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Athens, Torino, Beijing call Salt Lake good place for Games
By Seth Lewis
Deseret News staff writer
They like everything. The sparkling city, the smiling people, even the wand-waving military detail.
In Utah to tour venues and shadow the Salt Lake Organizing Committee, leaders for future Olympic Games in Athens, Greece; Torino, Italy; and Beijing, China; can't pour enough praise on the 2002 Winter Games.
"It's a good place for the Games," said Chuan He, communications director for the Beijing Organizing Committee (BOCOG).
True, they have their quibbles.
Valentino Castellani, president of the Torino Organizing Committee (TOROC), chuckles at some of Salt Lake's "apparently stupid things," such as spectator buses needlessly idling for hours.
"That would be unacceptable in our country," he said.
Beijing officials question the public-transportation infrastructure — "We only see TRAX," He said — and all three groups say they'll have better transportation than Salt Lake.
But for the most part, foreign observers are impressed with Salt Lake and will leave with a list of things to replicate at their Games.
TOROC is paying particularly close attention. As the next host of the Winter Olympics, Torino faces a situation similar to Salt Lake's: Most hockey and skating events will be in the host city, and a Park City-like town, Sestiere, will act as the alpine-skiing hub.
"We are paralleling all the functions of SLOC," said Castellani, whose group brought 80 observers to Salt Lake.
Before Castellani flew in last month, he had heard the foreboding rumors about a Salt Lake police state.
"When we left Italy, we were given an apocalyptic scenario," he said.
Now, he's pleased with the security-with-a-smile treatment. It's a feat he'd like to repeat in Torino, if the Italian police can be that friendly, he said.
"It's secure but also relaxed," Castellani said. "This is one of the main successes of the Games."
Athens officials, who plan to host the Summer Games in two years, aren't taking as many notes here as they did in Sydney, since the Summer Olympics are four times larger than the winter version.
Still, "we've learned some very good lessons here," said Spyros Capralos, executive director of the Athens Organizing Committee (ATHOC).
"The Games were very well organized, and it has been tremendously helpful to all of us to have been here."
Athens officials have been criticized by the International Olympic Committee for hotel shortages and stalled construction on venues and transportation, possibly putting the Games in peril.
But ATHOC insists the IOC's worries are overblown and that the Greek government — with its decision to ease regulation on hotel construction — has paved the way to solve the hotel deficiency.
"Athens is back on track," Capralos said, "and at the end we're going to deliver a very good Games."
Like Athens, the Beijing Summer Games, with plans for massive government spending and construction of a 12-square-mile Olympic district, will have little in common with Salt Lake's smaller Games.
Still, Beijing officials picked up some tips from Utah.
"It's the first time we've had the Olympics in China," He said. "We have the enthusiasm, but our experience is short. We've learned a lot from SLOC."
E-mail: slewis@desnews.com
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February 21, 2002
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