Misplaced Pages

#191808

139-582: The 1996 Paralympic Games in Atlanta , Georgia , United States , were held from August 16 to 25. It was the first Paralympics to get mass media sponsorship, and had a budget of USD $ 81 million. It was the first Paralympic Games where International Sports Federation for Persons with an Intellectual Disability athletes were given full medal status. In an interview with the Atlanta-based Reporters and Newspapers website, Andrew Flaming,

278-488: A GreenGlobe certificate. The award was given for the towns high quality public transport connectivity and integration as well as its total use of renewable electricity. The Tarentaise Valley is the biggest concentration of world-class ski resorts in the world. The well-known neighbour systems are Paradiski ( Les Arcs and La Plagne ) and Les Trois Vallées ( Courchevel , Meribel , Val Thorens and more). There were once plans to interlink all systems and resorts to create

417-616: A Jewish-American factory superintendent, was convicted of the murder of a 13-year-old girl in a highly publicized trial. He was sentenced to death but the governor commuted his sentence to life. An enraged and organized lynch mob took him from jail in 1915 and hanged him in Marietta . The Jewish community in Atlanta and across the country were horrified. On May 21, 1917, the Great Atlanta Fire destroyed 1,938 buildings in what

556-804: A National Paralympic Committee). The number of silver medals is taken into consideration next and then the number of bronze medals.    Host country (United States) A total of 104 National Paralympic Committees were represented at the 1996 Games, and the combined total of athletes was about 3,260.Countries who made their first appearances in the Atlanta Games were : Afghanistan , Angola , Armenia , Azerbaijan , Bermuda , Bosnia and Herzegovina , Former Yugoslavian Republic of Macedonia , Honduras , Kyrgyzstan , Libya , Mauritius , Moldova , Qatar , Saudi Arabia , Sierra Leone , Ukraine and Zambia . Atlanta Atlanta ( / æ t ˈ l æ n t ə / at- LAN -tə )

695-769: A base of a high altitude valley with the Grande Motte at the furthest point and an array of other peaks wrapping around the valley. The other end is open, and drops away to the Lac du Chevril. This geography is described as having the feeling of being in a large open stadium, and Tignards (locals) often refer to the area as the "Stade Naturel", or Natural Stadium in English. Tignes comprises 5 Villages; Tignes Val Claret , Tignes le Lac, Le Lavachet, Tignes Les Boisses and Tignes-les-Brévières . The first three are close together at 2100 m with Les Boisses and Les Brevieres further down

834-447: A blacksmith shop, a grocery store, and nothing else". A year later, the area around the milepost had developed into a settlement, first known as Terminus , and later Thrasherville , after a local merchant who built homes and a general store in the area. By 1842, the town had six buildings and 30 residents and was renamed Marthasville to honor Governor Wilson Lumpkin's daughter Martha. Later, John Edgar Thomson , Chief Engineer of

973-568: A chair at the organizing committee". Upon realizing she and all of the Paralympic Organizing Committee were being ambushed, Alana Shepherd abruptly broken unilaterally all previously signed contracts, taking the personal risk on this issue and through a press conference and released a list she dubbed the "Sinful Six", as their name were handwritten by her on a piece of paper. This nicknames was given, because along with McDonald's another five Olympic Sponsors did not signed

1112-614: A city of the " New South " that would be based upon a modern economy and less reliant on agriculture. By 1885, the founding of the Georgia School of Technology (now the Georgia Institute of Technology ) and the Atlanta University Center , a consortium of historically Black colleges made up of units for men and women, had established Atlanta as a center for higher education. In 1895, Atlanta hosted

1251-514: A contract to the Paralympics and blocked eventual negotiations with their direct competitors. On this list were this names: Anheuser-Busch , Visa , Bausch and Lomb , John Hancock Financial and Sara Lee . "I keep the list in my wallet," Shepherd told a reporter at the time. In recent interviews, Shepherd declines to say much about this situation and the deal. "I'm taking the high road now… I'm not digging it up," she said, but added, "They were

1390-492: A decreasing portion of the population, from a high of 67% in 1990 to 54% in 2010. From 2000 to 2010, Atlanta gained 22,763 white residents, 5,142 Asian residents, and 3,095 Hispanic residents, while the city's Black population decreased by 31,678. Much of the city's demographic change during the decade was driven by young, college-educated professionals: from 2000 to 2009, the three-mile radius surrounding Downtown Atlanta gained 9,722 residents aged 25 to 34 and holding at least

1529-587: A four-year degree, an increase of 61%. This was similar to the tendency in other cities for young, college educated, single or married couples to live in downtown areas. Between the mid-1990s and 2010, stimulated by funding from the HOPE VI program and under leadership of CEO Renee Lewis Glover (1994–2013), the Atlanta Housing Authority demolished nearly all of its public housing, a total of 17,000 units and about 10% of all housing units in

SECTION 10

#1732783409192

1668-586: A lack of funds to rent commercial space. After sending final documents and proposals to Belgium in late 1990 and making informal agreements the following year, the Shepherd Center Committee spent 1.5 years developing their proposal, which was officially presented during the 1992 Winter Paralympics in Tignes , France . Shortly after the IPC announced that Atlanta's civil society proposal to host

1807-690: A major role in Atlanta's economy, as the city claims the nation's third-largest concentration of Fortune 500 companies (tied for third with Chicago ). It also hosts the global headquarters of several corporations such as The Coca-Cola Company , The Home Depot , Delta Air Lines , Arby's , AT&T Mobility , Georgia-Pacific , Chick-fil-A , Church's Chicken , Dunkin Donuts , Norfolk Southern Railway , Mercedes-Benz USA , NAPA Auto Parts , Papa Johns , Porsche AG , Newell Brands , Rollins, Inc. , Marble Slab Creamery , and UPS . Over 75% of Fortune 1000 companies conduct business operations in

1946-521: A manufacturing and technology hub. During the 1950s and 1960s, it became a major organizing center of the American civil rights movement , with Martin Luther King Jr. , Ralph Abernathy , and many other locals becoming prominent figures in the movement's leadership. In the modern era, Atlanta has remained a major center of transportation, with Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport becoming

2085-561: A parallel with the life story of each participating athlete and the last connection would be in a direct relation with the Paralympic flame, that this time was born from a spark of the eternal flame that burns at King Center . According to a survey carried out by the Atlanta History Center , there are few recorded materials about the development of this project. However, Copeland Design was also responsible for creating

