Interest in the 2002 Winter Games is at record levels with less than three months to go before the opening ceremonies, Olympic sponsors meeting in Salt Lake City were told Tuesday.
"The interest in the Olympic Games is higher than it's ever been," Michael Payne, the IOC's marketing director, told an audience of several hundred people gathered at the Salt Palace for a two-day sponsor workshop.
Payne cited a nearly 20 percent increase in the number of television viewers worldwide who plan to tune into the Salt Lake Games over a similar survey taken by the International Olympic Committee before the 2000 Summer Games in Sydney, Australia.
Nearly 4 billion people worldwide watched television coverage of the Sydney Games. The latest survey polled viewers in 10 countries, including the United States, Australia and Great Britain as well as countries in Europe and Asia.
"Today, the Games are probably stronger than they have ever been," Payne said. "The Games will and must go on," he said, echoing comments made in a taped presentation by IOC President Jacques Rogge shown earlier in the opening session of the workshop.
Rogge told the representatives of companies that have spent million of dollars to sponsor the Olympics that the IOC has "full confidence" in the Salt Lake Organizing Committee's security plans.
Olympic officials have been offering such assurances since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks against the United States. A special session on security at the sponsor workshop was planned for later Tuesday.
The presentation was expected to promise sponsors everything from tactical responses to trouble and air support at Olympic venues to enhanced protection in other areas of the city, including control over disorderly crowds and demonstrators.
Sponsors were to be told during the security briefing that they should understand the risks facing their particular companies and consider implementing background checks and monitoring access to hospitality areas.
SLOC also is holding bimonthly meetings for the corporate security officials who'll be overseeing the safety of their company's leaders at the Games as well as the employees and customers invited to attend.
Salt Lake Mayor Rocky Anderson mentioned security, too, Tuesday. But most of the mayor's presentation to the group was about the fun they'll have in Salt Lake City. The city, he said, is very different than they probably expect, with a vibrant nightlife and real diversity.
The audience saw some of that nightlife in a new film by longtime Olympic filmmaker Bud Greenspan. The film, which also featured a recounting of Utah's history as well as some of its scenic wonders, was produced to be shown aboard Delta Air Lines flights.
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