‘NSYNC, Creed, Dave Matthews Band, Marc Anthony and Foo Fighters are among the artists scheduled to perform during a series of 16 nightly concerts at the Olympic Winter Games in February.
The Hallmark Olympic Celebration Series will also feature Stone Temple Pilots, Sheryl Crow, Barenaked Ladies, Smash Mouth and Train, the Salt Lake Organizing Committee for the Olympic Winter Games of 2002 (SLOC) announced Tuesday (December 18).
The concerts will be held at Olympic Medals Plaza in Salt Lake City, Utah, where the games will be held. With an estimated capacity of 20,000, the plaza will host the largest medal celebrations in Olympic history, the SLOC said.
Aside from the rock and pop artists mentioned above, the Hallmark Olympic Celebration Series will also include country favorites Martina McBride and Brooks & Dunn and Motown legends the Temptations. Headlining artists for four of the nights and opening acts for all of the dates will be announced in January, according to the SLOC.
Olympic Medals Plaza will be open nightly from 5:30 to 11:00 p.m. and admission is free, though tickets are required to attend. Ticket information will be announced at a later date.
NBC, who will broadcast the Olympic events, will televise one song from each musical performance as part of the network’s coverage.
Dave Matthews Band will kick off the series on February 9, and the Temptations will wrap it up on February 25. The Olympic Medals Plaza concerts are separate from the extravagant opening and closing ceremonies, which will feature ‘NSYNC, Christina Aguilera and Bon Jovi. Grammy Award-winning producer David Foster (“The Bodyguard” soundtrack), film composer Michael Kamen (“Die Hard,” “Lethal Weapon”) and songwriter Robbie Robertson (The Band) will compose the music for the ceremonies.
In other Olympics music news, Neil Diamond and Melissa Etheridge recently recorded a new version of “America,” Diamond’s hit from his 1980 movie, “The Jazz Singer,” to serve as theme music for NBC’s promotion of the Winter Olympics.
Meanwhile, soul legend Aretha Franklin has recorded a new song called “Carry the Flame” which is the official song for the carrying of the Olympic Torch.
Academy Award-winning composer John Williams (“Star Wars,” “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone”) is composing the official theme of the Salt Lake City 2002 Olympic Winter Games.
The Hallmark Olympic Celebration Series Schedule, According To The SLOC (Additional Headliners To Be Announced):
- 2/9 – Dave Matthews Band
- 2/11 – Foo Fighters
- 2/13 – Barenaked Ladies
- 2/14 – Sheryl Crow
- 2/15 – Smash Mouth
- 2/16 – Brooks & Dunn
- 2/17 – Train
- 2/19 – Creed
- 2/20 – Marc Anthony
- 2/23 – ‘NSYNC
- 2/24 – Martina McBride
- 2/25 – The Temptations
