The Winter Olympic Games is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were held in Chamonix, France. The modern Olympic Games were inspired by the ancient Olympic Games, which were held in Olympia, Greece, from 776 BC to 394 AD. The Baron Pierre de Coubertin of France founded the International Olympic Committee (IOC) 1,500 years later in 1894, leading to the first modern Summer Olympic Games in Athens, Greece in 1896. The IOC is the governing body of the Olympic Movement, with the Olympic Charter defining its structure and authority. The original five Winter Olympic Sports were bobsleigh, curling, ice hockey, Nordic skiing, and skating. The Games were held every four years from 1924 to 1936, interrupted in 1940 and 1944 by World War II, and resumed in 1948. Until 1992, the Summer Olympic Games and the Winter Olympic Games were held in the same year. A decision to change this was made in 1986, when during the 91st International Olympic Committee session, IOC members decided to alternate the Summer Olympic Games and the Winter Olympic Games on separate four-year cycles in even-numbered years. Also, at that same congress it was decided that 1992 Winter Olympics would be the last to be held in the same year as the Summer Games and that to change the rotation, the edition that would be held in 1996 would be brought forward by two years, being scheduled to 1994. After this edition, the next one was to be held in 1998 when the 4-year Olympic Cycle resumed.
The 2002 Winter Olympics, officially the XIX Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Salt Lake 2002, were an international winter multi-sport event that was held from February 8 to 24, 2002, in and around Salt Lake City, Utah, United States.
TheTabernacle Choir at Temple Square, formerly known as the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, is an American choir, acting as part of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It has performed in the Salt Lake Tabernacle for over 100 years. The Tabernacle houses an organ, consisting of 11,623 pipes, which usually accompanies the choir.
The 1980 Winter Olympics, officially the XIII Olympic Winter Games and also known as Lake Placid 1980, were an international multi-sport event held from February 13 to 24, 1980, in Lake Placid, New York, United States.
The 1952 Winter Olympics, officially known as the VI Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Oslo 1952, was a winter multi-sport event held from 14 to 25 February 1952 in Oslo, the capital of Norway.
Michael Anthony Eruzione is an American former ice hockey player. He is best known as the captain of the 1980 Winter Olympics United States national team that defeated the Soviet Union in the famous "Miracle on Ice" game, in which he scored the game-winning goal. He is the author, with Neal E. Boudette, of the national bestseller, The Making of a Miracle: The Untold Story of the Captain of The Gold Medal-Winning 1980 U.S. Olympic Hockey Team, published by HarperCollins.
Temple Square is a 10-acre (4.0 ha) complex, owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, in the center of Salt Lake City, Utah. The usage of the name has gradually changed to include several other church facilities that are immediately adjacent to Temple Square. Contained within Temple Square are the Salt Lake Temple, Salt Lake Tabernacle, Salt Lake Assembly Hall, the Seagull Monument, and two visitors' centers. The square was designated a National Historic Landmark District in 1964, recognizing the Mormon achievement in the settlement of Utah.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) uses icons, flags, and symbols to elevate the Olympic Games. These symbols include those commonly used during Olympic competition—such as the flame, fanfare and theme—as well as those used throughout the years, such as the Olympic flag.
The Salt Lake Tabernacle, formerly known as the Mormon Tabernacle, is located on Temple Square in Salt Lake City, in the U.S. state of Utah. The Tabernacle was built from 1863 to 1875 to house meetings for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It was the location of the church's semi-annual general conference until the meeting was moved to the new and larger LDS Conference Center in 2000. Now a historic building on Temple Square, the Salt Lake Tabernacle is still used for overflow crowds during general conference. It is renowned for its remarkable acoustics and iconic pipe organ. The Tabernacle Choir has performed there for over 100 years.
Originally, the Salt Lake Valley was inhabited by the Shoshone, Paiute, Goshute and Ute Native American tribes. At the time of the founding of Salt Lake City the valley was within the territory of the Northwestern Shoshone, who had their seasonal camps along streams within the valley and in adjacent valleys. One of the local Shoshone tribes, the Western Goshute tribe, referred to the Great Salt Lake as Pi'a-pa, meaning "big water", or Ti'tsa-pa, meaning "bad water". The land was treated by the United States as public domain; no aboriginal title by the Northwestern Shoshone was ever recognized by the United States or extinguished by treaty with the United States. Father Silvestre Vélez de Escalante, a Spanish Franciscan missionary is considered the first European explorer in the area in 1776, but only came as far north as Utah valley (Provo), some 60 miles south of the Salt Lake City area. The first US visitor to see the Salt Lake area was Jim Bridger in 1824. U.S. Army officer John C. Frémont surveyed the Great Salt Lake and the Salt Lake Valley in 1843 and 1845. The Donner Party, a group of ill-fated pioneers, traveled through the Great Salt Lake Valley a year before the Mormon pioneers. This group had spent weeks traversing difficult terrain and brush, cutting a road through the Wasatch Mountains, coming through Emigration canyon into the Salt Lake Valley on August 12, 1846. This same path would be used by the vanguard company of Mormon pioneers, and for many years after that by those following them to Salt Lake.