2224-409: A postwar suburban layout. These include Collier Heights and Cascade Heights , historically home to much of the city's upper middle-class African-American population . Northwest Atlanta contains the areas of the city to west of Marietta Boulevard and to the north of Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, including those neighborhoods remote to downtown, such as Riverside, Bolton and Whittier Mill. The latter

2363-485: A ski resort at the higher lake (Le Lac). This was surrounded by a bowl that is ideal for skiing and is headed by the Grand Motte glacier. The resort was developed largely during the 1960s and the building style reflects what was regarded as good building design at that time. In recent years the town has worked to improve the look of the new villages with some success. The lifts of Tignes have been managed since 1967 by

2502-696: A strategic hub for the distribution of military supplies. In 1864, the Union Army moved southward following the capture of Chattanooga and began its invasion of north Georgia . The region surrounding Atlanta was the location of several major army battles, culminating with the Battle of Atlanta and a four-month-long siege of the city by the Union Army under the command of General William Tecumseh Sherman . On September 1, 1864, Confederate General John Bell Hood decided to retreat from Atlanta, and he ordered

2641-529: A string of football teams from the UK have used the location for pre-season training, including premier league team, Brighton & Hove Albion . However, Tignes still maintains its appeal as a ski resort by offering skiers the ability to ski on the Grande Motte glacier from the end of June to the beginning of August. Tignes has the second highest golf course in Europe. Designed by the golf architect Philippe Valant,

2780-531: A survey by the Williams Institute , Atlanta ranked third among major American cities, behind San Francisco and slightly behind Seattle , with 12.8% of the city's total population identifying as LGB. The Midtown and Cheshire Bridge areas have historically been the epicenters of LGBT culture in Atlanta. Atlanta formed a reputation for being a place inclusive to LGBT people after former mayor Ivan Allen Jr. dubbed it "the city too busy to hate" in

2919-470: A telegram to the state's Board of Regents requesting Georgia Tech not to engage in racially integrated events, Georgia Tech's president Blake R. Van Leer rejected the request and threatened to resign. The game went on as planned. In the 1960s, Atlanta became a major organizing center of the civil rights movement , with Martin Luther King Jr. , Ralph Abernathy , and students from Atlanta's historically Black colleges and universities playing major roles in

SECTION 20

#1732783409192

3058-473: A terminus east of the Chattahoochee River , which would be linked to Savannah. After engineers surveyed various possible locations for the terminus, the "zero milepost" was driven into the ground in what is now Foundry Street, Five Points . When asked in 1837 about the future of the little village, Stephen Harriman Long , the railroad's chief engineer said the place would be good "for one tavern,

3197-443: Is 21 miles (34 km) southeast of Marietta , 27 miles (43 km) southwest of Alpharetta , 146 miles (235 km) southwest of Greenville, South Carolina , 147 miles (237 km) east of Birmingham, Alabama , and 245 miles (394 km) southwest of Charlotte, North Carolina . Despite having lost significant tree canopy coverage between 1973 and 1999, Atlanta now has the densest urban tree coverage of any major city in

3336-618: Is a growing population of Mexican ancestry throughout the region, with notable concentrations along the Buford Highway and I-85 corridor, and now extending into Gwinnett County. In 2013, Metro Atlanta had the 19th largest Hispanic population in the United States. The Atlanta area also has a fast growing Asian American population. The largest groups of Asian origin are those of Indian, Vietnamese, Chinese, Korean, Filipino, Pakistani and Japanese descent. Pew Research Center ranks

3475-519: Is a special feature of the city as one of main logistics hubs in the world due their strategic location between the south and southeast of the United States. This prominence was enhanced when the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport has become one of the main airports in the world and led to the city's first period of rapid development. Another recurring idea was that this issue could serve as

3614-417: Is also based just outside of the city in suburban Cobb County . Tignes It is best known as a snow sure ski resort . Together with neighbouring Val d'Isère , it forms the Tignes – Val d'Isère ski area. The proximity of two resorts offers one of the most seamless links between ski areas in Europe, in effect creating a single skiable area of over 300 km piste. Whilst not the largest ski area in

3753-470: Is dominant. The eastside is marked by historic streetcar suburbs , built from the 1890s to the 1930s as havens for the upper middle class. These neighborhoods, many of which contain their own villages encircled by shaded, architecturally distinct residential streets, include the Victorian Inman Park , Bohemian East Atlanta , and eclectic Old Fourth Ward . On the westside and along

3892-561: Is metro Atlanta's largest employer. UPS , the world's largest courier company, operates an air cargo hub at Hartsfield-Jackson, and has their headquarters in neighboring Sandy Springs . Media is also an important aspect of Atlanta's economy. In the 1980s, media mogul Ted Turner founded the Cable News Network (CNN), Turner Network Television (TNT), HLN (HLN), Turner Classic Movies (TCM), The Cartoon Network, Inc. and its namesake television network , TruTV (truTV) and

4031-624: Is now the Old Fourth Ward , resulting in one fatality and the displacement of 10,000 people. On December 15, 1939, Atlanta hosted the premiere of Gone with the Wind , the epic film based on the best-selling novel by Atlanta's Margaret Mitchell . The gala event at Loew's Grand Theatre was attended by the film's legendary producer, David O. Selznick , and the film's stars Clark Gable , Vivien Leigh , and Olivia de Havilland , but Oscar winner Hattie McDaniel , an African-American actress,

4170-427: Is one of Atlanta's designated Landmark Historical Neighborhoods. Vine City, though technically Northwest, adjoins the city's Downtown area and has recently been the target of community outreach programs and economic development initiatives. Gentrification of the city's neighborhoods is one of the more controversial and transformative forces shaping contemporary Atlanta. The gentrification of Atlanta has its origins in

4309-474: Is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia . It is the seat of Fulton County , and a portion of the city extends into neighboring DeKalb County . With a population of 510,823 living within the city limits, Atlanta is the eighth most populous city in the Southeast and 37th most populous city in the United States according to the 2020 U.S. census . It is the principal city of

1996 Summer Paralympics - Misplaced Pages Continue

4448-676: Is water. The city is situated in the Deep South of the southeastern United States among the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains . At 1,050 feet (320 m) above mean sea level, Atlanta has the highest elevation among major cities east of the Mississippi River . Atlanta straddles the Eastern Continental Divide . Rainwater that falls on the south and east side of the divide flows into

4587-469: The 1996 Summer Olympics and five new venues were used at the Games in Atlanta. In the following calendar for the 1996 Summer Paralympics, each blue box represents an event competition. The yellow boxes represent days during which medal-awarding finals for a sport are held. The number in each yellow box represents the number of finals that are contested on that day. A total of 1574 medals were awarded during

