Party ends with a bang/ Games will be remembered for scandals that

SALT LAKE CITY - A display of fireworks lit up the Wasatch Range and the Closing Ceremonies of the 2002 Winter Olympic Games on Sunday night.

Performances by Willie Nelson, Bon Jovi, Earth, Wind and Fire and Kiss at Rice-Eccles Olympic Stadium provided a festive conclusion to Games that will ultimately be remembered for the scandals that overshadowed them.

International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge said the most expensive Winter Olympics in history had provided the world with "two unforgettable weeks."

But even in the waning moments an Olympics that had been tarnished by the Salt Lake Organizing Committee-IOC bribery scandal could not escape controversy. Spain had to make a last-minute switch in its flagbearer in the parade of nations when triple gold medal cross- country skier Johann Muehlegg was stripped of his most recent medal for testing positive for a performance-enhancing drug.

Despite earlier threats to boycott the ceremony, both Russia and South Korea participated.

"It would be impolite to the organizing committee and the American people if we did not participate in the actual ceremonies," said Vitaly Smirnov, an IOC vice president from Russia.

Rogge thanked SLOC president Mitt Romney, who took over the post at the height of the bribery scandal steering the Salt Lake Games from the brink of financial disaster to an Olympics Games that was a record-setter at the box office.

"We began with low expectations," Romney said, "but as time went on our hopes and expectations began to rise."

Romney said SLOC "met and surpassed" its goals of $180 million in ticket sales.

"We had people standing in line to give us money," he said.

Rogge also touched on the other prominent theme of the Games - security. Nearly $320 million was spent on securing a competition that was completed without incident.

"Our gratitude also goes to the security forces who did such a professional job," Rogge said.

These were the most successful Winter Olympics in U.S. history. American athletes won a record 34 medals, one short of overall leader Germany, and 14 more than the pre-Salt Lake City goal of 20 set by U.S. Olympic Committee officials.

"I feel like a proud mother today," said USOC president Sandy Baldwin. "We've put a lot of work and a lot of time into these Games. I couldn't be more thrilled.

"First the U.S. Olympic Committee really made a plan. We worked on it for seven years. This is not serendipity. And it is so rewarding to see it pay off."

Copyright 2002
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