Salt Lake City and the Olympic Bribery Scandal

On June 16, 1995 the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced the selection of Salt Lake City, Utah as the site for the 2002 Olympic Winter Games. On November 23, 1998 the media made known to the public the possibility of a scandal involving the Salt Lake Organizing Committee (SLOC) and the IOC. The allegations against the SLOC included a scholarship and international assistance program that awarded scholarships totaling $400,000 to thirteen students who were relatives of IOC members. The SLOC allegedly was also trying to influence votes by providing free plastic surgery, health care, shopping sprees, ski weekends, first-class air travel, luxury accommodations, fur coats, and other expensive gifts to IOC members and their families. Some of the gifts included $10,000 worth of guns and rifles made by Browning, a Utah-based firearms maker. It was reported that a shotgun and rifle were sent to the IOC president just one month before Salt Lake City was awarded the 2002 bid. The shipment had been made at the request of the SLOC. The total value of the gifts exceeded more than $1 million. As a result of this alleged scandal one of the main sponsors, US West, delayed $5 million

· IOC and SLOC needed to regain sponsorship confidence by signing a contact by which Salt Lake would be responsible for any sponsorship deficits.

· Federal spending will amount to around $1.4 billion on projects related to the 2002 Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City. The General Accounting Office believes about $1.1 billion of the sum will be for transportation projects such as highways and a commuter railway, $272 million solely for the planning or operation of the Utah Olympics, including about $200 million by the FBI and other agencies for safety and security. Federal spending on the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta totaled about $605 million, including safety and security expenditures of about $92 million. In addition to Federal costs, there are state and local costs to taxpayers that have not been calculated. The Games may or may not make money, most recent Olympics have lost money and left taxpayers with the bill, whether or not a particular Games make money or not depends on the city's committee, and according to the corruption and mismanagement of the Salt Lake City planners so far I wouldn't advise investing in the their Games. Sources: CNN, AP, Nando Times, Salt Lake Tribune, December 1999

· Emphasize, implement, and enforce ethical behavior to cities campaigning to host the Olympics. The primary reasons Salt Lake OC took the steps it did was because they new that if they wanted to be host, there were unwritten expectations. In order to compete with other nations, they had to play the same rules. By establishing, enforcing and emphasizing the stringent level of rules and regulations for the IOC, all stakeholders know the rules and have an equal playing field in submitting bids.

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