Flag ignites patriotism in opening ceremony

In a poignant memorial to those killed in the September 11 attacks on the United States, the Winter Olympics opened with 90 seconds of silence in honour of the tattered "Ground Zero" flag on Friday.

The opening ceremony, welcoming 2,531 athletes from 77 nations, emphasised Utah's Native American past in a 2-1/2-hour ice spectacular that unfolded in freezing temperatures.

But the emotional thread of the evening was provided by the host country's worst peacetime loss of life. The early appearance of the flag, an increasingly potent symbol of American pride and resilience, electrified the occasion.

The patriotic mood climaxed with the lighting of the Olympic cauldron by the ice hockey team which won the gold medal in 1980 after shocking the Russians in the semifinal.

Captain Mike Eruzione accepted the torch at the end of its 13,500 mile (21,600 km) journey and, with his team mates, sent a roaring flame up the stadium's glass and steel tower as the crowd chanted "USA, USA!".

The flag, carried by eight American athletes and escorted by an honour guard of New York police and firemen, entered Rice-Eccles Stadium and almost snuffed out the atmosphere of celebration among the 52,000 spectators.

President George W. Bush -- his thoughts with the more than 3,000 dead and the families they left behind -- fixed his gaze on the flag, heavily torn in two places after being dug out of the rubble of the World Trade Centre.

A pristine American flag was raised amid flurries of snow and the silence was maintained throughout the national anthem sung by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, before the crowd, many in tears, finally erupted in cheers.

The WTC flag, which could not be flown over the stadium because of its fragile state, was then carried out of the stadium.

"Your nation is overcoming a horrific tragedy, a tragedy that has affected the whole world," said International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge in his formal address.

"We stand united with you in the promotion of our common ideals and hope for world peace," he said, earning a huge roar of approval from the crowd.

At the same time Bush moved among the American athletes, even talking on their mobile phones, before declaring the Games open "on behalf of a proud, determined and grateful nation".

HEALING FORCE

Security around the stadium was extremely tight and some spectators, who paid up to $885 for a seat, took two hours to get inside.

Organisers had vowed the ceremony would be "the safest place on the planet" and 15,000 police, soldiers and Secret Service agents have been mobilised in a $300 million operation.

Organisers had also promised the ceremony would not be an "American flag-waving event" and would avoid Hollywood excess -- two complaints aimed at Atlanta at the 1996 Games -- and instead stress the importance of the Olympics as a healing force.

After the flag's departure a single child -- 13-year-old local Ryne Sanborn -- skated into the stadium holding a lantern, representing the organisers' main theme of "light the fire within", which celebrates the inspirational power of the Games.

Overcoming a host of enemies by discovering his inner fire, the boy was joined by hundreds of other youngsters to welcome the teams, including 11 with just one athlete such as first-timers Fiji, Cameroon, and Thailand.

The small Iran team were politely applauded on their entry. Bush included Iran in his depiction of an "axis of evil" during his State of the Union speech.

The American contingent -- the largest at the Games with 211 members -- came at the end and the crowd roared their support. The team's placard was carried by Liz Howell whose husband was killed when a hijacked plane crashed into the Pentagon on September 11.

"To be up there with my team mates was all the better because of the events of September 11," said Eruzione. "Our team typified the spirit of America, good, clean, hard-working guys just honoured to be Olympic athletes."

SHOW OF UNITY

Members of all five Native American tribes in Utah arrived separately on the stadium floor on horseback and came together in a show of unity organisers believe is unprecedented.

Athletes representing the five continents at the 17-day sporting festival handed the five tribes gifts signifying the mountains, victory and peace before the stadium erupted with the drums and dances of the original inhabitants of the state.

An entertaining section highlighting the hardships endured by early Mormon pioneers on the journey by wagon train to the Great Salt Lake Basin ushered in the country music of the Dixie Chicks. Other musical elements were provided by singer Rita Coolidge and guitarist Robbie Robertson, both of Indian origin.

The Olympic flag was carried into the stadium by eight great names of the past 40 years including astronaut John Glenn, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Australian athlete Cathy Freeman, who lit the cauldron at the 2000 Sydney Games.

"It was perfect...it was magical and touching," said Mitt Romney, president of the Salt Lake City organising committee.

"It was everything we hoped for, everything we worked for for the past three years."