Music & the Spoken Word is a religious radio and television series. Broadcast weekly from the Salt Lake Tabernacle in Salt Lake City, Utah, the program primarily features performances of music by Tabernacle Choir (Choir)—often accompanied by the Salt Lake Tabernacle organ and the Orchestra at Temple Square. The program also includes spiritual messages and passages related to a specific episode's theme, presented by Lloyd D. Newell.
Call of the Champions is a fanfare for orchestra and choir composed by John Williams for the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah. Premiering at the Opening Ceremony on February 8, 2002, it began with the call by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir of "Citius! Altius! Fortius!", which is the Olympic Motto chosen by the founder of the modern Games, Baron Pierre de Coubertin.
The Olympic Games ceremonies of the Ancient Olympic Games were an integral part of these Games; the modern Olympic games have opening, closing, and medal ceremonies. Some of the elements of the modern ceremonies date back to the Ancient Games from which the Modern Olympics draw their ancestry. An example of this is the prominence of Greece in both the opening and closing ceremonies. During the 2004 Games, the medal winners received a crown of olive branches, which was a direct reference to the Ancient Games, in which the victor's prize was an olive wreath. The various elements of the ceremonies are mandated by the Olympic Charter, and cannot be changed by the host nation. This requirement of seeking the approval of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) includes the artistic portion of opening and closing ceremonies.
The 2002 Winter Olympic Games were held in and around Salt Lake City, United States from February 8 to 24, 2002, and the Paralympics from March 7 to 16, 2002. The sporting events were held in ten competitive venues, while non-competitive events, such as the opening ceremony, were held in six other venues. Three venues were also created for training purposes. All Olympic venues were scattered throughout Northern Utah and the Wasatch Front.
Australia competed at the 2002 Winter Paralympics in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States from 8 March to 19 March 2002. The Salt Lake Paralympics are the eighth such winter games, the first Winter Paralympics ever in North America and the first Winter Paralympics ever set up by an Olympic organizing committee. Although many of the Paralympic expenses were covered by dual planning with the Olympics, organizers still spent about $60 million on the Paralympics, including $5 million on the opening and closing ceremonies. The Salt Lake Games featured 92 events across four sports: alpine skiing, biathlon, cross-country, and ice sledge hockey. The 36 competing countries sent a total of 416 participants. Australia was represented by six male alpine skiers: Peter Boonaerts, Bart Bunting, Michael Milton, Scott Adams, Cameron Rahles-Rahbula, and Mark Drinnan. The medal haul was seven, consisting of six gold and one silver. Australia finished 8th overall in the gold and total medal count, making it the country's most successful Winter Games in terms of gold medals.
The opening ceremony of the 2018 Winter Olympics was held at the Pyeongchang Olympic Stadium in Pyeongchang, South Korea on 9 February 2018. It began at 20:00 KST and finished at approximately 22:20 KST. The Games were officially opened by President of the Republic of Korea Moon Jae-in.
The closing ceremony of the 2018 Winter Olympics was held on 25 February 2018 from 20:00 to 22:05 KST (UTC+9). The ceremony took place at Pyeongchang Olympic Stadium in Pyeongchang County, South Korea.
The closing ceremony of the 2002 Winter Olympics took place on an abstract shaped ice rink designed by Seven Nielsen at Rice–Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City, the United States, on 24 February 2002.
The opening ceremony of the 1998 Winter Olympics took place at Nagano Olympic Stadium, Nagano, Japan, on 7 February 1998. It began at 11:00 JST and finished at approximately 14:00 JST. As mandated by the Olympic Charter, the proceedings combined the formal and ceremonial opening of this international sporting event, including welcoming speeches, hoisting of the flags and the parade of athletes, with an artistic spectacle to showcase the host nation's culture and history. The Games were officially opened by Emperor of Japan Akihito.
The closing ceremony of the 1998 Winter Olympics took place at Nagano Olympic Stadium, Nagano, Japan, on 22 February 1998. It began at 18:00 JST and finished at approximately 19:41 JST. As mandated by the Olympic Charter, the proceedings combines the formal and ceremonial closing of this international sporting event, including farewell speeches and closing of the Games by IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch. The Olympic flame has been extinguished.