4726-602: The American Civil War , it served a strategically important role for the Confederacy until it was captured in 1864. The city was almost entirely burned to the ground during General William T. Sherman 's March to the Sea . However, the city rebounded dramatically in the post-war period and quickly became a national industrial center and the unofficial capital of the " New South ". After World War II , it also became

4865-511: The BeltLine on the eastside , former warehouses and factories have been converted into housing, retail space, and art galleries, transforming the once-industrial areas such as West Midtown into model neighborhoods for smart growth , historic rehabilitation, and infill construction. In southwest Atlanta, neighborhoods closer to downtown originated as streetcar suburbs, including the historic West End , while those farther from downtown retain

5004-530: The Cotton States and International Exposition , which attracted nearly 800,000 attendees and successfully promoted the New South's development to the world. During the first decades of the 20th century, Atlanta enjoyed a period of unprecedented growth. In three decades' time, Atlanta's population tripled as the city limits expanded to include nearby streetcar suburbs. The city's skyline grew taller with

5143-781: The Equitable Building (1892–1971), Terminal Station (1905–1972), and the Carnegie Library (1902–1977). In the mid-1970s, the Fox Theatre , now a cultural icon of the city, would have met the same fate if not for a grassroots effort to save it. More recently, preservationists may have made some inroads. For example, in 2016 activists convinced the Atlanta City Council not to demolish the Atlanta-Fulton Central Library,

5282-601: The Four Seasons Hotel Atlanta (1992). Also completed during the era is the Portman-designed Bank of America Plaza built in 1992. At 1,023 feet (312 m), it is the tallest building in the city and the 14th-tallest in the United States. The city's embrace of modern architecture has often translated into an ambivalent approach toward historic preservation, leading to the destruction of many notable architectural landmarks. These include

5421-520: The Georgia Railroad , suggested the town be renamed Atlanta , supposedly a feminine version of the word "Atlantic", referring to the Western and Atlantic Railroad. The residents approved, and the town was incorporated as Atlanta on December 29, 1847. By 1860, Atlanta's population had grown to 9,554. During the American Civil War , the nexus of multiple railroads in Atlanta made the city

5560-665: The North to the Atlanta area. It has long been known as a center of African-American political power, education, entrepreneurship, and culture, often called a Black mecca . However, in the 1990s, Atlanta started to experience Black flight . African Americans have moved to the suburbs seeking a lower cost of living or better public schools. The African-American share of Atlanta's population has declined faster than that of any racial group. The city's share of Black residents shrank from 67% in 1990 to 47% in 2020. Blacks made up nine percent of new Atlanta residents between 2010 and 2020. At

5699-491: The Olympic Village . The first delegations to register expressed dissatisfaction with the condition of the accommodations, the availability of food, and especially the logistics between the village and the venues due to distance and accessibility challenges. These problems were not the first reported during the "transition period" from August 5 to 16. Several media outlets covering the games highlighted accusations that

1996 Summer Paralympics - Misplaced Pages Continue

5838-781: The Pew Research Center in 2014, but in recent decades the Roman Catholic Church has increased in numbers and influence because of new migrants to the region. Metro Atlanta also has numerous ethnic or national Christian congregations, including Korean and Indian churches. Per the Public Religion Research Institute in 2020, overall, 73% of the population identify with some tradition or denomination of Christianity ; despite continuing religious diversification, historically African-American Protestant churches continue prevalence in

5977-497: The Turner Broadcasting System (TBS) in the city. Around the same time, Cox Enterprises , now the nation's third-largest cable television service and the publisher of over a dozen American newspapers, moved its headquarters to the city. Notable sports networks headquartered in Atlanta include Warner Bros. Discovery Sports , NBA TV , Bally Sports South , and Bally Sports Southeast . The Weather Channel

6116-487: The densest urban tree coverage of any major city in the United States. Atlanta was originally founded as the terminus of a major state-sponsored railroad, but it soon became the convergence point among several railroads, spurring its rapid growth. The largest was the Western and Atlantic Railroad , from which the name "Atlanta" is derived, signifying the city's growing reputation as a major hub of transportation. During

6255-644: The world's busiest airport by passenger traffic in 1998 (a position it has held every year since, except for 2020), with an estimated 93.7 million passengers in 2022. With a nominal gross domestic product (GDP) of $ 473 billion in 2021, Atlanta has the 11th-largest economy among cities in the U.S. and the 22nd-largest in the world. Its economy is considered diverse, with dominant sectors in industries including transportation, aerospace, logistics, healthcare, news and media operations, film and television production, information technology, finance, and biomedical research and public policy. Atlanta established itself on

6394-767: The "Atlanta 1996 Olympic Summer Games" brand and they turned an uncooperative factor about the Paralympic Games. The USOC understood that any move by the United States Paralympic Committee (USPC) could affect the USOC brand and their stakeholders. The US Department of Justice was sued by the USOC over the Paralympic Games mascot, the phoenix Blaze. Fleming also said the deal was the trap worked perfectly and required them to approach only corporate sponsors who had already signed an Olympics sponsorship agreement. When one Olympic sponsor declined,

6533-480: The "city too busy to hate." Desegregation of the public sphere came in stages, with public transportation desegregated by 1959, the restaurant at Rich's department store by 1961, movie theaters by 1963, and public schools by 1973 (nearly 20 years after the US Supreme Court ruled that segregated public schools were unconstitutional). In 1960, Whites comprised 61.7% of the city's population. During

6672-414: The "light of inspiration" for the issue of basic rights for people with disabilities around the world in a parallel with what Martin Luther King Jr. did with the civil rights movement . Another association could be held with the city's nickname of "The Phoenix City" because the resilience of its population made it several times completely destroyed to be reborn by the effort and bravery of its population in

6811-400: The 1950s–70s, suburbanization and White flight from urban areas led to a significant demographic shift. By 1970, African Americans were the majority of the city's population and exercised their recently enforced voting rights and political influence by electing Atlanta's first Black mayor, Maynard Jackson , in 1973. Under Mayor Jackson's tenure, Atlanta's airport was modernized, strengthening

6950-586: The 1960s (referring to racial relations). Atlanta has consistently scored 100% on the Human Rights Campaign's Municipal Equality Index that measures how inclusive a city's laws, policies and services are for LGBT people who live or work there. Religion in Atlanta, while historically centered on Protestant Christianity , now encompasses many faiths, as a result of the city and metro area's increasingly international population. Some 63% of residents identified as some type of Protestant according to

