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More flags, banners will fly at Games
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- The all-important "look" of the 2002 Winter Olympics will improve after the International Olympic Committee granted financial concessions to organizers Tuesday. More banners and flags will fly at Olympic venues, and Salt Lake buildings will sport giant building wraps. Mitt Romney, speaking from Lausanne, Switzerland, said he clarified terms of shared royalties on corporate sponsorships that will leave more money to dress up next February's Winter Games. The IOC's executive board also agreed to contribute more than $1 million for a doping lab that will test athletes for performance drugs. The IOC had vetoed Romney's plan to use a California doping lab, insisting the testing be done in Salt Lake City despite higher costs. The IOC will pay the difference, Romney said, and also will cover the cost of establishing some new testing protocols. With that and the royalty savings, Romney said he decided the Salt Lake Organizing Committee can afford to restore budget cuts and improve the look of the games that will cost more than dlrs 1.3 billion. The look is a major concern of IOC executives, who want decorations to capture the eye of spectators and every camera angle. "We're optimistic that the Games will look very good in Salt Lake City," IOC Director-General Francois Carrard said. Carrard said the IOC expected Romney to deliver on the visual improvements.
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