Chapter 15 Chapter 13 Atlanta: Centennial Celebration

· The contest between money and history · Our only weapon is sports ·Bomb incident ·Olympics and Commercialization ·Century event, century regret When the 96th meeting of the International Olympic Committee in Tokyo decided to award the right to host the 26th Olympic Games to Atlanta, USA in September 1990, many people did not believe their ears. A total of 6 cities participated in the bid to host the 26th Centennial Olympic Games, namely Athens in Greece, Manchester in the United Kingdom, Toronto in Canada, Belgrade in Yugoslavia, Melbourne in Australia, and Atlanta in the United States.

In 1896, Athens epoch-makingly hosted the first modern Olympic Games.A hundred years later, she will once again become the arena of the Olympic Games.This is not only the wish of Athens, but also the imagination of many people in the world.Some people even suggested that in the future, the Olympic Games will no longer be hosted in turn, but Athens will be the fixed host city of the Olympic Games. The Athens bid team emphasized in all public occasions that Greece was the birthplace of the ancient Olympic movement. The first modern Olympic Games was also held in Athens. The Centennial Olympic Games should of course return to Athens' Olympia Hill; while the Atlanta bid team insisted that "the Olympics must go to the next one." Century" sign, declaring that the Centennial Olympic Games should not just stop at commemorating the past, but should become a new starting point for the future.

The defeat in Athens has caused some people's speculation and criticism.Some people speculated about Atlanta's private actions with the IOC; some thought that Samaranch was afraid that Athens' hosting of the Olympic Centennial Ceremony would establish an unshakable foundation for her in the Olympic movement. The status of Barcelona dwarfs Barcelona; some people point fingers and think that hosting the 26th Olympic Games in Atlanta may have a better effect in the short term, because the economic strength of the United States is much stronger than that of Greece.But Athens, the birthplace of the modern Olympic Games, returns for a century, with multiple sports, cultural and emotional meanings, and people generally place high hopes on it. In the first round of voting in Tokyo in 1990, Atlanta received 19 votes, Athens 23 votes, and other cities a total of 44 votes. Belgrade was eliminated; in the second round, Atlanta received 20 votes, Athens 23 votes, other cities 43 votes, and Manchester was eliminated.Athens leads the first two rounds of voting.In the third round, Atlanta and Athens each received 26 votes, and Melbourne was eliminated; in the fourth round, Atlanta was eliminated with 34 votes, surpassing Athens' 30 votes, and Toronto was eliminated; in the fifth round, Athens lost by 35 to 51 votes.The result of this vote was considered by international public opinion as "money over history" and "dollar over the Olympic spirit", because Americans were showing off how Atlanta had a developed economy, convenient transportation, complete venues, and convenient life.Another important reason is that the headquarters of Coca-Cola, the largest sponsor and partner of the Olympic Games and the International Olympic Committee, is in Atlanta.According to reports, the United States has invited 68 of the 87 voting commissioners to Atlanta. These commissioners have two things to do after they arrive in Atlanta. One is to lay flowers for the tomb of Martin Luther King Jr. Visit the headquarters of Coca-Cola Company.In addition, the huge income from the sale of Olympic TV rights is also a huge temptation.Since the Los Angeles Olympics, the price of this deal has increased by hundreds of millions of dollars. For the IOC and its members who have benefited from it, there is naturally a feeling of "unstoppable".

One day in April 1987, Billy Payne, a well-known real estate lawyer in Atlanta, suddenly came to the office of the then mayor Andrew Jackson Young, and proposed to fight for a chance for Atlanta to "be famous all over the world".After listening to Payne's statement quietly, Yang felt that she was "stunned" all of a sudden.Hosting the Olympics in Atlanta, and the Centennial Olympics, never occurred to Young.Atlanta has never held any large-scale sports meeting in history, and there is no ready-made stadium that can be used to receive athletes from all over the world. The most important thing is that although Atlanta has a big company like Coca-Cola, its overall economic strength ranks second in the United States. Medium, the city government simply cannot afford the huge amount of money required to bid and host the Olympic Games.