7089-498: The 1970s, after many of Atlanta's neighborhoods had declined and suffered the urban decay that affected other major American cities in the mid-20th century. When neighborhood opposition successfully prevented two freeways from being built through the city's east side in 1975, the area became the starting point for Atlanta's gentrification . After Atlanta was awarded the Olympic games in 1990, gentrification expanded into other parts of

SECTION 50

#1732783409192

7228-553: The 4th longest funicular in the world. Ski trails in Tignes reach a height of 3456 m, aiding its reputation as one of the best resorts in the Alps for snow sureness. The resort has also become the home for Apex 2100, an international ski academy aiming to become the world's leading academy for young skiers. The academy is headed by former English rugby union player and coach, Sir Clive Woodward. There are 56 ski patrollers covering

7367-490: The Alps, the level of integration between the two resorts is so good that it is often described as feeling like one of the largest single ski areas as a result. Tignes was the freestyle skiing venue for the 1992 Winter Olympics , co-host city for the 1992 Winter Paralympics and host of the Winter X Games . This, coupled with the year round skiing, season length and large number of ski parks/slalom runs has cemented Tignes as

7506-587: The Atlanta area among the top 10 U.S. metropolitan areas by Indian population in 2019. Early immigrants in the Atlanta area were mostly Jews and Greeks . Since 2010, the Atlanta area has experienced notable immigration from India, China, South Korea, and Jamaica. Other notable source countries of immigrants are Vietnam, Eritrea, Nigeria, the Arabian gulf, Ukraine and Poland. Within a few decades, and in keeping with national trends, immigrants from England, Ireland, and German-speaking central Europe were no longer

7645-405: The Atlanta games: 517 gold, 516 silver, and 541 bronze. The host country, the United States, topped the medal count with more gold medals, more bronze medals, and more medals overall than any other nation. Germany took the most silver medals, with 58. In the table below, the ranking sorts by the number of gold medals earned by the top ten nations (in this context a nation is an entity represented by

7784-681: The Atlantic Ocean, while rainwater on the north and west side of the divide flows into the Gulf of Mexico . Atlanta developed on a ridge south of the Chattahoochee River , which is part of the ACF River Basin . The river borders the far northwestern edge of the city, and much of its natural habitat has been preserved, in part by the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area . Atlanta

7923-689: The Beltline has stimulated new and related development along its path. Under the Köppen classification , Atlanta has a humid subtropical climate ( Cfa ) with generous precipitation year-round, typical for the Upland South ; the city is situated in USDA Plant Hardiness Zone 8a, with the northern and western suburbs, as well as part of Midtown transitioning to 7b. Summers are hot and humid, with temperatures somewhat moderated by

8062-527: The CEO of the Organizing Committee (APOC) and a disability rights attorney, expressed gratitude for the efforts of Alana Shepherd. Shepherd founded the world-renowned Shepherd Center , one of the first hospitals dedicated to rehabilitating victims of cervical spine accidents. Until March 1992, it was uncertain whether the 1996 Summer Paralympics would be held in Atlanta, as the event was not part of

8201-670: The Civil War ended in 1865, Atlanta was gradually rebuilt during the Reconstruction era . The work attracted many new residents. Due to the city's superior rail transportation network, the state capital was moved from Milledgeville to Atlanta in 1868. In the 1880 Census, Atlanta had surpassed Savannah as Georgia's largest city. Beginning in the 1880s, Henry W. Grady , the editor of the Atlanta Constitution newspaper, promoted Atlanta to potential investors as

8340-647: The Games, Great Britain was considered "Plan B" by the newly formed International Paralympic Committee (IPC). Fleming also mentioned that the low-budget model used in the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles was repeated in Atlanta. In 1984, Los Angeles "forgot" the Paralympics , later dubbed "the last-minute games," which were hosted by New York City and Stoke Mandeville in Great Britain. Unlike Seoul , which signed late cooperation agreements for

8479-517: The International Association of Sports for People with Intellectual Disabilities (INAS-FMH), APOC initially ignored these concerns. The issue gained attention when journalists covering the games reported it, prompting APOC to announce through a press release that the oversight had been unintentional. The visual concept for this edition was called "The Ascending Flame" and was based at the logo called "StarFire" released in 1992 and

SECTION 60

#1732783409192

8618-532: The Olympic Games Organizing Committee was negligent regarding village services, raising concerns about numerous contractual failures between the two parties. This agreement included infrastructure issues, such as site maintenance and cleaning, until APOC could assume operational control. When athletes accessed their accommodations, they discovered missing furniture, and several electronic devices and sockets had been ripped out, turning

8757-624: The Olympic Games. The original contract only included some shared competition venues. Another embarrassing situation arose from how APOC managed athletes with intellectual disabilities, who were included in the Summer Paralympics for the first time. The decision to include them was made late, in 1995, and they were not mentioned in official publicity materials or during the opening ceremony and their early competitions. Despite repeated complaints from Bernard Athos, then president of

8896-566: The Paralympic Games, compared to 4% who knew about the Atlanta Youth Games. As time passed, this situation became public in 1991, causing internal tensions within the Olympic organization. To avoid further damage to their image, the Atlanta Olympic Organizing Committee discreetly donated money and assisted the Paralympic Games in certain areas. Following the situation, Alana Shepherd, co-founder of

9035-502: The Paralympics organizers could only request a competitor with the withdrawing company's permission. As main example, Fleming said that McDonald's refused to buy a sponsorship quota or act as a partner in a supplier area and the Paralympic catering services, and if any direct competing company wanted to buy it, APOC would have to ask permission for the withdrawing company to sign the contract. It "would not let them solicit Chick-fil-A , even though Dan Cathy , one of its main executives, had

9174-456: The Paralympics, Barcelona decided to organize both events under the same committee in 1987. This decision increased pressure on American organizers, as it was the first time in history that the two events were held together. In 1990, when Atlanta won the rights to host the 1996 Summer Olympics, a group led by Fleming and the Shepherd family matriarch worked hard to create and submit a bid for

9313-444: The Paralympics, a project that took a year and a half to complete. Fleming noted that Olympic organizers were skeptical about hosting the Paralympics half a week after the Olympics and did not want to commit to them. Consequently, achieving the planned budget of nearly $ 80 million was challenging, as the Paralympics lacked funding and media rights sales. Fleming recalled a market survey revealing that only 2% of city locals were aware of

