Romney Returns for Salt Lake City Olympics Anniversary

(ATR) With his leadership of the 2002 Olympics becoming an issue in the U.S. presidential campaign, Mitt Romney returns to Utah for the 10th anniversary of the Games. .

The former president of the Salt Lake Organizing Committee spoke at a reunion for staff, declaring "the 2002 Olympics show the power of unity".

The comment was as political as it got in his rambling 10 minute speech to about 600 ex-SLOC staffers. Department by department, he called out the contributions made by teams such as transportation, security, ceremonies, volunteers, then making a joke about not mentioning legal and accounting. It was as if Romney had dialed back the calendar and was delivering one of his pre-Games pep talks to SLOC staff gathered en masse in the atrium of the headquarters.

He did not address the Olympics issue now being raised by his rivals for the Republican presidential nomination. As Romney regularly takes credit on the campaign for his work as president of the 2002 Games, he is now being criticized, primarily by Rick Santorum, for seeking federal money to help pay for security, transport and other needs. Romney opponents charge thathe is a hypocrite for seeking that money – upwards of $400 million – while now attacking congressional earmarks like these as budget-busting.

But while Romney did not respond to this new line of attack, Fraser Bullock, COO for SLOC and a Romney loyalist,said the blast is off-base.

"It’s the unfortunate arena of politics that they take something that was so successful and particularly in the wake of 9-11, and turn it into something for political gain, that’s crazy. We should recognize that the Olympic Movement is special to the world.

"Mitt did a great job of rescuing the Games, along with his team and he’s the first one to recognize what everybody else did. I think to throw rocks at it is way out of line," said Bullock.

Romney received a standing ovation from a crowd of 5,000 on hand Saturday night when he was introduced by Kristi Yamaguchi at the Stars on Ice tribute to Salt Lake City.

Held at the downtown arena used for figure skating in the 2002 Games, now prosaically known as the Energy Solutions Arena, the two hour cavalcade of figure skaters opened with 2002 gold medalist Sarah Hughes.

Romney kept away from politics in his short remarks (in neither speech did he mention his presidential ambitions), but he spoke with the demeanor of a politician, heaping praise to Utahns for the way they welcomed the world in 2002.

"The stories of the character and the heart of the people of Utah continue to fill my heart," he said. Then he proceeded to rattle off anecdotes of individuals who had made extraordinary contributions to the 2002 Olympics, such as the Eccles family and the $8 million they helped raise to construct the Olympic caldron.

And speaking of millions, the Romney presidential campaign raised at least $1 million Friday night at a Salt Lake City fund raiser attended by more than a thousand donors.

Weather Shines for 10th Anniversary

Thousands turned out for the public celebration of the anniversary at the Olympic Plaza in The Gateway, a retail development that opened with the Games ten years ago. While snow and cold weather are forecast for Sunday, the sun shone brightly Saturday for the activities held in the plaza.

"For me it’s pure joy," Fraser Bullock tells Around the Rings. Bullock was one of the organizers for the anniversary.

"The Olympic Movement just brings people together. I see my old friends and volunteers and athletes. It brings back so many wonderful vivid memories," he said.

The celebration included exhibits from the Utah Olympic Park that gave youngsters the chance to try out their moves for freestyle skiing and speedskating or hop aboard a bobsleigh.

Other exhibits were part of the U.S. Olympic Committee travelling "Road to London" show. Hands on demonstrations among a range of sports included table tennis, field hockey, and wheelchair basketball.

The celebrations for the 10th anniversary began Feb. 8, the date of opening ceremony, with a brief relighting of the Olympic caldron. Commemorations have also been held in Park City, sire of most of the ski events and at the Olympic Oval in suburban Kearns.

The success of the Salt Lake City Olympics, which once were saddled with the vote-buying scandal involving IOC members, has prompted the formation of an exploratory committee to determine whether to launch a new bid for the Winter Games. The committee is due to make a recommendation in three months.

Bullock, a member of the group, says he thinks there’s a strong likelihood that the committee will give the go-ahead to proceed. He says public support would be behind a bid.

"If you asked people before the Games, the view of the community was probably 55 percent positive. Now it’s 110 percent positive," gushed Bullock.

Written and reported in Salt Lake City by Ed Hula.

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