{"id":4518,"date":"2026-09-14T14:27:07","date_gmt":"2026-09-14T14:27:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/?p=4518"},"modified":"2026-09-14T14:27:07","modified_gmt":"2026-09-14T14:27:07","slug":"how-atlanta-sold-itself-as-an-olympics-worthy-city","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/?p=4518","title":{"rendered":"How Atlanta sold itself as an Olympics-worthy city"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div id=\"\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Thirty years ago,\u00a0a\u00a0<em>Fortune<\/em>\u00a0cover story\u00a0chronicled the improbable campaign that brought the Centennial Olympic Games to Atlanta. The force behind the global campaign for \u201cthis Sun Belt hustler\u201d to host the 1996 Olympics was an extraordinary pairing, wrote John Huey, himself an Atlantan.<\/p>\n<div class=\"paywall\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Billy Payne, a white real estate lawyer and former University of Georgia football player, supplied the conviction that such a Quixotic campaign could succeed. Andrew Young\u2014the civil-rights leader, former congressman, U.N. ambassador, and Atlanta mayor\u2014brought a global network and a political understanding of what Atlanta could represent.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When Payne and Young set out upon their mission, Huey wrote, Atlanta was \u201c67% black and one of the poorest, most crime-ridden, least educated, worst-housed municipalities in the U.S.\u201d But it was, Huey writes, the Civil Rights movement that \u201ctransformed it from bush league to big league.\u201d The Voting Rights Act of 1965 helped Black Atlantans to consolidate political power, and Huey wrote, \u201cAt City Hall, a black oligarchy rules in an unspoken strategic alliance with a select group of white businessmen attuned to the rules of the Atlanta Way. Simply put, this is code for folks who understand and accept why and how the spoils of any venture must be divided between blacks and whites.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Young\u2019s strategic pitch to the African National Olympic Committees at a meeting in Mauritius made the case that Atlanta\u2019s Black majority should win it the support of African nations: \u201cIt\u2019s not our fault that somebody took us from Africa hundreds of years ago,\u201d he told the committees. \u201cWe are the only city of majority African descent that has a chance to host the Olympics. And we need your support just as though we were on the African continent.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Young\u2019s pitch won the votes globally; Atlanta\u2019s business community helped turn the plan into a viable event. Payne\u2019s Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games sold the Olympics as an \u201cunparalleled marketing opportunity,\u201d and Huey reported that Coca-Cola\u2014a brand created in an Atlanta pharmacy, and still headquartered there\u2014\u201cwent all out,\u201d building a $20 million, eight-acre Olympic city. By the summer of 1996, corporate sponsorships, broadcast rights, ticket sales, and merchandise licensing had raised more than $1.5 billion\u2014a record for an Olympics at the time.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The story is an inspiring account of how cities manufacture possibility\u2014through civic mythology, political pragmatism, and unlikely alliances.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"flex flex-col layout-gap-md\">\n<div class=\"not-prose empty:contents clear-both [:has(*[data-empty=true])]:hidden max-md:[:has(*[data-empty-mobile=true])]:hidden md:[:has(*[data-empty-desktop=true])]:hidden\">\n<div class=\"typography-level-4 mt-4 font-graphik-compact [&amp;_*_a]:hover:underline [&amp;_*_a]:text-accent\" data-cy=\"subscriptionPlea\"><span class=\"description-parser contents\" data-cy=\"description\">This is the web version of the Fortune Archives newsletter, which unearths the <em>Fortune<\/em> stories that have had a lasting impact on business and culture between 1930 and today. Subscribe to receive it for free in your inbox every Sunday morning.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>#Atlanta #sold #Olympicsworthy #city<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Thirty years ago,\u00a0a\u00a0Fortune\u00a0co&hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4519,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[7515,6035,3475,1847,7516,7517,1191],"class_list":["post-4518","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-finance-news","tag-apple-only","tag-atlanta","tag-city","tag-fortune-archives","tag-olympics","tag-olympicsworthy","tag-sold"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>How Atlanta sold itself as an Olympics-worthy city - Finance News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/?p=4518\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"zh_CN\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How Atlanta sold itself as an Olympics-worthy city - Finance News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Thirty years ago,\u00a0a\u00a0Fortune\u00a0co&hellip;\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/?p=4518\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Finance News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-09-14T14:27:07+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"\u4f5c\u8005\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"\u9884\u8ba1\u9605\u8bfb\u65f6\u95f4\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 \u5206\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vaultinsider.top\\\/?p=4518#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vaultinsider.top\\\/?p=4518\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vaultinsider.top\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/ed40724a3e5d482ce66781a042c3c31e\"},\"headline\":\"How Atlanta sold itself as an Olympics-worthy city\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-09-14T14:27:07+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vaultinsider.top\\\/?p=4518\"},\"wordCount\":447,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vaultinsider.top\\\/?p=4518#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vaultinsider.top\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/09\\\/GettyImages-2212185694-e1789063962101.