The idea of ​​Payne trying to get Atlanta to the 1996 Olympics was ridiculed by many, who thought Payne must be "crazy."But Penn's friends A.D. Frazier (later director of the Operations Department of the Atlanta Olympic Organizing Committee), Pat Gleason (later director of the Finance Department of the Organizing Committee and director of Financial Management Services), Morris Dillard (later executive director of the organizing committee's operations department) and others knew that Payne was not crazy because they knew Payne.After entering the real estate industry in Atlanta, Perth quickly became a well-known lawyer in the real estate industry because of his quick-talking and bold ideas.Payne's father died of a heart attack when he was young, and he himself suffers from the same type of heart disease as his father, and he may die at any time, but he did not moan all day long, but devoted himself to it with full enthusiasm to his favorite job as a lawyer.After becoming famous, Payne actively supported community work. He once led the construction of a new temple for a Catholic church.This incident made Payne very satisfied and at the same time aroused his great ambitions.Before submitting his bid to host the 1996 Olympic Games, he also organized several large-scale social welfare activities and gained the reputation of "community activist".

Although Yang was "stunned" by Payne's bold idea, he didn't laugh at his whimsy, nor did he express his rejection explicitly.Young came to work in Atlanta from his native New Orleans in 1961. At that time, he was hired as the director of the cultural training department of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.At the same time, he also joined the human rights movement led by Martin Luther King, and served as the chief negotiator and personal representative of the famous black movement leader. In 1972, he joined Barbara Jordan of Texas as the first black congressmen after the district reform.After serving for two and a half years, he was appointed as the ambassador to the United Nations by the President of the United States. Young returned to Atlanta in 1980 and was elected mayor twice in 1982 and 1986.As a politician who emerged from the human rights movement, Young has always believed that one of the most important things in life is to support great ideas and great citizens, which is why he can stand behind Martin Luther King Jr. where.

The first meeting was fruitless, and Payne came to Young's office for the second time, and this time he brought a specific feasibility report.Young quickly fell in love with this eloquent and methodical middle-aged man, and he admired Payne's spirit of dedicating himself to good ideals and striving for a better tomorrow.He also knew that even if he did not express his opinion this time, Payne would knock on the door of his office for the third or fourth time.So Young decided to keep Payne's report and agreed to convene relevant people to discuss Payne's proposal as soon as possible.

Three months later, Young excitedly called Payne to tell Payne that the Atlanta government had decided to participate in the bid to host the 1996 Centennial Olympics.that's it.Young and Perth came together and began the difficult bidding process. Payne first sought out Coca-Cola for alms. After all, Coca-Cola was rich and powerful, and it offered 10 million US dollars as the bidding funds.However, there are still many problems, the most important of which is the lack of confidence of the upper echelons of the United States in this bid. They believe that Atlanta lacks the experience in organizing large-scale sports competitions and the necessary basic sports facilities. In addition, the poor social security situation in Atlanta is also a major concern for the US government. question.

But Payne and Young's confidence never waned. Young once said that Payne was "like a hound" and never gave up once he caught the target.In those days and nights when the bid was difficult, Young realized Payne's persistent charisma more deeply.Since the first bid to participate in 1987, Payne and his partners have overcome all kinds of difficulties and dangers.By the time the Tokyo Conference decided in September 1990 to hand over the hosting of the XXVI Olympic Games to Atlanta, Payne and Young could hardly believe that their three-plus years of hard work had finally paid off.

In fact, when Atlanta won the right to host the event, the Americans themselves found it incomprehensible.At that time, the American press said that Atlanta was the city with the worst law and order in the United States, with an average of 24.1 people per 100,000 people being attacked, ranking first in the United States.The Asian city is also the largest drug city in the United States.The well-known American columnist Bruce Wilson even said that hosting the Olympics in Yacheng is a "big joke", and analyzing it from a long-term perspective is not good for the development of the Olympic movement.There are all kinds of arguments, and there is no consensus.The International Olympic Committee felt some pressure, and Atlanta's victory was also painted with some mystery for a while.

