United States, Georgia, Fulton County, Atlanta, 33.749, -84.38798Newman, Harvey K.2004-08-09Encyclopedia article about the summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1996. From July 19 until August 4, 1996, Atlanta hosted the Centennial Summer Olympic Games, an event that was without doubt the largest undertaking in the city's history. The goal of civic leaders was to promote Atlanta's image as an international city ready to play an important role in global commerce. Preparations for the Olympics took more than six years after the awarding of the bid to Atlanta and had an estimated economic impact on the city of at least $5.14 billion. In the process Atlanta changed dramatically, as new sports venues were built, park space was created, sidewalks and streets were improved, and housing patterns were altered. During the seventeen days of the Olympics, more than 2 million visitors came to Atlanta, and an estimated 3.5 billion people around the world watched part of the games on television. The 1996 Olympics produced a significant legacy for Atlanta and its leaders.GSE identifier: SS8E2, SS8H12text/htmlengForms part of the New Georgia Encyclopedia.http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/Forms part of the New Georgia Encyclopedia.Olympic Games (26th : 1996 : Atlanta, Ga.)Olympic Games in 1996Text