SALT LAKE CITY, Feb. 7 (UPI) -- The Salt Lake City Olympics, created in controversy and organized in the wake of national tragedy, will begin Friday with a ceremony laden in tradition and one that promises to tug on the emotions of participants and observers alike.
The Olympic flame, nearing the end of a two-month, five-day journey across the United States, arrived in the Olympic city Thursday night to await its transfer to the cauldron that will remain ignited throughout the life of the Games.
And all around the Wasatch Mountains, athletes were preparing for their hoped-for moment in the spotlight.
Without exception, however, the activities in and around the 10 Olympic venues were being carried out amidst extraordinary security. More than 15,000 people representing 30 governmental agencies and backed by the latest in technological advancements were devoted to making the Games safe.
The security arrangements were put to the test Thursday when authorities exploded what they said was a suspicious package found in a parking garage only a few blocks from the Olympic media center. Police said the package was not a bomb, but that it might have been left as a hoax.
"There were fuses and wires," said police spokesman Craig Gleason. "It was a bag full of stuff. It has been stated to me that it had no ability to be any kind of explosive device, whatsoever.
"What we don't know if it was left as a fake device to see how we would react to these things."
The Olympics will actually get underway at 9 a.m. local time Friday when the first ski jumper glides down the 90-meter hill near Park City to begin the qualifying process for Sunday's final.
Germany's Sven Hannawald and Poland's Adam Malysz are expected to battle for the gold medal, one of 78 that will be awarded before the Games come to an end Feb. 24.
Friday's feature attraction, however, will be the opening ceremonies, which will begin just as the sun is setting. Those ceremonies, to be attended by President Bush and watched on television around the globe, will include the traditional march of athletes and the lighting of the Olympic flame by someone whose identity will be kept a well-guarded secret until the actual event.
But this ceremony will include a unique moment to connect the 2002 Olympics with the events that altered the course of history Sept. 11.
The flag saved from the World Trade Center rubble three days after the terrorist attacks, a tattered piece of cloth that has become a symbol of the nation's recovery efforts, will be carried into Rice-Eccles Stadium by a group of American Olympians.
"Every sport involved with the Olympics will touch the flag," United States Olympic Committee spokesman Mike Moran said prior to the announcing of the athletes involved.
Those athletes, named Thursday by the USOC, will be Kristina Sabasteanski (biathlon), Lea Ann Parsley (skeleton), Stacy Liapas (curling), Todd Eldredge (figure skating), Angela Ruggiero (hockey), Mark Grimmette (luge), Chris Klug (snowboarding) and Derek Parra (speedskater).
The flag had been scheduled to be raised next to the Olympic flag as the Star-Spangled Banner was played during the ceremonies. Officials announced Thursday, however, that the flag was simply too delicate to risk such exposure.
Instead, the flag will be displayed by the eighth athletes and then a separate flag will be raised.
IOC officials at first refused to allow the flag to be carried into the stadium, but relented after a wave of local protest.
Jacques Rogge, who will oversee his first Olympics as president of the IOC, said Thursday the appearance of the flag would actually have a, "special significance."
"This will send a strong signal that people can come together from different countries, different cultures, different religions," Rogge said during his pre-Olympic news conference. "It's a strong signal the world has been waiting for."
Yet another American flag will be carried in front of the United States delegation as it marches during the ceremony and that flag will be borne by Amy Peterson, a three-time Olympic medal winner in the sport of short-track skating. Peterson, who suffers from chronic fatigue syndrome but has still become one of the best in her sport, was chosen by her fellow Olympians in a secret ballot.
"It's an honor to carry the flag in a situation like this," said Peterson, 30. "And after Sept. 11, it is an even greater honor. I am sure that it will be one of the most emotional experiences of my life."
A proposal had been made that a lone representative from Afghanistan should be allowed to march in the ceremony, but the IOC rejected the suggestion.
"It would be useless to start investing in sport in a country where security is not totally assured," Rogge said, noting Afghanistan has never sent an athlete to the Winter Olympics. "We only want athletes to participate when they are well-trained and well-prepared."
Temperatures were near 20 degrees Wednesday night when a dress rehearsal for the cermony was held.
The chilled conditions were a concern for organiziers, who issued a plea to those unfamiliar with the affects the cold can produce.
"Please, please come prepared for the cold," said Mark Burk, director of the stadium where the ceremonies will be held. "People cannot imagine how cold it is here when the sun goes down and they're sitting for hours. They have got to dress like they're out snowmobiling."
Salt Lake Organizing Committee President Mitt Romney was more specific.
"If you've spent $885 on tickets and you're wearing tennis shoes, you're in deep trouble," he said. "I doubt anyone will say they wore too much clothing for the opening ceremonies."
Friday's ceremony will mark the culmination of a six-year effort that has had a marked impact on the international Olympic community.
On Nov. 24, 1998, a Salt Lake City television reporter broke a story based on an anonymous letter he had received. The letter stated that the Salt Lake Organizing Commtitee had informed an IOC member from Cameroon that his daughter would no longer receive college tuition money as promised.
That letter led to an investigation that showed various IOC members had received benefits for selling their votes in the Olympic bidding process. Four IOC members resigned and six more were expelled.
All charges against local organizers have dropped, although the Justice Department is attempting to reinstitute some of them.
The first full day of competition will come Saturday with the awarding of four gold medals --- two in cross-country skiing, one in freestyle skiing and one in speed skating. In addition, the pairs figure skating event will begin, the ski jumping portion of the nordic combined will be held and the first four hockey games will be played, starting with a matchup of Belarus and Ukraine.
