The 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Media Summit, a preview of the 2008 U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Teams that will be competing in China, will take place April 13-16 at the Palmer House Hilton in downtown Chicago. Media registration for the 2008 Media Summit has begun on www.usocpressbox.org. To register, click on the “Media Credentialing” icon and enter your personal information.

The United States Olympic Committee expects about 110 U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Team hopefuls to participate. An athlete participation list will be made available to the media on February 1, but top hopefuls are expected to participate in most sports.

The U.S. Olympic Team Media Summit is a four-day opportunity for print, broadcast, internet and photo journalists to conduct interviews and photo sessions with America’s top Olympic and Paralympic hopefuls just four months prior to the Opening Ceremony of the 2008 Olympic Games.

The format of the U.S. Olympic Media Summit allows reporters to conduct interviews during press conferences, roundtables and special television/radio interview sessions. Photographers will also have the opportunity to photograph selected athletes.

“We believe the 2008 Olympic and Paralympic Games will be one of the most meaningful sporting events in recent history,” said Jim Scherr, Chief Executive Officer of the U.S. Olympic Committee. “Our athletes anxiously await the opportunity to represent the United States and to share their stories with the nation’s media.”

The U.S. Olympic Team Media Summit will begin on Sunday, April 13, with media check-in, a Chicago 2016 press conference and venue tour, and the opening reception. The event concludes Wednesday, April 16 at 5 p.m. The daily schedule, April 14-16, will be filled with press conferences as well as broadcast, roundtable, photo and lifestyle sessions. All Media Summit activity will be at the Palmer House Hilton, which opened in 1871 and is one of Chicago’s landmarks in the heart of the city’s downtown.

Hotel Reservations
A special block of rooms has been held at the Palmer House Hilton at a discounted rate of $209 per night. You can make hotel reservations now by clicking on the special hotel registration link within the Media Summit registration area. You can also call the hotel directly at 1-877-865-5321. When calling, please mention that you are reserving a room for the U.S. Olympic Team Media Summit and give them the group code of USC to receive the special rate.

U.S. Olympic Team Media Summit History
1987 Colorado Springs, Colo. (1988 Calgary)
1988 Colorado Springs, Colo. (1988 Seoul)
1991 Colorado Springs, Colo. (1992 Albertville)
1992 Colorado Springs, Colo. (1992 Barcelona)
1993 Colorado Springs, Colo. (1994 Lillehammer)
1996 Atlanta, Ga. (1996 Atlanta)
1997 Salt Lake City, Utah (1998 Nagano)
2000 Houston, Texas (2000 Sydney)
2001 Salt Lake City, Utah (2002 Salt Lake City)
2004 New York, N.Y. (2004 Athens)
2005 Colorado Springs, Colo. (2006 Torino)
2008 Chicago, Ill. (2008 Beijing)

For more information, please contact the USOC Communications Division at 719-866-4529.