It’s easy to experience “Olympic Withdrawal” after the heady days of the remarkable London Olympics 2012 Summer Games that have just finished. Viewing the televised events became an almost addictive habit for several billion fans around the globe.
Here’s a remedy – plan a timeshare rental vacation to previous Olympic cities. While there are many of them scattered around the world, several are within easy reach in the U.S. Here are two:
1. Salt Lake City, UT. The 2002 Winter Olympics, officially the XIX Olympic Winter Games, occurred in February in and around Salt Lake City (see top photo). The Utah state capital was chosen as the 2002 host city over Quebec City, Canada; Sion, Switzerland; and Östersund, Sweden.
These were the eighth Olympic Games to be hosted by the United States, and the first major event hosted in the U.S. following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Many who attended the games or who watched on television found a healing from that tragedy as 77 countries came together in the spirit of friendship.
The Opening Ceremonies included the flag that flew at Ground Zero, NYPD office Daniel Rodriguez singing “God Bless America,” and the participation of honor guards consisting of NYPD and FDNY members.
Today you can check out the Utah Olympic Oval on the western side of the city where the speed skating events took place. Most of the venues, however, were in and around Park City ski resorts. Deer Valley Resort and Canyons Resorts hosted many of the ski and snowboarding events. You can still spend a day at the former but still active Olympic ski jump site and the bobsled track, even in the summer.
Park City today is also host to the Sundance Film Festival, one of the United States’ largest independent film events, held annually typically during the 3rd week in January.
Check out Park City timeshare rentals that start as low as $61/night.
2. Los Angeles, CA. The 1984 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIII Olympiad, was the second time Los Angeles had hosted the Olympics, the previous time occurring in 1932. Tehran, Iran, was the only other city vying for the XXII Games, but withdrew its bid due to the country’s internal political and social upheaval.
It was to the 1984 Games that the People’s Republic of China returned to the summer Olympics for the first time since Helsinki in 1952, winning 15 gold medals.
And it was for the Los Angeles Games that John Williams composed the music “Olympic Fanfare,” which has since become one of the most well-known and recognizable musical themes of the Olympic Games.
The Los Angeles 1984 Summer Olympics are often considered the most financially successful modern Olympics, due to the plan to strictly control expenses by using existing facilities, except building a swim stadium and a velodrome that were paid for by corporate sponsors.
Today the Olympic Swim Stadium remains in use on the University of Southern California’s campus both for recreation and for competition. Other venues used for the 1984 Games which are still enjoyed by sports fans include Pasadena’s Rose Bowl, and the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum (see photo), a large outdoor sports stadium that is home to the University of Southern California’s Trojans football team.
Southern California timeshare rentals are plentiful, and start as low as $89/night.
Photo Credit (SLC): heidikins.com
Photo Credit (LA): blog.shaycam.com