Autoworld.com - David Lee -  Coca-Cola and Chevrolet will be the presenting sponsors of the Olympic Torch Relay for the Salt Lake 2002 Games.

The most extensive and far-reaching in Olympic Winter Games history, the 2002 Torch Relay will give more Americans in more communities than ever a chance to experience the Olympic spirit first-hand.

"The support of Coca-Cola and Chevrolet will allow the Torch Relay to potentially visit more than 80 cities, cover nearly 14,000 miles, and reach a population base of 137 million people over a two-month period," said Mitt Romney, President and CEO of the Salt Lake Organizing Committee for the Olympic Winter Games of 2002 (SLOC).

Joining Romney for the announcement here today at the Gallivan Center in downtown Salt Lake City were Mac Whisner, Chevrolet truck advertising, sales and promotion director, and Sandy Douglas, senior vice president, general manager, Coca-Cola North America, Operations Division. An eight-foot ice sculpture of a torch was unveiled to commemorate the sponsorship agreement on the eve of the two-year anniversary to the Opening Ceremony.

"The Olympic flame serves as one of the most visible symbols and provides a direct, personal connection for the American public to the 2002 Games," said Romney. "We are very thankful for the involvement of Coca-Cola and Chevrolet which allows for people across the country to experience, as participants or spectators, this historic event in their community. We could not present an Olympic Torch Relay of this scope and magnitude without the support of Coca-Cola and Chevrolet."

A new Olympic flame is traditionally ignited from the sun's rays for each Games at a ceremony in Olympia, Greece. The flame will subsequently travel coast-to-coast in the United States, beginning in November or December 2001, engaging more than 11,000 torchbearers, and culminate in the lighting of the Olympic cauldron in Salt Lake City on Feb. 8, 2002.

"The Olympic spirit is unique and unites people from all over the world, and nothing symbolizes that spirit better than the Olympic flame," said Douglas. "Coca-Cola is proud to bring people all across America that magical moment when the flame passes through their towns."

Get A Quick Quote Here

"The 2002 Olympic Torch Relay represents a unique opportunity to convey the true spirit of the Olympic Games to many communities around the United States," Whisner said. "Chevrolet is proud to be a member of the team that will make this experience possible for millions of Americans. Through our 4,300 Chevrolet dealerships, we're in America's hometowns everyday and this is a special way to share the Olympic spirit with them. Chevrolet's spirit is reflected in its reputation for trust, dependability and durability - all things the Olympic Torch Relay represents."

The Olympic Movement's longest-standing corporate partner, the association between Coca-Cola and the Olympic Games began in 1928 and has included every Olympics since. In 1996, Coca-Cola and the International Olympic Committee signed an unprecedented sponsorship agreement extending this partnership through 2008 and continuing the Company's support of athletes and teams in nearly 200 countries around the world. Coca-Cola was associated with the Torch Relay in 1992 (Spain) and 1994 (Norway) and was presenting sponsor in both 1996 (United States) and 1998 (Japan).

Chevrolet Motor Division has a long history of supporting the spirit of the Olympic Games through partnerships with many sport national governing bodies, including the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association, U.S. Figure Skating Association, U.S. Soccer Federation, National Off-Road Bike Association, USA Hockey and USA Triathlon. Chevrolet is the largest division of General Motors, which is the exclusive domestic automotive sponsor of the U.S. Olympic Team through 2008. Headquartered in Detroit, Mich., Chevrolet fulfills the transportation needs of more than 36 million Americans daily - more than any other manufacturer - and offers the broadest lineup of cars, trucks and vans in the industry.

With Coca-Cola and Chevrolet serving as the presenting sponsors of the 2002 Olympic Torch Relay, SLOC will next seek the involvement of an estimated 10 providers to supply the Torch Relay with value-in-kind products in different service categories. Further milestones in the development of the Olympic Torch Relay will be the future announcements of the route and city celebrations, torch design, torchbearer selection process, relay theme, and design elements that will be displayed on the vehicles, uniforms and banners.

The projected Olympic Torch Relay for the Salt Lake 2002 Games exceeds the previous largest Olympic Winter Games effort in Nagano, Japan. The 1998 relay entailed three routes through Japan that visited 46 prefectures with 7,000 runners. A day prior to Opening Ceremonies, a ceremony united the flame of the three torches before Japanese Olympian Midori Ito ignited the cauldron.

The Torch Relay began with the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin. Conceived by Dr. Carl Diem of Germany, the modern Torch Relay was inspired by ancient Greek drawings and the writings of Plutarch. Diem created the first Relay that lasted 12 days and passed through seven countries from Olympia to Berlin. On July 20, 1936, a young Greek, Konstantin Kondylis, became the first runner in the history of the Olympic Torch Relay.

An Olympic Torch Relay has previously been conducted four times in the United States. Past Olympic Torch Relays in the United States include:

• 1960 Squaw Valley Games: The Olympic flame was lit in the hut of the Norwegian pioneer of skiing, Sondre Norheim, in Morgedal, transported across the Atlantic Ocean, and taken across the state of California by the Torch Relay.
• 1980 Lake Placid Games: The Flame was lit in Olympia, flown over the Atlantic Ocean to Langley Air Force Base in Virginia. It was carried by the Torch Relay from Jamestown, Va., the first English settlement in America, to Lake Placid via places of historical interest along the "American Revolution Bicentennial Trail" and larger cities such as Washington, D.C., Baltimore, Philadelphia and New York.
• 1984 Los Angeles Games: After the Flame's arrival in New York from Greece, an 84-day Torch Relay passed through 33 states (including Utah) and Washington, D.C., with 3,636 runners before Olympian Rafer Johnson ignited the fire that ran through the Olympic rings to the cauldron at the Los Angeles Coliseum.
• 1996 Atlanta Games: The Centennial Games featured the largest Olympic Torch Relay in history with its 84-day trek from Los Angeles to Atlanta that covered 15,000 miles and 43 states (including Utah). About 12,500 torchbearers were involved as the Relay route brought the Olympic flame within a two-hour distance of 90 percent of the U.S. population. A variety of transportation modes were used, including cable cars, ferries, Pony Express riders, canoes, steamboats and bicycles.

Back To Today's Automotive News