«Light the Fire Within» is the motto of the Salt Lake City Winter Olympic Games and is also the inspiring theme of the Olympic torch, designed and created by Coleman. The flame burns inside a cylinder of ice which refers to pureness, winter and nature, whereas the stem of the torch is built with the symbolic metals of West America: copper and silver. The hand holds the torch at the point where the aged silver of the top part meets with the glossy finish of the lower part and becomes a metaphor of the bridge between past and future.

The reference to the territory is present also in the logo: the colors – yellow, orange and blue – represent the varied landscape of the Utah in the stylized image of a sun that rises behind a mountain. Its design refers to the shape of a stalactite to symbolize the Winter Games. 12.012 torchbearers proudly carried the Olympic fire for 21.725 km. The Games saw the expansion of the Olympic program to 78 events, including the return of skeleton and the introduction of women's bobsleigh. Instant video replay in figure skating was also introduced. The Games were officially opened by US President George W. Bush.