9452-425: The Paralympics. "It was something they didn't understand would help the city become more accessible." Racing against time and all risks, Shepard raised the USD$ 81 million needed to hold the event. Without the involvement of any public authority, Atlanta successfully held the IX edition of the Summer Paralympic Games. But unlike what had happened four years earlier, not all Olympic Games competition venues were used and

9591-457: The Paralympics. Another race against time had started, and this one was seen as the worst, as the bidding committee had to get corporate and large sponsors. During the bidding campaign companies like Microsoft , Coca-Cola , CNN and Home Depot were originally committed to buy sponsorship shares, but when the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) executives learned of these promises, they were concerned about that all things that might impact on

9730-409: The Shepherd Center, led a campaign to ensure the 1996 Summer Paralympics were held in Atlanta. After the IPC accepted the bid, she launched an aggressive strategy to involve large companies as sponsors and increase the event's visibility. Press reports from the time described a drastic situation, with the Paralympic Organizing Committee starting its work in a small basement at the Shepherd Center due to

9869-447: The US). Atlanta's dialect has traditionally been a variation of Southern American English . The Chattahoochee River long formed a border between the Coastal Southern and Southern Appalachian dialects. Because of the development of corporate headquarters in the region, attracting migrants from other areas of the country, by 2003, Atlanta magazine concluded that Atlanta had become significantly "de-Southernized". A Southern accent

10008-481: The United Kingdom and Germany. Bosnian refugees settled in Atlanta. Vietnamese people, Cambodians, Ethiopians and Eritreans were the earliest refugees formally brought to the city. Of the total population five years and older, 83.3% spoke only English at home, while 8.8% spoke Spanish, 3.9% another Indo-European language, and 2.8% an Asian language. Among them, 7.3% of Atlantans were born abroad ( 86th in

10147-546: The United States and is often called "City of Trees" or "The City in a Forest". Most of Atlanta was burned in the final months of the American Civil War, depleting the city of a large stock of its historic architecture. Yet architecturally, the city had never been traditionally "southern": Atlanta originated as a railroad town rather than a southern seaport dominated by the planter class, such as Savannah or Charleston . Because of its later development, many of

10286-492: The ability to relocate to the suburbs. As a result, the city began to make up an ever-smaller proportion of the metropolitan area's population. African-American veterans returned from World War II seeking full rights in their country and began heightened activism. In exchange for support by that portion of the Black community that could vote, in 1948 the mayor ordered the hiring of the first eight African-American police officers in

10425-549: The area from 1802 to 1825. The Creek were forced to leave the area in 1821, under Indian Removal by the federal government, and European American settlers arrived the following year. In 1836, the Georgia General Assembly voted to build the Western and Atlantic Railroad in order to provide a link between the port of Savannah and the Midwest . The initial route was to run southward from Chattanooga to

10564-536: The arrival of European settlers in North Georgia , the indigenous Creek people and their ancestors inhabited the area. Standing Peachtree , a Creek village where Peachtree Creek flows into the Chattahoochee River , was the closest Native American settlement to what is now Atlanta. Through the early 19th century, European Americans systematically encroached on the Creek of northern Georgia, forcing them out of

10703-566: The avalanche risk in the resort was high. Tignes is well known for its year round amenities. In the summer Tignes shifts towards a multi activity resort with particular focus as an altitude training base for athletes. Many come to the resort to utilise the facilities it offers for altitude training with notable sports people such as the French national rugby union team making use of the facilities. France's national football team famously trained here prior to their 1998 World Cup win. More recently

10842-444: The cities interested in the 2002 Winter Olympics and the 2004 Summer Olympics . Occasionally, another American city Salt Lake City would be elected to host the 2002 Winter Olympics . In a different way that held in Atlanta, as they assumed the responsibility to host the 2002 Winter Paralympics if they won. While of the 11 cities applying for the 2004 Games, 6 had also chosen the joint management model. Five years later, and after

10981-433: The city approved the $ 2.8 billion BeltLine project. It was intended to convert a disused 22-mile freight railroad loop that surrounds the central city into an art-filled multi-use trail and light rail transit line, which would increase the city's park space by 40%. The project stimulated retail and residential development along the loop, but has been criticized for its adverse effects on some Black communities. In 2013,

11120-468: The city in the following decade. During the 2000s, the city of Atlanta underwent a profound physical, cultural , and demographic change. As some of the African-American middle and upper classes also began to move to the suburbs, a booming economy drew numerous new migrants from other cities in the United States, who contributed to changes in the city's demographics. African Americans made up

11259-402: The city's economy to this day. In 2021, major freight railroad Norfolk Southern moved their headquarters to Atlanta, and the city hosts major classification yards for Norfolk Southern and CSX . Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport is the world's busiest airport , and the headquarters of Delta Air Lines . Delta operates the world's largest airline hub at Hartsfield-Jackson and

11398-629: The city's elevation. Winters are overall mild but variable, occasionally susceptible to snowstorms even if in small quantities on several occasions, unlike the central and southern portions of the state. Warm air from the Gulf of Mexico can bring spring-like highs while strong Arctic air masses can push lows into the teens °F (−7 to −12 °C). July averages 80.9 °F (27.2 °C), with high temperatures reaching 90 °F (32 °C) on an average of 47 days per year, though 100 °F (38 °C) readings are not seen most years. January averages 44.8 °F (7.1 °C), with temperatures in

11537-615: The city's landmarks share architectural characteristics with buildings in the Northeast or Midwest, as they were designed at a time of shared national architectural styles. During the late 20th century, Atlanta embraced the global trend of modern architecture , especially for commercial and institutional structures. Examples include the State of Georgia Building built in 1966, and the Georgia-Pacific Tower in 1982. Many of

11676-409: The city's metro area, and the region hosts offices of over 1,250 multinational corporations. Many corporations are drawn to the city by its educated workforce; as of 2014 , 45% of adults aged 25 or older residing in the city have at least four-year college degrees, compared to the national average of 28%. Atlanta was born as a railroad town, and logistics continue to represent an important part of

11815-617: The city's role as a transportation center. The opening of the Georgia World Congress Center in 1976 further confirmed Atlanta's rise as a convention city. Construction of the city's subway system began in 1975, with rail service commencing in 1979. Despite these improvements, Atlanta lost more than 100,000 residents between 1970 and 1990, over 20% of its population. At the same time, it developed new office space after attracting numerous corporations, with an increasing portion of workers from northern areas. Atlanta

11954-443: The city's uptown district, is eight miles (13 km) north of Downtown and the city's third-largest business district. The district is marked by an urbanized core along Peachtree Road , surrounded by suburban single-family neighborhoods situated among woods and rolling hills. Surrounding Atlanta's three high-rise districts are the city's low- and medium-density neighborhoods , where the craftsman bungalow single-family home

