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The 2002 Olympic Winter Games bid scandal was a
scandal A scandal can be broadly defined as the strong social reactions of outrage, anger, or surprise, when accusations or rumours circulate or appear for some reason, regarding a person or persons who are perceived to have transgressed in some way. Th ...
involving allegations of bribery used to win the rights to host the
2002 Winter Olympics The 2002 Winter Olympics, officially the XIX Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Salt Lake 2002 ( arp, Niico'ooowu' 2002; Gosiute Shoshoni: ''Tit'-so-pi 2002''; nv, Sooléí 2002; Shoshoni: ''Soónkahni 2002''), was an internation ...
in
Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...
, Utah, United States. Prior to its successful bid in 1995, the city had attempted four times to secure the games, failing each time. In 1998, members of the
International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swiss ...
(IOC) were accused of taking gifts from the Salt Lake Organizing Committee (SLOC) during the bidding process. The allegations resulted in the expulsion of several IOC members, and the adoption of new IOC rules. Although nothing strictly illegal had been done, it was felt that the acceptance of the gifts was morally dubious. Soon four independent investigations were underway: by the IOC, the
United States Olympic Committee The United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) is the National Olympic Committee and the National Paralympic Committee for the United States. It was founded in 1895 as the United States Olympic Committee, and is headquartered in Col ...
(USOC), the SLOC, and the
United States Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United State ...
. Both Tom Welch and David Johnson resigned their posts as the head of the SLOC. Many others soon followed. The Department of Justice filed fifteen charges of bribery and fraud. Investigations were also launched into prior bidding process by other cities, finding that members of the IOC received gifts during the bidding process for both the
1998 Winter Olympics The 1998 Winter Olympics, officially known as the and commonly known as Nagano 1998 ( ja, 長野1998), was a winter multi-sport event held from 7 to 22 February 1998, mainly in Nagano, Japan, with some events taking place in the ...
and
2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 ...
.


