Centennial Olympic Park, created as a public gathering spot for the 1996 Summer Olympics, will be the site of a 20th anniversary celebration of the Atlanta Games on July 16.
Billy Payne, who came up with the idea to bid on the ‘96 Centennial Games and then spent a decade making them a reality, shared that news before an event at Piedmont Park on Thursday.
“It’s to honor the (Olympics) volunteers, but it’s open to everybody,” said Payne, who was president and CEO of the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games (ACOG). “There’ll be a couple of surprises. A few athletes are going to be there.”
Might one of them be Muhammad Ali?
"No comment," Payne said politely before heading toward the dais at the Piedmont Park Conservancy's 20th annual Legacy Lunch.
Payne was featured in a "conversation" with George Hirthler, a fellow Atlantan who helped write the winning bid to host the Centennial Games. Asked for his one, most standout moment from his Olympics decade, Payne actually cited two: When Atlanta was named the host ("The see-tee of At-lan-ta," Payne recalled International Olympic Committee president Juan Antonio Samaranch's now-iconic announcement); and Ali lighting the Olympic caldron during the Opening Ceremony on July 19, 1996
That stunning scene where Ali — the 1960 Olympic boxing gold medalist who was already visibly suffering from the effects of Parkinson's disease — emerged silhoutted against the night sky in the brand new Olympic Stadium is considered one of the greatest moments in sports history.
“The whole process of selecting him, bringing him here to rehearse, covering him with a blanket so no one would recognize him … ” Payne recalled. “That was my most personal moment.”
The Olympic Stadium became the Braves stadium after the Games ended, and the famous caldron was moved a short distance away to the intersection of Fulton Street and Hank Aaron Drive. But the Braves are headed to Cobb after this season. The area's likely to undergo major change, so the AJC asked Payne how he thought the Olympics should be remembered there.
“It’s hard to find a better Olympic memorial than the caldron,” Payne said, adding that he hadn’t yet thought about whether it should stay where it is or be moved elsewhere, perhaps to Centennial Olympic Park. “I suspect at some point when someone is ready to do something, they’ll be kind enough to ask for my input.”
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