In fact, there is no secret here.The decision to choose the host city of the Olympic Games is decided by all IOC members by secret ballot, and it is not transferred by a person's personal will.IOC members vote to decide the host city based on the written report of the investigative committee and what they know.Therefore, it is very important for IOC members to understand themselves.Every time the International Olympic Committee meets to decide on the host city, even in the previous year, various bidders have already appeared on the stage and competed to introduce themselves.Of course, the cost of bidding activities should be fully guaranteed. Belgrade and Manchester may have little hope of winning the right to host the 26th Olympic Games, so the campaign expenses are very limited, while the budgets of Toronto and Melbourne are not small, 13 million and 16 million US dollars respectively.Athens' bid was only $6 million. Historically, the place where the Olympic bid delegations have concentrated is the more ostentatious and luxurious stage.This is of course understandable. How can a city that does not even have enough money to bid for the Olympic Games convince people that it has enough economic strength to host the Olympic Games? It cannot be said that Athens does not attach importance to this bid.When the Tokyo meeting of the International Olympic Committee was held, the Prime Minister of Greece personally led a team to cheer for the right to host the 26th Olympic Games. But Athens didn't expect Atlanta to be the first to make a splash, carefully planned, and spent a lot of money.The US delegation, led by Mrs. Bush, has as many as 300 members, including specially invited chefs, waiters and fiddlers.A delegation with authentic American characteristics. Moreover, Atlanta has learned from Barcelona's experience in competing for the host, that is, please come in and go out.Most of the committee members have been invited to "investigate" tours in Atlanta and other tourist areas in the United States. At the same time, they also sent lobbyists to "do work" in 73 countries. Athens failed sympathetically, and partly because of an inadequate lobbying campaign.Of course, Athens' economic strength is indeed difficult to match with Atlanta. As early as when Barcelona was vying to host the Olympic Games, there were rumors that as long as a certain amount of cash was given to each voting committee member, the right to host could be secured.But the organizing committees of previous Olympic Games did not believe it, let alone do it.Later, the International Olympic Committee also conducted a special investigation and confirmed that none of the members had ever accepted cash from the bidding city.The members only accepted some small gifts. The International Olympic Committee has always opposed the unhealthy practice of gift giving.IOC member Princess Anne of Great Britain has been openly critical of the gift-giving practice and has refused to accept any gifts herself.IOC Director General Vladimir Garrard said: "The only thing that can be sent is the bidding materials. We have asked the bidding cities not to send anything unnecessary other than that." Samaranch also said that if any bid city is found to have bribery, it will stop the city's bid to host twice. Atlanta won the right to host the Olympic Games, which is beyond reproach, but the resignation of the IOC Executive Committee and the US Olympic Committee President Helmick has caused this issue to stir up waves again. Rob Helmick joined the International Olympic Committee in 1985 and was elected as the Executive Committee of the International Olympic Committee in 1989.In addition to his work with the USOC, he also opened a private law practice in his home state of Iowa. Helmick's work in the United States Olympic Committee has been fruitful, and he has also left a good image in the International Olympic Committee.He has his own set of effective working methods, and he works vigorously, so the effect is also remarkable.But these brilliant results could not extricate him from his final doom. 1991 was supposed to be a year for him to show his talents, but the American journalists who are very good at drilling captured some material about Helmick accepting bribes, and on September 6, an authoritative American newspaper "USA Today" made a big surprise .Overnight, Hermick became the target of public criticism. The USOC announced after a nine-month investigation that it "found no evidence of Helmick's use of power for personal gain."But public opinion did not stop there. On September 17, Helmick attended the executive committee meeting of the International Olympic Committee in Berlin. At the meeting, he reported the course of the incident, his own defense opinions and the findings of the US Olympic Committee, hoping