Organizing a party for the entire world isn't easy. Especially when you have to do it 16 times.
There are dancers and acrobats to consider, 24 lantern-bearing children to advise, two fireworks shows to oversee and big-name talent to keep happy and warm.
Oh, and don't forget about the athletes, the reason the Olympic Medals Plaza exists.
Luckily, planners have plenty of experience under their belts (Super Bowl halftime shows, Broadway musicals and Radio City Music Hall's Christmas Spectacular) ? and a high threshold for stress.
"This is a Super Bowl every night for 16 nights," said Coy North, Medals Plaza lead production stage manager.
Each night of the 2002 Winter Games, organizers work to give 20,000 people ? and millions of others watching on television ? the "Olympic experience."
Performers were brought in from all over the country, such as the New York troupe, ANTIGRAVITY. Eight aerialists lower themselves on silk sheets from the 70-foot Hoberman Arch, joining 12 dancers, many from Utah, already on stage.
Two dozen Utah children, ages 6 to 14, also take part in the ceremonies. They perform in the opening act and escort athletes and dignitaries on and off stage.
Performers and organizers ? in addition to the spectators ?appear to be enjoying themselves.
"We're having a good time, and I think it's spilling over," executive producer Gail Seay said.
Director John MacInnis agreed. "People are dying to come back. It's turned out to be the hot place to be."
Which was the idea from the beginning, Seay said. The plan was to make the Medals Plaza the "heart of the Games."
"What we set out to do is to put a show together on all levels, from the ceremonies to the concerts, that we would be proud of," Seay said.
Despite the plaza's apparent popularity, the medals programs have taken some criticism. NBC announcer Bob Costas made fun of the opening sequence, saying it took too long to get to medalists. Others have suggested the headline acts upstage the athletes.
Seay will only describe Costas' remarks as "unfortunate," adding he wasn't properly briefed on what was going to happen.
As for the argument that the concerts take the focus off athletes, she said, "I don't really find that at all. The whole idea is to celebrate the athletes, and I think we've gotten that across. What better way to continue the celebration than with music?"
Even the celebrities appear in awe of the Olympians. Celebrity emcee and "Saturday Night Live" star Tracy Morgan was as excited as any fan when he ran into Canadian pairs figure skating medalists Jamie Sale and David Pelletier backstage. Despite extensive planning, the nightly celebrations haven't been without glitches.
On the first night, the American flag was stuck atop one of the poles. Since the lowering of the flags is the children's cue to escort the athletes off the podium, the ladies' moguls champions remained longer than was planned.
After a verbal warning from MacInnis to "Get them off the stage!" the children urged the next round of athletes off stage quickly, tugging on the jackets of the still-waving medalists, prompting an admonition to "Give them more time!"
Then there was the Norwegian tie for the silver medal in men's cross country pursuit event on Thursday. In all the imagined scenarios to handle a tie, the two medalists being from the same country was not one of them.
Organizers decided finally to put two Norwegian flags on the pole reserved for silver medalists and none on the bronze pole and then announce the silver medalists in alphabetical order.
And venue host Steve Young, of San Francisco 49ers football fame, initially insisted on coming on stage before he was supposed to. Young ignored lead stage manager North's repeated pleas to wait, until she told him he would be off-sides if he continued to jump his cue.
Thanks to the handy football reference, North said, "He finally got it."
E-mail: awelling@desnews.com