Gene Simmons was disappointed with the stage setup in the 2002 Olympics closing ceremony in Salt Lake City.
KISS stole the show with their performance of ‘I Wanna Rock and Roll All Nite.’ They had exploding fireworks and heavy guitars. Simmons later said the following about the show:
“It was probably the smallest stage we’ve ever played on. And right in front of us was ice, ice skaters, and we had to stay on that truck platform and the amplifiers were far off in the stands. I was told that two billion people could watch the Olympics on earth and that’s sort of a big deal.”
In 2018, the bassist spoke with the official website of the Olympics and talked about what he remembered from the performance:
“I remember seeing the champion athletes from different countries, different nationalities, different races and different religions all getting together and not worrying about where somebody was from or what language they spoke. The Greeks started this a long time ago and… what a wonderful idea! The Olympics are one of the bright spots on a very tainted human history. If aliens landed on earth and gave us an overview they would say, ‘You guys did a lot of bad stuff, the Inquisition, the Nazis of World War II, all sorts of things. But you did some cool stuff. The Emancipation Proclamation, Magna Carta, the Olympics…’”
Gene also reflected on the atmosphere in the stadium:
“You can’t help but smile. There are people that are holding hands and putting their arms around each other who, if they went back to their countries or borders that separate them, wouldn’t necessarily do that. And I’m using kind language. Elsewhere, enemies in the Olympics unite over a bigger idea than borders and separation of people.”