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Apple Only\",\"Atlanta\",\"city\",\"Fortune Archives\",\"Olympics\",\"Olympicsworthy\",\"sold\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Finance News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"zh-Hans\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vaultinsider.top\\\/?p=4518#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vaultinsider.top\\\/?p=4518\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vaultinsider.top\\\/?p=4518\",\"name\":\"How Atlanta sold itself as an Olympics-worthy city - Finance News\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vaultinsider.top\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vaultinsider.top\\\/?p=4518#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vaultinsider.top\\\/?p=4518#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vaultinsider.top\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/09\\\/GettyImages-2212185694-e1789063962101.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-09-14T14:27:07+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vaultinsider.top\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/ed40724a3e5d482ce66781a042c3c31e\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vaultinsider.top\\\/?p=4518#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"zh-Hans\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vaultinsider.top\\\/?p=4518\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"zh-Hans\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vaultinsider.top\\\/?p=4518#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vaultinsider.top\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/09\\\/GettyImages-2212185694-e1789063962101.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vaultinsider.top\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/09\\\/GettyImages-2212185694-e1789063962101.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":600},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vaultinsider.top\\\/?p=4518#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"\u9996\u9875\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vaultinsider.top\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"How Atlanta sold itself as an Olympics-worthy city\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vaultinsider.top\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vaultinsider.top\\\/\",\"name\":\"Finance News\",\"description\":\"Just another Finance News site\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vaultinsider.top\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"zh-Hans\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vaultinsider.top\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/ed40724a3e5d482ce66781a042c3c31e\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vaultinsider.top\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"How Atlanta sold itself as an Olympics-worthy city - Finance News","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/?p=4518","og_locale":"zh_CN","og_type":"article","og_title":"How Atlanta sold itself as an Olympics-worthy city - Finance News","og_description":"Thirty years ago,\u00a0a\u00a0Fortune\u00a0co&hellip;","og_url":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/?p=4518","og_site_name":"Finance News","article_published_time":"2026-09-14T14:27:07+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"\u4f5c\u8005":"admin","\u9884\u8ba1\u9605\u8bfb\u65f6\u95f4":"2 \u5206"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/?p=4518#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/?p=4518"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/#\/schema\/person\/ed40724a3e5d482ce66781a042c3c31e"},"headline":"How Atlanta sold itself as an Olympics-worthy city","datePublished":"2026-09-14T14:27:07+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/?p=4518"},"wordCount":447,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/?p=4518#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/GettyImages-2212185694-e1789063962101.jpg","keywords":["Apple Only","Atlanta","city","Fortune Archives","Olympics","Olympicsworthy","sold"],"articleSection":["Finance News"],"inLanguage":"zh-Hans","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/?p=4518#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/?p=4518","url":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/?p=4518","name":"How Atlanta sold itself as an Olympics-worthy city - Finance News","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/?p=4518#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/?p=4518#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/GettyImages-2212185694-e1789063962101.jpg","datePublished":"2026-09-14T14:27:07+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/#\/schema\/person\/ed40724a3e5d482ce66781a042c3c31e"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/?p=4518#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"zh-Hans","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/?p=4518"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"zh-Hans","@id":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/?p=4518#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/GettyImages-2212185694-e1789063962101.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/GettyImages-2212185694-e1789063962101.jpg","width":1200,"height":600},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/?p=4518#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"\u9996\u9875","item":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"How Atlanta sold itself as an Olympics-worthy city"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/","name":"Finance News","description":"Just another Finance News site","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"zh-Hans"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/#\/schema\/person\/ed40724a3e5d482ce66781a042c3c31e","name":"admin","url":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4518","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4518"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4518\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4519"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4518"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4518"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4518"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}