ATLANTA — On Friday, Atlanta celebrated the 25th anniversary of the announcement the city would host the Olympic Games.
That announcement changed Atlanta’s future, and immediately propelled our city onto the world stage.
It all began with one man's idea that grew into an army of volunteers, civic leaders and sponsors.
Hundreds of volunteers behind the winning effort reunited in Centennial Olympic Park Friday night.
The man who led Atlanta’s Olympic bid all those years ago, Billy Payne, says he has plans for the park.
Payne says as much as he remembers the thrill of winning, he remembers the absolute exhaustion of a three-year campaign.
“When the announcement was made, I was thinking just get it over with. Just say anything so I can go home and go to bed,” Payne told Channel 2’s Tom Regan. “When he said Atlanta, it was quite remarkable and a great celebration."
But how did Atlanta, a long shot at best, come from behind to beat out Athens and a host of other cities? Payne described it as a blend of Southern hospitality and historical achievement.
“We were known as the city of Civil War and civil rights,” Payne said. “Clearly the diversity of our community set an example to the rest of the world.”
Payne says Centennial Olympic Park is the greatest physical legacy of the games, and will be even greater going forward.
Long-time Channel 2 Action News anchor Monica Pearson hosted the evening event called Dreamers and Believers, where they broke new ground announcing a new public space that will be built in the park to honor key individuals to the bid's success.
Among them was the chairman of WSBTV's parent company Cox Enterprises, Jim Kennedy.
"Jim Kennedy became the very first person to lend credibility to our efforts," Payne said.
The area will also include a column with the names of the Atlanta Nine, nine Atlantans who believed a Southern city could win the top prize in international sports.
"There was something about this city that was discovered by everyone who came here that most of us didn't know," said former Atlanta Mayor Andrew Young.
“Atlanta has always been a great city. What the Olympics did, (it) just put a cherry on top of the whipped cream, proclaiming to everyone what a great city we live in,” he said.
Payne says Ambassador Andrew Young and Mayor Maynard Jackson were essential partners in getting the Olympics to Atlanta.
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