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Group leaders in addition to former and future Olympians met at Rice-Eccles Stadium on Tuesday for a commemorative lighting of the torch to have a good time 20 years for the reason that Winter Olympics have been held in Salt Lake Metropolis, whereas additionally wanting ahead with hope for the Video games to return.
The occasion that many group members attended was led by president and CEO of the Salt Lake Metropolis-Utah Committee for the Video games, Fraser Bullock, who spoke about reflecting again and looking out ahead. He additionally referred to Utah leaders and politicians as "the dream staff" who he mentioned will assist get the Olympics again to Utah.
A kind of "dream staff" members Fraser talked about was Gov. Spencer Cox, who spoke to the viewers in regards to the lasting affect that the 2002 Olympic Video games had on Utah. Cox additionally mentioned that the 2002 Olympics served as a option to deliver the world again collectively.
"A lot of what we love and luxuriate in right here in Utah could be tied to what occurred again in 2002," Cox mentioned. "It was when the world found Utah, and when Utah welcomed the world. It was a time once we all got here collectively."
"Do you bear in mind it was proper after 9/11 when the world was a scary place, and we wanted that second, and Utah delivered that second. … We confirmed the world that we care about one another. ... We'd like that Olympic spirit — that spirit of giving again, and of volunteerism. The world is determined for it, and now we have it right here in Utah. We have to present the world that we will do it once more."
'Get the volunteer jackets again out!'
Salt Lake Metropolis Mayor Erin Mendenhall additionally mirrored again on the 2002 Olympics — even encouraging those that volunteered 20 years in the past to "Get these volunteer jackets again out!" She mentioned that Utah overwhelmingly helps one other Olympic Video games, and that she seems ahead to a brand new technology experiencing the Video games in Utah.
"What we're seeing right here is an embodiment of the momentum that I imagine lives in us as Utahns each single day," she mentioned. "Our love for winter sport and our ardour for the Olympics was ignited in 2002, however has been alive each single day since then."
"Greater than 80% of Utahns are in help of future Video games," Mendenhall mentioned. "What that claims to me is that these of us who have been right here again in 2002 are hungry to welcome the world once more, and likewise that the children we introduced up, and the brand new individuals who have come to dwell on this state really feel that keenness, too. Utah is prepared. We're able to welcome the world once more."
'An opportunity to comprehend childhood goals'
4-time Olympic speedskater Catherine Raney Norman, who participated within the 2002 Olympic Video games and serves as chair of the Salt Lake Metropolis-Utah Committee for the Video games, mirrored on her time as an Olympian, and mentioned that Utah is a particular place.
"This night is de facto taking me again to twenty years in the past," she mentioned. I bear in mind 20 years in the past we have been queuing up outdoors the stadium alongside my fellow Olympians. For all of us, it was this super alternative to not solely symbolize our nation, however to comprehend our childhood goals. ... It was one thing that set the stage for what is really distinctive and particular right here in Utah, and it is the tradition and spirit of the Olympic and Paralympic motion that continues on as we speak. Now we have 75 athletes who're representing Workforce USA as we speak over in Beijing doing us proud."
'The Olympic flame has a unifying affect'
Fraser concluded the night by reflecting on his time working the Olympic torch on the streets of Manhattan in 2002, not lengthy after the assaults on 9/11. He spoke about how unifying the expertise was, and the way he hopes one other Video games in Utah will do the identical.
"It was mind-blowing to see the 1000's of individuals gathered alongside the streets of Manhattan, seeing the outpouring of emotion put up 9/11, however folks nonetheless cheering on the flame to take us ahead," he mentioned. "The flame has a unifying affect on the earth."
"As we glance ahead, we glance again to the magic of 2002. The magic was of the Video games, however it was additionally the magic of the legacy that continued ahead … our star as an Olympic and Paralympic state has been shining brightly. Now we wish it to shine once more much more brightly by internet hosting future Video games as early as 2030."
The night concluded with a lighting of the torch by two younger Olympic and Paralympic hopefuls — Gabrielle Harris of Workforce Soldier Hole Cross Nation and Biathlon, and YiYi O'Brien, Nationwide Talents Middle Youth Adaptive Program athlete. The cauldron will stay lit by Feb. 12.
Home honors 2002 Video games
Earlier Tuesday, the Utah Home of Representatives voted to unanimously approve a joint decision to acknowledge the twentieth anniversary of the 2002 Salt Lake Metropolis Olympic Winter Video games in addition to encourage "continued efforts to take care of Olympic winter sport venues."
The decision's sponsor, Rep. Jon Hawkins, R-Nice Grove, mentioned on the Home flooring he remembered the day in 1995 when Salt Lake Metropolis was introduced for the 2002 Video games, then once more the day of the Video games' opening ceremony when the cauldron was lit.
"The world turned its consideration to our nice state," Hawkins mentioned.
"In these years between the announcement and the lighting ceremony, our Olympic committee and our communities went to work constructing services, organizing volunteer and safety efforts, and making a palpable pleasure to welcome the world to Salt Lake Metropolis," Hawkins mentioned.
Hawkins mentioned state leaders "even nicknamed the reconstruction of I-15 'The Luge' in preparation on the worldwide stage."
"It grew to become probably the most profitable Winter Olympics in historical past," Hawkins mentioned, "and a number of that is because of our Olympic legacy basis and our predecessors on this revered physique. However our Olympic heritage neither started with receiving the bid nor ended with extinguishing the flame."
Hawkins mentioned Utah not solely lays declare to the "biggest snow on Earth," but additionally the "quickest ice on Earth" on the Utah Olympic Oval in Kearns. Because the 2022 Winter Olympics play out in Beijing, 75 members of Workforce USA's 225-member contingent "name Utah residence," Hawkins mentioned, additionally noting athletes from world wide nonetheless practice at Utah's services.
"In order we mark the 20h anniversary of the opening of the Salt Lake Metropolis Olympic Video games, we acknowledge the contributions of the Utah Olympic Legacy Basis, the Salt Lake Organizing Committee, and our state leaders and visionaries who helped make the 2002 Winter Olympics successful," Hawkins mentioned.