12093-495: The city, stimulated by infrastructure improvements undertaken in preparation for the games. New development post-2000 has been aided by the Atlanta Housing Authority 's eradication of the city's public housing. As noted above, it allowed development of these sites for mixed-income housing, requiring developers to reserve a considerable portion for affordable housing units. It has also provided for other former residents to be given vouchers to gain housing in other areas. Construction of

12232-480: The city. After reserving 2,000 units mostly for elderly, the AHA allowed redevelopment of the sites for mixed-use and mixed-income, higher density developments, with 40% of the units to be reserved for affordable housing. Two-fifths of previous public housing residents attained new housing in such units; the remainder received vouchers to be used at other units, including in suburbs. At the same time, in an effort to change

12371-634: The city. Much controversy preceded the 1956 Sugar Bowl , when the Pitt Panthers , with African-American fullback Bobby Grier on the roster, met the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets . There had been controversy over whether Grier should be allowed to play due to his race, and whether Georgia Tech should even play at all due to Georgia's Governor Marvin Griffin 's opposition to racial integration. After Griffin publicly sent

12510-472: The company STGM (The Société des Téléphériques de la Grande Motte). Many lifts are fast 6 or 8 person chairlifts and there are 113 snow cannons which produce 450,000 m of artificial snow each year. The ski area is linked through easy access with the adjacent resort of Val-d'Isère , combining to form the Tignes-Val d'Isere ski area (formerly known as Espace Killy ). At 4.2 km, Tignes boasts

12649-526: The construction of the Equitable , Flatiron , Empire , and Candler buildings. Sweet Auburn emerged as a center of Black commerce. The period was also marked by strife and tragedy. Increased racial tensions led to the Atlanta Race Riot of 1906, when Whites attacked Blacks, leaving at least 27 people dead and over 70 injured, with extensive damage in Black neighborhoods. In 1913, Leo Frank ,

12788-408: The course features a full 18 hole course running along a 5 km stretch of the mountainside. Tignes was first used as a summit finish for Stage 8 of the 2007 Tour de France . Tignes was scheduled to be the summit finish for stage 19 of the 2019 Tour de France . Due to a snowstorm and mudslide, the road to Tignes was impassable and so the stage was ended at Col de l'Iseran instead. Tignes

12927-453: The culture of those receiving subsidized housing, the AHA imposed a requirement for such residents to work (or be enrolled in a genuine, limited-time training program). It is virtually the only housing authority to have created this requirement. To prevent problems, the AHA also gave authority to management of the mixed-income or voucher units to evict tenants who did not comply with the work requirement or who caused behavior problems. In 2005,

13066-453: The dam construction or development of the ski resort. All the villages are part of the ski resort known as Tignes. The original village of Tignes was in the Isère valley below Val d'Isère . After the second world war, France needed electricity and it was decided to build the hydro-electric Tignes Dam in the Isère valley. Whilst this was a great achievement for French engineering and was for

13205-413: The destruction of all public buildings and possible assets that could be of use to the Union Army. On the next day, Mayor James Calhoun surrendered Atlanta to the Union Army, and on September 7, Sherman ordered the city's civilian population to evacuate. On November 11, 1864, Sherman prepared for the Union Army's March to the Sea by ordering the destruction of Atlanta's remaining military assets. After

13344-493: The functions and made until that Games, won the title of "the best ever" until that date. The Atlanta 1996 Summer Paralympic Games budget troubles led the IOC to take and study some changes on their management. In the first action held in 1993, IOC and IPC signed a joint protocol of strategic partnership and they undertook to include topics related to the Olympic and Paralympic Games in the evaluation questionnaires that would be sent to

13483-476: The games. Between 1990 and 1992, the Shepherd family noticed a lack of interest in hosting the Paralympic Games in Atlanta, with neglect from local authorities, Olympic sponsors, and large international corporations headquartered in the city. This affected the financing and promotion of the 1996 Summer Paralympic Games, which could have led to significant ticket and licensed product sales. Fleming recalled an interview with Shepherd, noting that if Atlanta failed to host

13622-432: The glacier is still possible during some of the summer months and in autumn, as well as during the winter season (end of November to beginning of May). The Grande Motte cable car has recently been upgraded to increase access to the top of the glacier. Tignes and Val-D'isere were the first resorts of their kind to be internationally recognised for their commitment to providing an environmentally friendly skiing area by gaining

13761-501: The go to training ground for snow sport athletes. The terrain of valley lends itself to more challenging skiing, with advanced skiers often opting for the resort as their preferred ski area. The town has however strived to improve its appeal to beginner and intermediate skiers with the introduction of easier runs lower down in the valley towards Tignes-Les-Brévières and upgrading existing chairlifts and installing new ones with smaller elevation gains. The main villages of Tignes sit within

13900-439: The greater good of France, it meant that the old village of Tignes was drowned. The dam was completed and the village was submerged in 1952. A replica of the original church was created in Tignes les Boisses. Once every 10 years the lake behind the dam (Lac du Chevril) is drained for maintenance work and the remains of the old village becomes visible. The dam was painted with a fresco of Hercules in 1989 by Jean-Marie Pierret with

14039-416: The help of eight mountain climbers; it was funded by private corporations interested in boosting the Olympic appeal during the winter games of 1992 which took place in nearby Albertville. Tignes has a subarctic climate ( Köppen climate classification Dfc ). The average annual temperature in Tignes is 2.8 °C (37.0 °F). The average annual rainfall is 1,036.6 mm (40.81 in) with August as

14178-517: The key message of these struggles. "After Atlanta, the IOC said it would not accept an Olympic bid unless it also made provisions for the Paralympic Games," Fleming said. "The IOC leadership essentially said, 'The Paralympic movement is not going away, especially after Atlanta…'and this was already happening, a few months after the closing of the Atlanta Games, the International Olympic Committee announced that it had changed

14317-581: The large and unprecedented success of the 1998 Winter Paralympics and the 2000 Summer Paralympics in 2001, after a change at the Olympic Charter , the International Paralympic Committee became an effective collaborator of the International Olympic Committee, and its president became a compulsory member of the IOC. With that, a cooperation agreement was signed informally called "One city, two events" and from then on,

14456-480: The largest ski area in the world. However, that vision was ended with the creation of the Vanoise National Park . On 13 February 2017, four people died in an avalanche in the ski resort. It was reported to be at least 400 metres (1,300 ft) wide and at an altitude of 2,100 metres. The members were being led by an ESF instructor but were skiing on a notoriously avalanche prone area, on a day when

