Romney: Olympics Must Go Forward

SALT LAKE CITY — Despite U.S. military action in Afghanistan and fears of bioterrorism at home, the Winter Olympics will go on as planned in February, Salt Lake Organizing Committee President Mitt Romney said Thursday.

“The Olympics have to go forward. I don’t believe there’s any second-best alternative,” he said. “Every party involved is committed to going forward with the Games.

”... There’s no good Plan B. There’s nothing that says, ‘Come back a year from now. Forget about going professional, Michelle Kwan, and NHL, forget about those three weeks you took out of your season.’

“Those athletes have sacrificed so much. There’s no good contingency worth considering.”

Romney said the Games’ security plan, as supplemented by the Secret Service following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, will cost the federal government as much as $240 million. It will involve the FBI, Federal Emergency Management Agency and Secret Service, as well as officers from the Forestry and Fish and Wildlife agencies.

Many planned outdoor concerts and celebrations have been canceled or moved inside security perimeters.Airspace over Salt Lake City will be tightly restricted during events.

Romney advised spectators to arrive at venues an hour before events and to leave backpacks, cans, bottles and jars at home.