GWCCA plans 20th anniversary celebrations of 1996 Olympic Games

ATLANTA – (July 27, 2015) In anticipation of next year’s large public celebration of the 20th anniversary of Atlanta’s Olympic Games, the Georgia World Congress Center Authority (GWCCA) announces that this year, on September 18, Centennial Olympic Park will host a small reunion of the proud Atlantans who represented the city in its final Olympic bid presentation in Tokyo on September 18, 1990. A larger public celebration of the 20th anniversary of the Games will take place in the park in July 2016.

Organized by President and Chief Executive Officer of the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games (ACOG) Billy Payne and former Atlanta Mayor Andrew Young, the Sept. 18 event celebrates the 25th anniversary of the historic moment in 1990 when Atlanta’s Dreamers and Believers were awarded the Games of the XXVI Olympiad by the International Olympic Committee, defeating Athens, Greece; Toronto, Canada; Melbourne, Australia; Belgrade, Serbia (then-Yugoslavia) and Manchester, England.

Payne said, “The upcoming September event will bring back some truly wonderful memories which echo in our hearts to this day. And we will relive those extraordinary moments that led to the famous headline, ‘It’s Atlanta!’ which is forever etched in our minds.  Even more important will be next year’s public celebration of the Games themselves which involved so many proud Georgians.”

Elevating Atlanta to international status and recognition, the 1996 Summer Olympics kicked off July 19, 1996 and the 20-year festivities in July 2016 will celebrate the Games, stakeholders, volunteers, staff, venues and the events’ lasting legacy – 21-acre Centennial Olympic Park.  Young stated, “This was Atlanta at its best.  The easy part was getting the votes but it took tens of thousands of Georgia’s citizens to get the job done.”

“We are thrilled to host these events,” said Frank Poe, executive director of the GWCCA, which owns and operates the park. “We’re proud to have played a role as a host of Olympic events as well as keeping the flame lit for Centennial Olympic Park, which changed the face of downtown Atlanta forever.”
Media Contact
Jennifer LeMaster
Director of Communications
Georgia World Congress Center Authority 404.223.8697 (office)
770.361.4986 (mobile)
[email protected]