Title: 2002 Winter Olympics Closing Ceremonies from Salt Lake City, Utah
Date of transmission: Sun 24 February 2002
Network: NBC, CBC, BBC

Charlotte and Josh Groban took centre stage at the closing ceremonies of the 2002 Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City, Utah to sing their  duet of "The Prayer". This appearance was notable for a couple reasons. Firstly, Josh and Charlotte sang just before the flame was extinguished and secondly, this is the largest worldwide audience Charlotte has been seen in front of since the release of the Ford Global Anthem/ "Just Wave Hello" series of adverts. It is estimated that close to 1.6 Billion people were able to watch the Olympics Closing Ceremony.

Before we present the feature, many of you who are new to the site after this appearance want to learn more about "The Prayer", Josh Groban or Charlotte in general. Here are a few links to help you out.

-> Charlotte's Bio
-> "The Prayer" Lyrics
-> The Enchantment Video, featuring Charlotte, Josh and "The Prayer"
-> Enchantment @ CharlotteChurch.net

>>Join the Discussion in The CharlotteChurchFans Forums

RealMedia Clips  

BBC Pre-Ceremony Coverage

Performance - "The Prayer"

Reporter : "How much you looking forward to performing in front of an audience of what .. one point something billion people?"
Charlotte : "Yeah well umm .. it's gonna be pretty mad ummm .. cause it's a huge television audience. The .. the .. umm arena thing is absolutely massive. So umm .. it's gonna be mad and I'm gonna be performing The Prayer with Josh Groban, which is a beautiful duet. And it's gonna be an amazing moment, because the song is very the song is very emotive, and it's very uplifting.. it's very hopeful and things like that."
Harry Connick Jr. : "I'm singing uhh .. Somewhere Over The Rainbow uhh .. with Dorothy Hammil skating around. I'm going to bring my ice skates just in case. And then I'm doing America the beautiful with my uhh band and an orchestra."
Gloria Estefan : "And of course we're closing with Party Time because I don't think there's a bigger party than what they're gonna feel tomorrow night."
[Transcribers Note : The song Party Time plays as people and scenes are shown of reveling and partying]
Reporter : "Harry what's been your favorite moment of these Winter Games so far?"
[Transcribers Note : As Harry speaks in reply to the Reporter we are shown scenes from the segment he speaks of from the Winter Olympics.]
Harry Connick Jr. : "I think umm .. when Sara Hughes won. I'm proud that shes American, but had .. even had she been from another country ... the way that she came out of nowhere and won that. It's just unbelievable. I was blown away by that. That was a really emotional thing to see."
Gloria Estefan : "As a Cuban American myself ... I was very proud when Jennifer Rodriguez won her two medals. I think uhh .. she's from Florida as well. So it's kind of like the Jamaican Bobsled team. You know it's oxymoron that .. Florida .. Winter Games .. so I was very very happy for her."
Charlotte : "I probably have to say it was when Britain won the gold medal for the curling. Because that's like our first gold medal in eighteen years .. So I'd say you know .. its like an amazingly tense moment. It was right on the last stone so it was just absolutely brilliant. So I'd say that was my favorite .. my favorite part of the Olympics."
Moby : "Curling .. it almost has this sort of Zen like quality. Similar to something like .. it's like Cricket but played by people on antidepressants."
Reporter : "If you could choose to be any type of winter athlete what would it be and why?"
Gloria Estefan : "Oh my gosh that's a tough one."
Moby : "I think I'd like to do the .. the ski jumping. Cause they're up in the air for so long."
Harry Connick Jr. : "Well maybe some of those cross country skiers .. or speed skaters who've got those big ol legs like that."
Charlotte : "I'd say it'd have to be Bobsledding. Just because I love the film Cool Runnings. Ha ha ha. And it looks wicked. It looks wicked."
Gloria Estefan : "Of course that Skeleton thing .. it's got to be the ultimate thrill. I mean where .. Do they call it skeleton because that's what you end up being at the end of the run ? That's all that's left."
Reporter : "Is it the biggest audience you'll have played in front of?"
Harry Connick Jr. : "I'm sure this is probably the biggest and I don't know how many people are gonna be physically at the stadium but it's gonna be exciting."
[End of transcript]

Entertainment Weekly Scan

Wire Photo

BBCNews - 25 February 2002

Church flies Olympic flag

Charlotte is the main British star in the ceremony

Teenage singer Charlotte Church has taken part in the closing ceremony of the Winter Olympics at Salt Lake City. 
The 16-year-old soprano from Cardiff joined an impressive array of American musical talent including Kiss, Bon Jovi, 'N Sync, Christina Aguilera, Moby, Gloria Estefan and Earth Wind & Fire. 

Organisers said the ceremony at the Rice-Eccles Olympic Stadium on Sunday at 1800 local time (0100 GMT Monday) was destined to be a fun rather than formal occasion. 

BBC correspondent Matt McGrath said demand for tickets was high, with touts charging $1,000 (£700) a time. 

Charlotte performed a duet with young American operatic star Josh Groban on whose latest CD she appears. 

Sense of unity 

Emmy-award winning producer Don Mischer said the event was to be more informal than the opening ceremony which featured Sting, Rita Coolidge, LeAnn Rimes, the Dixie Chicks and cellist Yo-Yo Ma. 

He said the closing celebration reflected the sense of unity felt by athletes and performers alike in the light of 11 September and the war on terrorism. 

"It explodes into one big, cut-loose kind of celebration," he said. 

"There's no doubt the mood has changed. It's almost as if the Olympics are more important now than they ever could have been." 

It has been a busy year for Charlotte Church who celebrated her 16th birthday last week. 

On Monday she treated more than 100 of her friends to a secret five-hour party at a Cardiff nightclub. 

The singer then flew to America in preparation for her Olympic engagement. 

She spent her birthday night on Thursday with two girl friends at the trendy Moonba nightspot in Los Angeles. 

Charlotte has performed in America several times since she was discovered on a British television show at the age of 12. 

She sang for former US President Bill Clinton at the White House in 1999 and at the inauguration of his successor George W Bush in January 2001. 

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