Winning bid

Ogden-born lawyer Tom Welch and a Utah Economic Development Professional, David Johnson, were in charge of the Salt Lake Bid Committee. From 1986 through 1995, they worked on supporting Salt Lake City's bid in Europe, Latin America, and Africa, meeting with the IOC Members and International Sport organizations. Despite their efforts, the 1998 Games went to
Nagano Nagano may refer to: Places * Nagano Prefecture, a prefecture in Japan ** Nagano (city), the capital city of the same prefecture *** Nagano 1998, the 1998 Winter Olympics *** Nagano Olympic Stadium, a baseball stadium in Nagano *** Nagano Universi ...
, Japan, in a 46-to-42 vote. Many felt the reason was that the US had recently been awarded the
1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...
in
Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
, Georgia. Others, including Welch, believed it was because Nagano had better wined and dined the officials. A Salt Lake Olympic Bid Committee member complained about competing with the Japanese bid committee for the 1998 Olympic Winter Games: "We were giving out saltwater taffy and cowboy hats, and they were giving out computers. IOC members who came to inspect Nagano were put up in ritzy hot spring resorts, where they washed down expensive sushi with sake poured by kimono-clad
geisha {{Culture of Japan, Traditions, Geisha {{nihongo, Geisha, 芸者 ({{IPAc-en, ˈ, ɡ, eɪ, ʃ, ə; {{IPA-ja, ɡeːɕa, lang), also known as {{nihongo, , 芸子, geiko (in Kyoto and Kanazawa) or {{nihongo, , 芸妓, geigi, are a class of female ...
. They went home laden with souvenir gifts and expensive paintings." The Nagano Olympic bid committee had spent approximately $14 million on entertaining the 62 IOC Members and many of their companions. The precise figures are not known since Nagano destroyed the financial records after the IOC asked that the entertainment expenditures not be made public. The Melbourne bid committee for the 1996 Summer Olympics discovered the ''
quid pro quo Quid pro quo ('what for what' in Latin) is a Latin phrase used in English to mean an exchange of goods or services, in which one transfer is contingent upon the other; "a favor for a favor". Phrases with similar meanings include: "give and take", ...
'' expectations of IOC delegates when they received requests from six African IOC delegates for new cars and sexual favors from local
brothel A brothel, bordello, ranch, or whorehouse is a place where people engage in sexual activity with prostitutes. However, for legal or cultural reasons, establishments often describe themselves as massage parlors, bars, strip clubs, body rub par ...
s. The requests were denied and the 1996 Summer Olympics went to Atlanta. More than $16 million was spent on Utah's Olympic bidding. The high costs related to bringing IOC Members to Salt Lake City to see the venues proposed for the Games. This was a priority for the Bid Committee and more than 70 of the 100 Members of the IOC personally visited the city at the Bid Committee's expense. Community Leaders were fully behind the bid. Opportunities were created by
Spencer Eccles Spencer Fox Eccles (born August 24, 1934, Ogden, Utah) is a prominent financier and philanthropist in Salt Lake City, Utah and chairman emeritus of the Intermountain Region of Wells Fargo Corporation. From 1982 to 2000, he was chairman an ...
, Salt Lake Olympic Bid Committee Executive Board Member, for IOC family members to be employed at
First Security Corporation First Security Corporation was a multistate bank holding company in the western United States, primarily in Utah, Idaho, New Mexico, Oregon, Nevada, and Wyoming. Headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, First Security merged with Wells Fargo in 2000 ...
Bank. Jim Jardine, Legal Advisor to the Bid Committee, assisted the relatives of IOC Members in gaining admission to the
University of Utah The University of Utah (U of U, UofU, or simply The U) is a public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is the flagship institution of the Utah System of Higher Education. The university was established in 1850 as the University of De ...
, and
Intermountain Health Care Intermountain Health (formerly Intermountain Healthcare) is a not-for-profit healthcare system and is the largest healthcare provider in the Intermountain West of the United States. Intermountain Healthcare provides ambulatory and acute health s ...
made medical facilities and treatment available to IOC Members during their visits.
Jon Huntsman Jon Huntsman may refer to: * Jon Huntsman Sr. (1937–2018), corporate executive and philanthropist (father of Jon Huntsman Jr.) * Jon Huntsman Jr. (born 1960), U.S. politician and the former U.S. ambassador to Russia, China and Singapore * John A. ...
, a committee leader, hosted
Juan Antonio Samaranch Juan Antonio Samaranch y Torelló, 1st Marquess of Samaranch (Catalan: ''Joan Antoni Samaranch i Torelló'', ; 17 July 1920 – 21 April 2010) was a Spanish sports administrator under the Franco regime (1973–1977) who served as the seventh Pre ...
at his lavish
Park City Park City may refer to: a city in Utah. Places * National Park City, London, England, UK; see parks and open spaces in London in the United States * Park City, Illinois * Park City, Kansas * Park City, Kentucky * Park City, Montana * Park City, ...
home and together with Tom Welch presented President Samaranch with a commemorative
Browning Pistol Browning Arms Company (originally John Moses and Matthew Sandefur Browning Company) is an American marketer of firearms and fishing gear. The company was founded in Ogden, Utah, in 1878 by brothers John Moses Browning (1855–1926) and M ...
. In June 1995, 50,000 people gathered outside the
Salt Lake City Mayor's office The Salt Lake City and County Building, usually called the "City-County Building", is the seat of government for Salt Lake City, Utah. The historic landmark formerly housed offices for Salt Lake County government as well, hence the name. History ...
to receive the result of the final announcement.


