Don't Miss Costas Calling the Plays of the '96 Olympics...Again

ATLANTA, GA - He's been the voice of the Olympic Games for 18 years and now Bob Costas will return to Atlanta to emcee the 10th Anniversary Celebration of the Centennial Olympic Games! Don't miss all the excitement as Olympians Janet Evans and Carl Lewis join Costas to celebrate the thousands of volunteers who made the games happen. Dick Ebersol, Chairman of NBC Universal Sports & Olympics, will also be in attendance at the July 15th celebration in Centennial Olympic Park featuring a special performance by Trisha Yearwood.

The evening of celebration will begin at 6 pm when Olympic volunteers from around the state will gather to reunite, reminisce and relive the magic! Local bands will kick off the entertainment at 7 pm, followed by a video tribute to the 1996 Olympic Games and special appearances by Evans, Lewis and Yearwood. The night will culminate in a special fireworks display at 10 pm. The 10th Aniiversary Celebration of the Centennial Olympic Games is a FREE, Rain or Shine event.

Bob Costas began his career covering Major League Baseball for NBC in the 1980s. His role as Olympic broadcaster began during the 1988 games in Seoul, and he has won Emmys for his coverage of every Olympic Games since. Costas has been named "Sportscaster of the Year" by the National Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association a record eight times. His book Fair Ball: A Fan's Case for Baseball, released in 2000, made the New York Times Best Seller list.

Dick Ebersol was named chairman of NBC Universal Sports & Olympics in May 2005. He has served as executive producer of the Olympics for NBC since the 1992 Games in Barcelona. Ebersol has spent more than 30 years in television, including a 4-year stint in the 80s where he served as executive producer of NBC's Saturday Night Live. In 1989 he took on the task of revamping NBC Sports and oversaw the acquisition of the 1994, '96 and '98 Super Bowls and the 1996 Olympic Games for NBC.

The 1996 Olympics had a lasting impact on the city of Atlanta and confirmed the city's status as an international destination. The 10th Anniversary Celebration of the Centennial Olympics is an opportunity to give thanks to those who volunteered during the Centennial Olympics. The volunteers that worked so hard will have the opportunity to come together ten years later and relive the emotion of the Centennial Olympic Games. Guaranteed to be a very moving event, the 10th Anniversary of the Centennial Olympics is one celebration you won't want to miss.

Major contributors came together to make this event possible and ensure the event would be suitable for such an important occasion. The contributors included: Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Bank of America, Delta Air Lines, Southern Co. Charitable Foundation, Inc., Anheuser-Busch, UPS, Coca-Cola, The Home Depot, BellSouth, IBM, Hyatt Regency Atlanta, Collegiate Licensing Co., WXIA-TV, GE Power Systems and two anonymous donors.

For the most up-to-date information, visit www.wxiatv.com/olympiccelebration.

A lasting legacy of the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, Centennial Olympic Park has become a performing-arts venue, community gathering-space and an anchor for downtown development. The Georgia World Congress Center Authority operates the 21-acre Park, as well as the Georgia Dome and Georgia World Congress Center. The three state-owned facilities are one of the largest combined sports, entertainment and convention center facilities in the world.