L.A. Firm Will Create Shows for ’96 Olympics

After a 10-month international search, Don Mischer Productions of Los Angeles has been chosen to create the opening and closing ceremonies for the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta.

The Emmy-winning company, which previously co-produced the “Super Bowl XXVII Halftime Show” starring Michael Jackson, was picked by a 14-member search committee. David Wolper, who produced the opening and closing ceremonies for the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, served as a consultant.

In a ceremony here Friday, company President Don Mischer and Executive Vice President David Goldberg, Atlanta Mayor Maynard Jackson and Atlanta Olympic Committee President Billy Payne placed their palms and signatures in a block of wet cement that will become part of Atlanta’s new Olympic Stadium.

The opening and closing ceremonies of the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games are expected to draw a combined worldwide audience of more than 5 billion.

Although Payne would not disclose the amount being paid to the production company, he said that $27.7 million has been budgeted for the opening and closing ceremonies, the medal ceremonies and the torch run.

Mischer said the ceremonies will be “pageantry on a grand scale” but declined to divulge any details.

“We’re hoping that the ceremonies will be exciting and emotional, that they transcend cultural boundaries, that they give the world a true feeling of the spirit of this city and its people and our country and that they celebrate a hundred years of Olympic competition as the proving ground of physical endeavor and human spirit,” Mischer said.