to With the understanding of the International Olympic Committee.But the IOC can't help with that kind of thing either.The next day, Helmick quietly left Berlin and returned to the United States.That evening, he announced his resignation as USOC president.In this way, until the annual meeting of the USOC held in Miami in October 1992, the 74-year-old Leroy Walker was elected as the chairman, and the position of the USOC president remained vacant. For Helmick's resignation, the International Olympic Committee specially organized a three-person team to the United States to investigate. Two months later, U.S. Deputy Attorney General Arnold Burns submitted a 59-page report to the U.S. Olympic Committee.Reporting that Helmick has repeatedly violated the USOC's rules on avoiding conflicts of interest by collecting agency fees from companies with which the USOC has commercial relationships and accepting consulting fees from some sports organizations related to the Olympic Movement, the General The amount is up to 300,000 US dollars.The report also comes with a list of specific charges. On December 4, Helmick voluntarily resigned from all his positions in the International Olympic Committee. The Helmick thing was over, but the troubles Helmick had brought to the Atlanta Games didn't go away with Helmick's resignation. Helmick played a major role in Atlanta's bid to host the Olympic Games.In fact, his dual identity did play a big role in Atlanta's victory.People used to praise Helmick for this, but now they blame him.And cast doubt on the Atlanta Olympic Games Organizing Committee.Burns also wrote in his report that "Mr. Helmick completely underestimated the serious consequences of his actions". People began to wonder whether Helmick also used money to manipulate the International Olympic Committee and handed over the hosting right to Atlanta. If so, the Olympic Games would not bring glory to Atlanta, but shame.Some people even said vividly that Atlanta's ability to win the right to host is entirely based on a lot of money. Doubts are doubts, whether they are factual or speculative, it is an irrefutable fact that Atlanta became the host city of the 26th Olympic Games in 1996. After winning the right to host, Atlanta immediately took action to carry out all-round preparations.The first step in the preparatory work is to establish the "Centennial Olympic Organizing Committee". Billy Payne, the first hero of the bid, will serve as the executive chairman of the organizing committee, and Mayor Andrew Jackson Young will serve as the co-chairman.There are 16 departments under the organizing committee, namely: construction department, operation department, group service department, communication department, property department, conference service department, senior policy and local government, community relations and EEOP department, sports department, administration department, Broadcasting Department, Venues Department, Special Engineering and Technology Department, International Relations Department, Olympic Games Planning Department and Sports Gifts Department.The shrewd Payne has selected savvy and capable executives for each department. Some of these executives come from the government, some are business tycoons, and some are the heads of civil organizations.A strong leadership team has ensured the smooth progress of all preparations for the Olympic Games. The first major decision made by the organizing committee was that the Atlanta Games would be hosted by the private sector, as Los Angeles had done in 1984.Payne believes that hosting the Atlanta Olympics by the private sector is the only way not to impose a financial burden on citizens.He believes that there is no city capable of hosting the Olympic Games alone.Funding by the private sector is ideal. After the organizing committee submitted their report to the IOC, it was approved with little fuss.Because according to Atlanta’s sales plan from 1993 to 1996, the current Olympic Games will cost about 1.75 billion U.S. dollars, but the TV rights alone will be sold for 900 million U.S. dollars, and 31 companies will provide 680 million U.S. dollars in sponsorship. In addition, the sales volume of various commodities will exceed 1 billion US dollars.According to estimates, the IOC is likely to receive at least $300 million in funding for the Atlanta Games.This is undoubtedly a huge temptation for the International Olympic Committee. In addition, Samaranch also has other expectations for the Atlanta Olympics.He said that the Atlanta Olympics is likely to "mark the end of an important phase of the international Olympic movement. The Olympic Games will undergo a revolution. At that time, all the competitions included in today's Olympic Games will be reconsidered. The International Olympic Committee is envisioning