NBC eyes LDS choir for 2002 opening

NBC wants the billions of television viewers expected to tune into the opening ceremonies of the 2002 Winter Games to see a performance by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.

"There's no question they should be part of the opening ceremonies," David Neal, head of Olympics production for NBC, said Tuesday during a visit to Salt Lake City.The network will broadcast the next five Olympics to American viewers, including the 2002 Games.

But the Salt Lake Organizing Committee isn't ready to make that decision yet.

"We're receiving input from a wide range of sources. Clearly there are some fabulous cultural treasures in Utah that we will seriously consider for the opening ceremonies," Mitt Romney said Wednesday.

The Mormon Tabernacle Choir's on that list. So are the Utah Symphony and other performers. Romney said he'll be the one making the decision what to show the world several months from now, and he's still gathering suggestions.

The network that spent a record $545 million for the rights to broadcast the Salt Lake Games is just one of the sources he's tapping. "NBC doesn't have a vote. They have a voice," Romney said.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is open to the idea.

"The choir's participation in the Olympic opening ceremonies has been mentioned only informally in discussions with SLOC. We have received no formal invitation. But of course we would seriously consider any request for the choir's participation," said church spokesman Dale Bills.

Neal said the LDS Church's choir should be in the opening ceremonies because it "is a very visible symbol. It's a world-class cultural icon. The Mormon Tabernacle Choir is world famous and rightly so."

He was surprised when he heard the choir perform recently at the church's new Assembly Hall in downtown Salt Lake City. "I knew they were going to be good, but when I heard them for the first time -- wow!"

The world should have had a chance to hear the choir sing at Salt Lake City's Olympic debut, a brief presentation during the closing ceremonies of the 1998 Winter Games in Nagano, Japan, Neal said.

Those ceremonies instead featured modern dancers, a stagecoach and a giant blow-up replica of Delicate Arch. Just what SLOC is thinking of doing in 2002 is a closely guarded secret.