14595-430: The last building designed by noted architect Marcel Breuer . Atlanta is divided into 242 officially defined neighborhoods . The city contains three major high-rise districts, which form a north–south axis along Peachtree : Downtown , Midtown , and Buckhead . Surrounding these high-density districts are leafy, low-density neighborhoods, most of which are dominated by single-family homes. Downtown Atlanta contains

14734-488: The logo which is similar to the logo of the Olympic Games bid. The chosen graphic should be connected with the constant expansion and recent recognition of the Paralympic Movement around the world. And also had to be remembered with the fact that the Paralympics "was ceasing to be a second class event and now they are enter into a mainstream visibility". The highest feature at the concept of "The Ascending Flame"

14873-604: The longest paved trail surface in the U.S. totaling about 300 miles (480 km). Atlanta's cultural offerings expanded during the 2000s: the High Museum of Art doubled in size; the Alliance Theatre won a Tony Award ; and art galleries were established on the once-industrial Westside . The College Football Hall of Fame relocated to Atlanta and the National Center for Civil and Human Rights museum

15012-579: The losers. We were the winners." She also attended the 1992 Summer Olympics and the 1992 Summer Paralympics in Barcelona, Spain, and in a stroke of fate happened to have Juan Antonio Samaranch , the then president of the International Olympic Committee, sitting next to her and in an informal talking she said. "You know, it's crazy to have two different committees holding events at the same places," she recalled. "They didn't understand it, they were scared of it," she said of Olympics officials' attitude toward

15151-490: The majority of Atlanta's foreign-born population. The city's Italians included immigrants from northern Italy, many of whom had been in Atlanta since the 1890s; more recent arrivals from southern Italy; and Sephardic Jews from the Isle of Rhodes, which Italy had seized from Turkey in 1912. Europeans from Great Britain , Ireland and Germany settled in the city as early as the 1840s. Most of Atlanta's European population are from

15290-789: The most notable examples from this period were designed by world renowned Atlanta architect John Portman . Most of the buildings that define the downtown skyline were designed by Portman during this period, including the Westin Peachtree Plaza and the Atlanta Marriott Marquis . In the latter half of the 1980s, Atlanta became one of the early homes of postmodern buildings that reintroduced classical elements to their designs. Many of Atlanta's tallest skyscrapers were built in this period and style, displaying tapering spires or otherwise ornamented crowns, such as One Atlantic Center (1987), 191 Peachtree Tower (1991), and

15429-425: The most office space in the metro area, much of it occupied by government entities. Downtown is home to the city's sporting venues and many of its tourist attractions. Midtown Atlanta is the city's second-largest business district, containing the offices of many of the region's law firms. Midtown is known for its art institutions, cultural attractions, institutions of higher education, and dense form. Buckhead ,

15568-454: The most severe occurring on January 7, 1973. Tornadoes are rare in the city itself, but the March 14, 2008, EF2 tornado damaged prominent structures in downtown Atlanta. The 2020 United States census reported that Atlanta had a population of 498,715. The population density was 3,685.45 persons per square mile (1,422.95/ km ). The racial and ethnic makeup of Atlanta (including Hispanics)

15707-479: The movement's leadership. While Atlanta in the postwar years had relatively minimal racial strife compared to other cities, Blacks were limited by discrimination, segregation, and continued disenfranchisement of most voters. In 1961, the city attempted to thwart blockbusting by realtors by erecting road barriers in Cascade Heights , countering the efforts of civic and business leaders to foster Atlanta as

15846-488: The much larger Atlanta metropolitan area , the core of which includes Cobb , Clayton and Gwinnett counties, in addition to Fulton and DeKalb. Metro Atlanta is home to more than 6.3 million people (2023 estimate), making it the sixth-largest U.S. metropolitan area . Situated among the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains at an elevation of just over 1,000 feet (300 m) above sea level, Atlanta features unique topography that includes rolling hills, lush greenery, and

15985-468: The original plan and did not include the possibility of being hosted two weeks after the Olympic Games closing ceremonies. Despite the lack of coordination between the two organizing committees, the Paralympics began to be promoted and had already developed a visual identity and international presence. Concerns arose from various areas, including the disorganization of the Olympic Games' Organizing Committee (AOCOG) and financial issues that threatened planning

16124-593: The population was living below the poverty line in 2022. Circa 2024, of the Atlanta residents, 391,711 of them lived in Fulton County and 28,292 of them lived in DeKalb County. In the 1920s, the Black population began to grow in Southern metropolitan cities like Atlanta, Birmingham , Houston , and Memphis . The New Great Migration brought an insurgence of African Americans from California and

16263-407: The process, they changed their attitudes and promised that apart the two events had the possibility to be organized by two different parties, they would give the same treatment to all the participants and public who went to go to Australia for the two events. This also encompassed planning, financing, security, logistics, marketing and ticket sales. This joint planning give the opportunity to share all

16402-604: The project received a federal grant of $ 18 million to develop the southwest corridor. In September 2019 the James M. Cox Foundation gave $ 6 Million to the PATH Foundation which will connect the Silver Comet Trail to The Atlanta BeltLine which is expected to be completed by 2022. Upon completion, the total combined interconnected trail distance around Atlanta for The Atlanta BeltLine and Silver Comet Trail will be

16541-414: The proportion of whites in the city had strong growth. In two decades, Atlanta's White population grew from 33% to 39% of the city's population. Whites made up the majority of new Atlanta residents between 2010 and 2020. The Hispanic and Latino populations of metro Atlanta have grown significantly in recent years. The largest Hispanic ancestries in Atlanta are Mexican , Puerto Rican and Cuban . There

16680-562: The residential areas into a disarray. The criticism was so widespread that ACOG publicly denied the situation, claiming that some delegations had arrived two days earlier than planned. Logistics and accessibility were significant issues, as competitions took place in 17 venues across Metro Atlanta , with only three near the village and six exclusive venues for the Paralympics located within Georgia University System institutions that had served as training facilities during

16819-486: The resort of Tignes. 15 snow cats maintain the quality of the pistes. Four of these are equipped with winches for working steep slopes and one is adapted for shaping the half pipe. Around 60 percent of the slopes are groomed each evening. Owing to the presence of the Grande Motte glacier , Tignes used to offer year round skiing but, as the glacier has receded in recent years, this has now ceased. However skiing on