The possibility of spreading future Olympics across several regions, or even several countries." November 15, 1995 is the deadline for participating countries in the Atlanta Olympic Games.Prior to this, only Afghanistan and North Korea among the IOC's 197 member states did not sign up.As early as 1994, Samaranch proposed to make the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games a real "family portrait". While sending sincere invitations to the Olympic Committees of Afghanistan and North Korea, he also proposed to the International Olympic Committee and the organizing committee. Decided to extend the deadline for registration and promised to provide partial assistance to the delegations of the two countries.After repeated efforts by Samaranch and his colleagues, on December 18, the Afghan Olympic Committee declared its participation in the Atlanta Olympic Games. On January 3, 1996, another good news came from Lausanne, and North Korea also agreed to participate.In this way, the 197 member states of the IOC will finally come together to celebrate the centenary of the modern Olympic Movement. "Atlanta drums beating wildly, salutes and fireworks are in full bloom", at 8:30 p.m. Eastern Time on July 19th, in the Atlanta Olympic Stadium, the members of the world Olympic family finally achieved a great reunion on the occasion of the centennial birthday. When "Boxing King" Ali used his trembling and unparalleled right hand to take over the torch taken from Mount Olympia in Greece, passed through 5 continents, passed the 24,000-kilometer torch in 42 states of the United States, and lit the main torch of the 26th Olympic Games in 1996 , the Americans presented a huge surprise to the whole world.From the Greek Olympic flame 100 years ago to the centennial celebration of the Olympic Games this year, Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I have a dream" is gradually becoming a reality. Accompanied by relaxing music, more than 10,000 athletes and team leaders from 197 countries and regions entered the field one by one. In the name of the Olympic Movement, Samaranch, dressed in a white dress, welcomed young people representing 197 countries and regions from all over the world to Atlanta to participate in the 26th Olympic Games, which is a centennial celebration. He also said: "I want to pay tribute to the athletes who are here today. At the same time, I also want to pay tribute to Greece, the birthplace of Olympism, and to France, where Coubertin, the founder of the modern Olympic Games, is located." In his speech, he specifically pointed out: "The civil war in Bosnia and Herzegovina has finally stopped in Sarajevo, which once hosted the 1984 Winter Olympics. The Olympic movement means unity, and we must contribute to the reconstruction of sports facilities damaged by the war. We still live in In a world full of human tragedy, we therefore call on all warring parties to lay down their arms and use dialogue to achieve peace in accordance with the Olympic ideal." He finally said: "Our only weapon is sports. Just like what happened in Atlanta today, sports are friendship, sports are education, sports are life, and sports unite the world." The person of the year in this Olympic Games is the first American track and field veteran Carl Lewis. He has participated in the Olympic Games 4 times and set 8 world records. From 1981 to 1991, he won 65 consecutive championships in various international and domestic long jump competitions. On July 29, he won the men's long jump championship with 8.50 meters. This is his ninth gold medal in the Olympic Games, tying the record of nine Olympic gold medals won by the famous Finnish athlete Rumi since 1920. American track and field hero Ben Johnson won gold medals in both the 200m and 400m, and is considered the most gold-rich.The U.S. propaganda machine spent so much manpower and money on the two gold medals that it dwarfed Canada's 100m world record-breaking Pele. South African player Pe Haines broke the women's 100-meter breaststroke world record and became the only female athlete to break the world record in this Olympic Games. The most exciting scene of the Olympic Games occurred on August 3 during the first half of the final between the American Dream Team and Yugoslavia.When Samaranch put a gold medal on Ali's neck, more than 35,000 spectators wept with excitement and shouted "Great Ali" in unison. This is Ali's second appearance in this Olympic Games. The first time he magically appeared on the Olympic torch stand at the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games. He lit the Olympic torch with trembling hands. There was hardly any expression on Ali's face, but he still held up his trembling hands and thanked the audience for their cheers.And turned his body with difficulty, kissed