Bob Costas applauded the move during the network's coverage of the Opening Ceremony.

Music

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Anthems

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Both anthems were performed by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir:

References

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  1. ^ Abrahamson, Alan (9 February 2002). "It's Quite a Balancing Act". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 7 February 2023.
  2. ^ "Opening Ceremony Salt Lake 2002 Olympic Winter Gam". Television Academy. Retrieved 7 February 2023.
  3. ^ "America welcomes Olympic Games". BBC Sport. 9 February 2002. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
  4. ^ "9/11 Flag Rises Above the IOC Fray". Los Angeles Times. 7 February 2002. Archived from the original on 20 August 2021. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
  5. ^ "Ground Zero star-spangled banner to wave over Olympics". CNN. 7 February 2002. Archived from the original on 23 February 2003. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
  6. ^ a b c "CEREMONIES Salt Lake 2002". Archived from the original on 26 December 2012. Retrieved 26 December 2012.
  7. ^ "LINDA EDER: GOLD". Orlando Sentinel. 21 June 2002. Retrieved 30 August 2022.
  8. ^ Salt Lake City Flame Lighting. YouTube (February 19, 2011). Retrieved on August 16, 2013.
  9. ^ Tomlinson, Alan (1 January 2005). "Picturing the winter Olympics: The Opening ceremonies of Nagano (Japan) 1998 and Salt Lake City (USA) 2002" (PDF). Tourism, Culture & Communication. 5 (2): 83–92. doi:10.3727/109830405774791465. S2CID 59142832.
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