1996 Summer Olympics

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Games of the XXVI Olympiad
Games of the XXVI Olympiad
Host city Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Nations participating 197
Athletes participating 10,320
(6,797 men, 3,523 women)
Events 271 in 26 sports
Opening ceremony July 19
Closing ceremony August 9
Officially opened by President Bill Clinton
Athlete's Oath Teresa Edwards
Judge's Oath Hobie Billingsley
Olympic Torch Muhammad Ali
Stadium Centennial Olympic Stadium

The 1996 Summer Olympics, formally known as the Games of the XXVI Olympiad and informally known as the Centennial Olympics, were an international multi-sport event which was celebrated in 1996 in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Atlanta was selected in September 1990 in Tokyo, Japan, above Athens, Belgrade, Manchester, Melbourne and Toronto.

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[edit] Selection

Some felt Athens should have had the right to host the games because it marked the 100th anniversary of the modern Olympic games.[1] The IOC instead voted, on September 18, 1990, for Atlanta, predicting that Athens' infrastructure could not be improved enough in time to successfully host the Games. Athens would eventually win the right to host the 2004 Summer Olympics. The chart's information below comes from the International Olympic Committee Vote History web page, regarding the cities that bid against Atlanta for the 1996 Olympic Games. The vote occurred at the 96th IOC Session in Tokyo, Japan.

1996 Summer Olympics Bidding Results
City NOC Name Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 Round 4 Round 5
Atlanta, Georgia Flag of the United States United States 19 20 26 34 51
Athens Flag of Greece Greece 23 23 26 30 35
Toronto, Ontario Flag of Canada Canada 14 17 18 22 -
Melbourne Flag of Australia Australia 12 21 16 - -
Manchester Flag of the United Kingdom United Kingdom 11 5 - - -
Belgrade Flag of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Yugoslavia 7 - - - -

[edit] Effect on the city

The games had a profound impact on the city of Atlanta and many in the Atlanta metro area consider the Games to be instrumental in transforming Atlanta into the modernized city it has become. One example of this modernization is the mid-rise dormitories built for the Olympic Village. One of these complexes became the first residential housing for Georgia State University, and has recently been transferred for use by the Georgia Institute of Technology. Other examples include Turner Field, which was a modification of the original Centennial Olympic Stadium, and where the Atlanta Braves baseball team now makes its home. Centennial Olympic Park was also built for the events and is still in use.

Atlanta used no public money to finance the Games, which cost US$1.8 billion to host. It was the first city in Olympic history to use ticket sales, commercial endorsements, advertising, and private money alone to fund the hosting of the Olympics. The consequence of this, however, was that some felt that the Games in Atlanta were over-commercialized and were less exciting than previous Games.[2][2]

[edit] Incidents

Although the Games made a financial profit, they were not without problems. Allegations were levelled that Atlanta organizers bribed members of the IOC to obtain the Olympic Games. However, ACOG documents were destroyed before a formal inquiry could be conducted, and the allegations remain unproven. In his defense, ACOG Chairman Billy Payne said, "Atlanta's bidding effort included excessive actions, even thought processes, that today seem inappropriate but, at the time, reflected the prevailing practices in the selection process and an extremely competitive environment."

The Centennial Olympic Park bombing of July 27, 1996, killed spectator Alice Hawthorne and wounded 111 others, and elicited the death of Melih Uzunyol by heart attack.

Aside from the problems, IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch said in his closing speech, "Well done, Atlanta" and called the Games the "most exceptional". He broke precedent and did not say they had been the best Olympics ever, as he did at every previous Olympic closing ceremony while he was IOC president. This was likely an intentional omission given some of the issues like the Games' over-commercialism, technology and transportation issues. The City of Atlanta was also found to have been competing with the IOC for advertising and sponsorship dollars. The city was licensing street vendors who would sell certain products over others, and therefore providing a presence for companies who were not the official sponsors of the Games.[3] Four years later Samaranch called the 2000 Sydney Olympics the best ever.[4]

[edit] Songs and themes

The Olympiad's official theme, Summon the Heroes, was written by John Williams, making it the third Olympiad for which he has composed. The song "The Power of the Dream", composed by Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds and David Foster, with words by Linda Thompson was performed in the opening ceremony by Céline Dion accompanied by Foster and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Centennial Choir. Gladys Knight sang "Georgia on My Mind", Georgia's official state song, at the opening ceremony. The closing ceremony featured Gloria Estefan singing "Reach", the official theme song of the 1996 Olympics. At the closing of the ceremony Trisha Yearwood performed the Olympics song ["The Flame"]

[edit] Mascot

Main article: Izzy (Mascot)

The mascot for the Olympiad was an abstract, animated character named Izzy. In contrast to the standing tradition of mascots of national or regional significance in the city hosting the Olympiad, Izzy was an amorphous, computer-designed fantasy figure. The mascot was popularly ridiculed by the public and press as commercialized, unappealing, and ungrounded in any connection to the region.

[edit] Highlights

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Women's 100 m hurdles at the Olympic stadium
Women's 100 m hurdles at the Olympic stadium

[edit] Venues

[edit] Medals awarded

See the medal winners, ordered by sport:

[edit] Participating nations

Participants at Summer olympics 1996Blue = Participating for the first time. Green = Have previously participated. Yellow square is host city (Atlanta)
Participants at Summer olympics 1996
Blue = Participating for the first time. Green = Have previously participated. Yellow square is host city (Atlanta)

A total of 197 nations were represented at the 1996 Games, and the combined total of athletes was about 10,318.[5] Twenty-four countries made their Olympic debut this year, including eleven of the ex-Soviet countries that competed as part of the Unified Team in 1992. Russia competed independently for the first time since 1912, when it was the Russian Empire. The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia competed as Yugoslavia.

The 14 countries making their Olympic debut were: Azerbaijan, Burundi, Cape Verde, Comoros, Dominica, Guinea-Bissau, FYR Macedonia, Nauru, Palestine, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, São Tomé and Príncipe, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan.

The 10 countries making their Summer Olympic debut (after competing at the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer) were: Armenia, Belarus, Czech Republic, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Slovakia, Ukraine and Uzbekistan.


[edit] Broadcast rights

[edit] Medal count

Main article: 1996 Summer Olympics medal count

These are the top ten nations that won medals at these Games:

 Rank  Nation Gold Silver Bronze Total
1 United States United States (host nation) 44 32 25 101
2 Russia Russia 26 21 16 63
3 Germany Germany 20 18 27 65
4 China China 16 22 12 50
5