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CNN Live At Daybreak

Olympics Set to Get Underway Today

Aired February 08, 2002 - 06:35   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO: We are all counting down to the start of the Olympics in Salt Lake City. It is the first Winter Olympics on U.S. soil or in some cases ice, in more than 22 years.

CNN's Sean Callebs is live in the Olympic City to wet our appetite. What, it's 3:30 in the morning there Sean?

SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, something like that. Carol, you ...

COSTELLO: Have you had your coffee?

CALLEBS: I have had plenty of caffeine, believe me, I'm ready -- I'm ready. I've been waiting for this for a long time. You'd love it out here Carol. It is absolutely beautiful, and think about it, for athletes, as well as the organizers, years of planning and training will be put to the test here in Salt Lake over the next 17 days.

In a matter of hours, it all begins with the opening ceremonies here. And for people in Utah, as well as those all across the nation, it is a chance to show that the nation is galvanized, and a chance to cheer for the red, white and blue.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

Fireworks light up the sky of the Salt Lake, the last big celebration before the opening of the games.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Salt Lake, already I could see that the people here have just been wonderful, and everybody's just super friendly, and it's going to be great.

CALLEBS: Much of the last-minute attention focused on this tattered, rectangular fabric of red, white and blue. After much discussion, the flag, found in the rubble of the World Trade Center, will be carried during opening ceremonies by a group of athletes including snowboarder Chris Klug, who is competing only months after receiving a liver transplant.

It's expected 80,000 fans a day will squeeze into Salt Lake and nearby bedroom communities like Park City to watch the games. They'll be protected by some 11,000 security troops: National Guard forces, FBI, ATF, even F-16 fighter jets are on standby. Utah residents are amazed by the unprecedented show of security. CARL THOMPSON, UTAH RESIDENT: I think security is about as good as it can be.

SHIRLEY THOMPSON, UTAH RESIDENT: I've always felt safe here -- always.

CALLEBS: The people of Utah believe it's their time to shine. Still, in a state where three out of four people don't drink, smoke, or take caffeine, they are getting tired of the "can we buy a drink" question.

MAYOR ROCKY ANDERSON, SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH: Yes, I've been asked by journalists for months now the same questions -- what about your liquor laws? It's like, you know, there's so much more going on in this community.

CALLEBS: And there are 1,300 venues at the games to purchase a beer or a drink.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

And as always, the gold is going to be gold, but make no mistake about it, these games will have the distinct look of red, white and blue, and if all the experts are correct, U.S. athletes have their best chance ever to walk away with a wealth of medals.

Live in Salt Lake, I'm Sean Callebs. Carol, back to you.

COSTELLO: So Sean, where did you get your caffeine?

CALLEBS: We brought our own Diet Coke in across the border. We slipped through under customs. Everything's fine out here.

COSTELLO: OK. Hey, let's talk a little bit about the wind because there is a -- that's why they're not flying the flag from the World Trade Center because it's so windy out there, and I can hear it through your microphone. Tell us about it.

CALLEBS: Yes, it really has -- it's actually kicked up in the past hour and a half or so here, really today, or I should say right now, it isn't as cold as it has been, really not as bone chilling and the best guess is the cloud cover is very low right now, keeping that heat close to the ground, but it is expected to get quite nippy. As always, though, the wind could be a big concern for many of the athletes -- you think about the ski jump and some of the snowboarding events. So all fingers are crossed, but right now everything looks beautiful, a lot of snow in the mountains. It should be a great setup for the games.

COSTELLO: Tell us about tickets too. Are there still tickets available and how much do they cost?

CALLEBS: Still tickets available. From what I understand legally, they're apparently twice the face value they can be sold for. But as you probably heard, a lot of brokers bought as many tickets as they could early on in these games, and then after 9/11, the concerns about travel and tourism and a lot of brokers were apparently stuck with tickets.

Now as late as yesterday afternoon, there really weren't a lot of people here so far, but that really picked up yesterday evening. We saw a ton of people in and around the Salt Lake area, Park City looks just picturesque, and we expect a lot of people on hand today for the opening ceremonies, but think about it, with 11,000 security forces, 80,000 people a day at the venues, that's almost one federal officer or one law enforcement officer for every eight people going to the venues.

COSTELLO: That would make people feel comfortable. Thank you. Sean Callebs reporting live for us from Salt Lake City. Lucky guy.

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