On July 20, 1990, the Goodwill Games, sponsored in large part by Ted Turner, opened in Seattle. Conceived as an apolitical alternative to the Olympics, the games promised international goodwill through world-class competition. Over 2,000 athletes from 54 countries competed in 21 sports events at the University of Washington and other cities in Washington State. The donor of this water bottle attended the games and stated, "I believe the Goodwill Games pomoted citizen diplomacy between arch Cold War enemies, the Soviet Union and the United States. I further believe it was these instances of citizen diplomacy that helped regular people in these two countries find common ground and realize we all wanted peace for our families."