Samaranch's cheek and the gold medal. This replica gold medal is to make up for the gold medal that Ali threw away more than 30 years ago.At that time, Ali threw a gold medal he won in the Rome Olympics into the river in a rage because Ali was refused entry in a white restaurant. Miller of Team USA Boxing said: "He (Ali) is still the greatest in our hearts. For Americans from Africa, he is a role model for us. We have a lot of fun with him. He is the whole A great champion of his time." Different from the previous Olympic Games, the medals of this Olympic Games are relatively scattered. The number of countries and regions that have won gold medals has reached 53, 16 more than the Barcelona Olympic Games.At the end of the tournament, the U.S. team had 101 medals (44 golds), followed by Russia with 63 medals (26 golds), Germany with 65 medals (20 golds), and China with 50 medals. medals (16 gold) and France, 37 medals (15 gold).The North Korean Olympic delegation, which arrived in Atlanta by the last train, also won 2 golds, 1 silver and 3 bronzes. The most sensational news during the Olympic Games was an explosion at Atlanta's Olympic Centennial Park at 1:20 a.m. on July 26.The site of the blast was near the stereo stand to the right of the AT&T Entertainment Center on the north side of Olympic Park.This huge sound stand has 5 floors, with speakers and a video camera on it.When the explosion occurred, a pop music concert was being held nearby, and there were about 50,000 people in the park.The explosion killed 4 people on the spot and injured 110 others. The Olympic Park was funded and established by AT&T Corporation of the United States. It is an entertainment place for athletes participating in the Olympic Games and tourists from all over the world. It is the only public place related to the Olympic Games that does not charge fees during the Olympic Games.Unlike Olympic venues, there are no checks to enter the park.Reporters must also pass through this park when covering events such as volleyball, gymnastics, weightlifting, judo, basketball and fencing. A Motorola engineer from Los Angeles named Robert Gee captured the exact moment of the explosion with his home video camera. CNN aired the video tape on television ten minutes later.A German TV station also happened to be interviewing the famous American swimmer Evans in the park. The shock of the explosion interrupted their conversation, and the TV camera lens was immediately aimed at the scene of the explosion.Judging from the TV screen, this is indeed a bomb explosion. Twenty-three minutes before the explosion, an AT&T employee named Richard Davis found a suspicious travel bag.Davis has been looking for the owner of the bag, but has not found it.The security personnel present immediately began to evacuate the tourists.Davis was also slightly injured in the explosion, but without the decisive action of him and his companions, many more people would have died in this explosion.An hour after the incident, the police mobilized all explosion experts to go to the Olympic Park by helicopter.Experts have found at least three more explosive devices in the park. The loud noise of the explosion broke the scene of peace and joy in Atlanta.Yashi, which was originally like a barracks, sent more troops overnight. Soon after the explosion, President Clinton, who had returned to Washington, learned of the incident. CNN, CBS, NBC, ESPN and Atlanta have been rolling out news of the aftermath of the bombing.The Olympic Park was also temporarily closed at the request of the International Olympic Committee. An official of the organizing committee in charge of security still said at the press conference: "Atlanta is still the safest place in the world." But he also had to humbly ask for other people's experience in security. The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) will be in charge of the accident investigation. FBI official Johansen said: "In order to ensure the safety of this Olympic Games, we have worked hard for many years. Our response to this incident was swift, and we will not be able to confirm whether it is an act of terrorists until after investigation. Now, Experts who participated in the investigation of the TWA plane bombing in New York and the Oklahoma bombing have arrived in Atlanta." After the bombing, athletes from various countries participating in the Olympic Games spent a night of depression and panic in the Olympic Village on the 27th. After the incident, the United States, the state of Georgia and Atlanta stepped up security work on the athletes' village and surrounding areas to ensure that there were no other explosive devices. In the athletes' village, since the early morning of the 27th, calls from all over the world asking about the safety of their families or relatives have been