16958-476: The rules of the application process and starting from the 2000 Summer Olympics would not accept a bid if the city filed a bid without disclosing its plans for the Paralympic Games. Following this difficult process, when bidding for the Olympic Games between 1991 and 1993, the eventual winner - the Australian city of Sydney - did not originally guarantee that the city wanted to host the Paralympics. But during

17097-401: The same Barcelona experience could not be delivered. But, contrary to predictions, the event made an impressive profit of millions of dollars, and that amount was used to create BlazeSports America , a Norcross -based non-profit organization that runs sports programs for children and veterans with disabilities. Flaming and Shepherd believes until today that Samaranch and others must have heard

17236-406: The same city and the same Organizing Committee would be responsible for the Olympic Games and the Paralympic Games of the same year, and this concept started to be used during the process that led Beijing to win the process to host the 2008 Summer Olympics . In addition to the organizational and funding issues between the two committees, other difficulties arose when Paralympic athletes arrived at

17375-401: The same time, Atlanta is home to a sizable foreign-born Black population, notably from Eritrea , Ethiopia , Ghana , Somalia , Liberia , and Nigeria . With many notable investments occurring in Atlanta initiated by the 1996 Summer Olympics , the non-Hispanic white population of Atlanta began to rebound after several decades of white flight to Atlanta's suburbs. Between 2000 and 2020,

17514-413: The suburbs slightly cooler due largely to the urban heat island effect. Lows at or below freezing can be expected 36 nights annually, but the last occurrences of temperatures below 10 °F (−12 °C) were December 24, 2022 , and January 2014 , eight years apart. Extremes range from −9 °F (−23 °C) on February 13, 1899 to 106 °F (41 °C) on June 30, 2012 . Average dewpoints in

17653-712: The summer range from 63.7 °F (17.6 °C) in June to 67.8 °F (19.9 °C) in July. Typical of the southeastern U.S., Atlanta receives abundant rainfall that is evenly distributed throughout the year, though late spring and early fall are somewhat drier. The average annual precipitation is 50.43 in (1,281 mm), while snowfall is typically light and rare with a normal of 2.2 inches (5.6 cm) per winter. The heaviest single snowfall occurred on January 23, 1940, with around 10 inches (25 cm) of snow. However, ice storms usually cause more problems than snowfall does,

17792-399: The valley, above and below the dam respectively. All the towns located above the dam are linked by a free continuous shuttle bus. The only village located below these villages, Tignes Les Brévières, is accessible to the others via a free gondola service which operates late into the evening. Les Brévières remains the only remaining part of the original town, with all the others created as part of

17931-555: The visual identity. In these documents, the so-called concept of "The Ascendent Flame" is explained and associated with the Games slogan that was "The Triumph of the Human Spirit" along the mascot that was the phoenix Blaze. The mascot for the 1996 Summer Paralympics was a phoenix named Blaze. Blaze was created by Atlanta artist Trevor Stone Irvin. The games consisted of 508 events spread over twenty sports, including three demonstration sports . In total 17 venues were used at

18070-475: The wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in July, at around 11.6 °C (52.9 °F), and lowest in January, at around −5.3 °C (22.5 °F). The highest temperature ever recorded in Tignes was 29.9 °C (85.8 °F) on 23 July 2019; the coldest temperature ever recorded was −27.8 °C (−18.0 °F) on 27 February 2018. After the loss of the old village it was decided to develop

18209-406: The whole metropolitan area alongside historic Black Catholic churches. The larger non-Christian faiths according to both studies are Judaism , Islam , and Hinduism . Overall, there are over 1,000 places of worship within Atlanta. With a GDP of $ 385 billion, the Atlanta metropolitan area 's economy is the 8th-largest in the country and the 15th-largest in the world . Corporate operations play

18348-542: The world stage when it won and hosted the 1996 Summer Olympics . The Games impacted Atlanta's development growth into the 21st century, and significantly sparked investment in the city's universities, parks, and tourism industry. The gentrification of some of its neighborhoods has intensified in the 21st century with the growth of the Atlanta Beltline . This has altered its demographics , politics , aesthetics , and culture . For thousands of years prior to

18487-410: Was 51.0% Black or African American, 40.9% non-Hispanic white, 4.2% Asian and 0.3% Native American, and 1.0% from other races. 2.4% of the population reported two or more races . Hispanics and Latinos of any race made up 6.0% of the city's population. The median income for a household in the city was $ 77,655 in 2022. The per capita income for the city was $ 60,778 in 2022. Approximately 17.7% percent of

18626-533: Was barred from the event due to racial segregation laws. Atlanta played a vital role in the Allied effort during World War II due to the city's war-related manufacturing companies, railroad network and military bases. The defense industries attracted thousands of new residents and generated revenues, resulting in rapid population and economic growth. In the 1950s, the city's newly constructed highway system, supported by federal subsidies, allowed middle class Atlantans

18765-452: Was considered a handicap in some circumstances. In general, Southern accents are less prevalent among residents of the city and inner suburbs and among younger people; they are more common in the outer suburbs and among older people. At the same time, some residents of the city speak in Southern variations of African-American English . Atlanta has a thriving and diverse lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community. According to

18904-538: Was constructed. The city of Atlanta was the subject of a massive cyberattack which began in March 2018. In December 2019, Atlanta hosted the Miss Universe 2019 pageant competition. On June 16, 2022, Atlanta was selected as a host city for the 2026 FIFA World Cup . Atlanta encompasses 134.0 square miles (347.1 km ), of which 133.2 square miles (344.9 km ) is land and 0.85 square miles (2.2 km )

19043-429: Was developed by the local design office Copeland Design who had created all the visual concepts for the city's bid for the Olympic Games. The office took advantage of its already being public knowledge that the two events would be held separately. A totally different corporate identity was created. It was from common sense that this would be the biggest edition of the Paralympic Games so far in everything, and that echoed in

19182-458: Was selected as the site for the 1996 Summer Olympic Games . Following the announcement , the city government undertook several major construction projects to improve Atlanta's parks, sporting venues, and transportation infrastructure; however, for the first time, none of the $ 1.7 billion cost of the games was governmentally funded. While the games experienced transportation and accommodation problems and, despite extra security precautions, there

19321-503: Was the Centennial Olympic Park bombing , the spectacle was a watershed event in Atlanta's history. For the first time in Olympic history, every one of the record 197 national Olympic committees invited to compete sent athletes, sending more than 10,000 contestants participating in a record 271 events. The related projects such as Atlanta's Olympic Legacy Program and civic effort initiated a fundamental transformation of

#191808