Scandal

Access to budget documents was routinely denied, Salt Lake City reporters say. In April 1998, the board attempted to safeguard its aura of secrecy by amending its bylaws to stipulate that any member providing the press with confidential information could be dismissed. Frank Joklik was president of the Salt Lake Organizing Committee. The scandal broke on 24 November 1998, when a report came out showing a letter directed to a child of an IOC member indicating the SLOC was paying the child's tuition.
Swiss Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina *Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses *Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports *Swiss Internation ...
IOC member
Marc Hodler Marc Hodler ( – ) was a Swiss lawyer, President of the International Ski Federation (1951–1998), member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) from 1963 until his death, and bridge player. Hodler is best known for having exposed the Oly ...
, head of the coordination committee overseeing the organization of the 2002 games, made the accusation that a group of members of the IOC had taken bribes since the start of the bidding process in 1990 for the 1996 Olympic games. Soon, four independent investigations were underway, by the IOC, the USOC, the SLOC, and the
United States Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United State ...
. Before any of the investigations could even get under way, both Welch and Johnson resigned their posts as the head of the SLOC. Many others soon followed, including Joklik in January 1999. The Department of Justice filed charges against the two: fifteen charges of bribery and fraud. Johnson and Welch were eventually acquitted of all criminal charges in December 2003. As part of the investigation, the IOC recommended expelling six IOC members, while continuing the investigation on several others. The six members were Agustin Arroyo of
Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ''Eku ...
, Zein El Abdin Ahmed Abdel Gadir of
Sudan Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...
, Jean-Claude Ganga of the
Republic of Congo The Republic of the Congo (french: République du Congo, ln, Republíki ya Kongó), also known as Congo-Brazzaville, the Congo Republic or simply either Congo or the Congo, is a country located in the western coast of Central Africa to the w ...
, Lamine Keita of
Mali Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, Renndaandi Maali, italics=no, ar, جمهورية مالي, Jumhūriyyāt Mālī is a landlocked country in West Africa. Mali ...
, Charles Mukora of
Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...
, Sergio Santander Fantini of
Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
, and David Sikhulumi Sibandze of
Swaziland Eswatini ( ; ss, eSwatini ), officially the Kingdom of Eswatini and formerly named Swaziland ( ; officially renamed in 2018), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. It is bordered by Mozambique to its northeast and South Africa to its no ...
, though Sibandze resigned during the investigation. Each person was accused of receiving money from the SLOC, either in direct payments, land purchase agreements, tuition assistance, political campaign donations or charitable donations for a local cause. Ten members of the IOC were expelled and another ten were sanctioned. This was the first expulsion or sanction for corruption in the more than a century the IOC had existed. Although nothing strictly illegal had been done, it was felt that the acceptance of the gifts was morally dubious. Stricter rules were adopted for future bids, and ceilings were put into place as to how much IOC members could accept from bid cities. Additionally, new term and age limits were put into place for IOC membership, and fifteen former Olympic athletes were added to the committee. In 2006, a report ordered by the Nagano region's governor said the Japanese city provided millions of dollars in an "illegitimate and excessive level of hospitality" to IOC members, including US$4.4 million spent on entertainment alone.


Aftermath

Bain Capital Bain Capital is an American private investment firm based in Boston. It specializes in private equity, venture capital, credit, public equity, impact investing, life sciences, and real estate. Bain Capital invests across a range of industry se ...
founder and CEO
Mitt Romney Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American politician, businessman, and lawyer serving as the junior United States senator from Utah since January 2019, succeeding Orrin Hatch. He served as the 70th governor of Massachusetts f ...
(who eventually went on to become
Governor of Massachusetts The governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is the chief executive officer of the government of Massachusetts. The governor is the head of the state cabinet and the commander-in-chief of the commonwealth's military forces. Massachusetts ...
and
United States Senator The United States Senate is the Upper house, upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives being the Lower house, lower chamber. Together they compose the national Bica ...
from
Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...
) was brought in to head the SLOC. Romney aided in reorganizing the committee, helped to begin fixing the budget, which at the time was US$379 million short, and renewed sponsor enthusiasm. The federal funding accounted for infrastructure improvements only.


Bid history


References


Notations

*Benson, Lee, (2001). ''Lee Benson's Inside Guide to the Games 2002 Salt Lake City'', Provo, Utah: CP Grafix, Deseret Publishing Company. *Benson, Lee; Easton-Black, Susan, (2000). ''Salt Lake 2002: an Official Book of the Olympic Winter Games'', Shadow Mountain Press. *Jennings, Andrew, (2000). ''The Great Olympic Swindle: When the World Wanted Its Games Back'', Simon & Schuster.
KSL.com report on the total profits of the game


External links


BBC timeline of Olympic bid scandal
{{DEFAULTSORT:2002 Winter Olympic Bid Scandal Bid scandal Olympic Games controversies History of Utah
Scandal A scandal can be broadly defined as the strong social reactions of outrage, anger, or surprise, when accusations or rumours circulate or appear for some reason, regarding a person or persons who are perceived to have transgressed in some way. Th ...
1998 in Utah 1998 in sports in Utah