incessant. Many athletes gathered together to inquire and pass on news about the bombing. "We don't understand why, we're scared, maybe we'll be the next ones to be killed," said Kenyan 400m hurdles athlete Kim Yoel. Nelson, a 33-year-old Canadian marathon runner, said: "Now is the time for us to leave this city. You have to think about your own safety. My race is scheduled for the last day. I am going to leave Atlanta for a few days. By then Come back." Five hours after the bombing, the South Korean delegation held a meeting of team leaders of each event to discuss safety measures for athletes. American swimmer Evans was interviewing reporters near the scene when the explosion occurred, and she witnessed the whole process.She said: "Coming here for the Olympics, you always feel like something is going to happen. I am very lucky because my competition is over. If I still have competitions, I will be distracted by it. The plane bombing on the 17th Already causing panic among athletes." Many delegations are worried about the safety of athletes and have issued new regulations.Those athletes who have participated in the competition are required to return home, and at the same time, they are required to leave the athletes' village collectively when they go out. The Japanese delegation requires athletes to return to the athletes' village as soon as possible every day; the South Korean delegation stipulates that the time to return to the athletes' village cannot exceed 11:00 p.m. The Australian delegation simply asked the athletes not to leave the athletes' village unless there was a competition. The Hungarian delegation also asked the athletes who completed the competition to return home as soon as possible.Because every day, many athletes who finished the game came to the Olympic Century Park in the Asian city where the explosion occurred for entertainment. South African swimming gold medalist Hines told reporters: "I'm terrified. I don't have time to travel to the city I'm looking forward to." The bombing case immediately aroused the attention of the whole world. The media of various countries reported this "explosive" news one after another, and condemned the organizing committee for its poor preparation and prevention.Gradually, the scope of condemnation quickly expanded to include the congested traffic, chaotic computer interconnection system and full commercial atmosphere in the Asian city. The International Olympic Committee and Samaranch also expressed great concern about the bombing.Two hours after the bombing, the International Olympic Committee urged the organizing committee to hold an emergency meeting to jointly study the aftermath measures.IOC Director-General Callard first spoke at the meeting and said: "The International Olympic Committee is very shocked by this incident. We express our condolences to the victims. Mr. Samaranch also expressed great shock at this incident and hoped that You can take this as a warning to ensure the absolute safety of the next stage of the competition.” At the meeting, representatives of the International Olympic Committee discussed with the organizing committee and decided that the Olympic Games will continue and the Olympic Park will remain open.The IOC has also proposed a one-minute silence before each game the next day, with flags lowered at half-staff at venues. For other issues, the International Olympic Committee and Samaranch also responded quickly.At the joint meeting of the International Olympic Committee and the Federation of International Sports Organizations for the Summer Olympics, Samaranch asked the organizing committee to take immediate and effective measures to resolve the current traffic situation in Atlanta.At this meeting, Samaranch also raised criticisms on issues such as the meals in the Olympic Village. On August 4 (US Eastern Time), with the end of the women's basketball finals, the Centennial Olympic Games came to an end.In his closing speech, Samaranch highly praised the more than 50,000 selfless volunteers, while saying, "When celebrating, don't forget those who lost their lives in last week's bombings, but also those who were killed in the 1972 Olympic Games. 11 Israeli athletes." In his speech, Samaranch did not say that this Olympic Games is "the best in history" or "the greatest in history".And this is the word that the previous organizing committees most want to hear.Both the Barcelona Organizing Committee and the Seoul Organizing Committee have received such praise from Samaranch.This cannot but be a great irony for the United States, which has a strong economy and the highest level of sports.Although from the bid 6 years ago to the end of the competition, Atlanta, a city that was originally unknown in the United States, has been wishing that this century-old Olympic Games will be the "best".In the sense of reunion of athletes from 197 countries and regions, this Olympic Games is indeed unprecedented, but organizational mistakes, strong commercial color and a big explosion in the Olympic Park drowned out the word "best". up.International Olympic Committee vice-president De Medro said frankly: "We will not say that this is the best Olympic Games, absolutely not." Although it did not get the "best" evaluation from Samaranch and the International Olympic Committee, the profit of this Olympic Games is undoubtedly the highest in history. After the Olympic Games, Andrew Yang, co-chairman of the organizing committee, said at the press conference: "This Olympic Games will earn more profits than expected and provide more opportunities for the development of the Asian city." In addition to $900 million in television broadcast fees and $680 million in corporate sponsorships, the organizing committee also gets paid for every commemorative T-shirt, hat, buckle and Izzy mascot sold. 15%.The sales of mascots alone for this Olympic Games amounted to 250 million US dollars. For this item alone, the organizing committee can obtain 37.5 million US dollars of income.It is estimated that during the entire Olympic Games, the total sales of various souvenirs exceeded 1.2 billion U.S. dollars, and the Atlanta Organizing Committee obtained a net profit of more than 300 million U.S. dollars.Tickets are also an important way for the organizing committee to earn income.A total of about 8.61 million tickets were sold for this Olympic Games, and the ticket revenue reached 468 million US dollars.In terms of the number of tickets sold alone, it far exceeds the 3.021 million tickets for the Barcelona Olympics and the 5.798 million tickets for the Los Angeles Olympics. Yang believes that the Olympic Games can now be regarded as the event that can most effectively promote social and regional economic development.The Asian City Organizing Committee estimates that the Olympic Games have injected $5.1 billion into the city of Atlanta.In the next four or five years, because of the hosting of the Olympic Games, the city will also bring in 5 billion US dollars of funds. Although the twenty-sixth Olympic Games brought huge profits to the organizing committee, the International Olympic Committee and the city of Atlanta, its full commercial atmosphere was widely condemned, and some people even pointed their finger directly at the pioneering The Samaranch of Olympic commercialization. Japan's "Asahi Shimbun" reporter Nao Nakamura appealed, "The modern Olympics should not enter a commercial dead end." Nakamura recalled the history of the Olympic Games for more than 30 years. In 1972, the Palestinian "Black September" organization created the appalling incident of kidnapping Israeli athletes from the Olympic Village; in 1976, Montreal hosted the Olympic Games and left a huge financial deficit.After these two bleak Olympic Games, people's talk about the Olympic Games changed color, and no one bid to host the 23rd Olympic Games in 1984.In the end, the American Uber Ross took over the heavy baton by running the Olympic Games privately, and made the modern Olympic Games financially profitable for the first time through the business operation model. The article pointed out that "the initiator of the commercialization of the Olympic Games was Samaranch, the leader of the International Olympic Committee, and the practice of Uber Ross made an annotation for Samaranch's proposition." After that, the Olympic Games became a symbol of both fame and fortune. Seoul made money and promoted South Korea to the world; Barcelona made a lot of money and gave Spain's dull economy a shot in the arm.Because of this, there is a wave of bidding for the Olympic Games in the world. “商业化给奥运会带来的利益与活力毋庸置疑，也无可厚非，问题是，当商业化这个砝码在奥运会天平上份量过重时，奥运会是否又从一个极端转向另一个极端，从理想主义转向了另一个狭窄的胡同？”作者最后问道。 英国《泰晤士时报》载文称，“亚特兰大的商业行为已远远超出了奥林匹克主义理想。美国人用现代商业神话战胜了源自希腊的古代神话。” 文章评述道，即使撇开申办、投票、表决这些不说，亚特兰大在递交申办报告时及最后的申办演说中，曾信誓旦旦表示要提供一流的条件、一流的服务、便捷的交通。亚特兰大奥运会组委会在奥运会上却没有做到这些。本届奥运以来，交通拥挤、班车不准时，住房不方便，吃饭问题，比赛的混乱等问题，屡见不鲜，就连美国人最自夸的电脑系统，也错误不断，遭到世界一片谴责。是美国没有能力做到这些吗？不是，美国有雄厚的经济实力，本届奥运会有足够的经费，美国人也曾成功地举办过洛杉矶奥运会。why?文章最后一针见血地指出，“一是美国组委会太注重商业利益而不关注运动员利益；二是美国唯我独尊、自高自大，不愿意为世界付出。” 在8月3日举行的亚城奥运会最后一次记者招待会上，面对记者穷追不舍的提问，老练的萨马兰奇也显得有些招架无力。 有记者首先请萨马兰奇谈谈本届奥运会商业化的问题。 “靠私人团体赞助奥运会只有美国可以，在世界其它国家是不可能的。我们需要商业化，我们需要钱去办奥运会，但商业化不能超过奥运会本身。奥运会必须在组委会和国际奥委会的控制之下。我可以说，奥运会是唯一在场馆里没有广告和运动员服装上没有标志的体育比赛。”萨马兰奇的回答只能用“泛泛”二字形容。 “国际奥委会是否已接近私人赞助体育的极限？” 萨马兰奇说：“我不知道。财政问题是体育比赛上非常重要的一部分，我们经常说，希望有人赞助，但体育比赛应占主要部分，而不是像亚特兰大这样，市场行为占上风。” 在记者招待会快要结束时，萨马兰奇终于挡不住记者的轮番攻击，承认“私人办奥运是个错误”。但他否认了本届奥运会已处于无组织状态的说法。 “我认为，主办城市、地方首脑和国家在未来的奥运会中需要全力合作，以保证奥运会能够正常运转。”萨马兰奇说。 萨马兰奇还表示，今后将与世界棒球联合会及国际橄榄球（英式）联合会谈判，让职业棒球运动员参加奥运会和国际奥委会接纳橄榄球组织为新的会员。萨马兰奇最后表示：一奥运会已经成为世界上最重要的活动之一，也许不止是奥运会，体育比赛在今日社会中的地位越来越重要，在未来会更加重要。 "