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BILLED as the world's greatest sporting event the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games in Atlanta are expected to dwarf the 99 preceding Games by a wide margin in nearly every respect, including the leadership role played by African Americans, the number of participants both in the arenas and behind the scenes, and especially in the amount of money and effort expended to make the event possible. Never before in the Games' history has a city gone as far out on a limb to become a contender in the Olympic sweepstakes and never before have the initial results been as promising.

A look at the numbers tells the story. The 17-day Olympic Games, which were made possible by a mammoth $1.7 billion stadium construction program, are expected to attract 2 million visitors, including 40 heads of state, who will be watching some 10,000 athletes from 197 countries (compared with 172 at the previous Barcelona Games) competing in 271 events in 32 sports categories. In turn, the Games are expected to pump $5.1 billion into the Greater Atlanta economy.

A sizeable portion of the Games' tab was picked up by 10 corporate supersponsors who plunked down $40 million apiece for the privilege of cashing in on the Games' popularity. NBC, which paid $456 million for the U.S television rights to broadcast the Atlanta Games, has scheduled more than 165 hours of coverage. The expected total TV audience is 3.5 billion viewers worldwide. Predicts an optimistic Andrew Young, former Atlanta mayor and one of the Games' key organizers, "Eighty percent of the world's population will be looking at Atlanta in 1996."

A significant amount of the bonanza Atlanta is expected to reap will come from the sale of tickets. Ticket prices for individual events range from a modest $6 to a steep $250. These prices do not, however, include tickets to the Games' climactic opening and closing ceremonies, which have been offered at a whopping $600 a piece.

Even with Atlanta area hotels' impressive capacity of 53,000 rooms, a crucial shortage of public accommodations during the Games seems a foregone conclusion. As a result, some Atlantans are expecting to reap a windfall of up to $10,000 by renting out their homes or apartments for three weeks from July 19 to August 4.

To help stage the Games, the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games (ACOG) hired 33,000 salaried workers for the duration of the Games. Organizers concede, however, that their man/womanpower supply would still be woefully short had it not been for nearly 50,000 volunteers who donated their time free of charge.

As in previous Olympics, security during the Games has been a major concern. To provide maximum safety for Olympic athletes and spectators, perhaps the most comprehensive security apparatus has been devised, consisting of 22,000 security personnel, made up of local, state and federal law enforcement agencies, including the FBI, the CIA, the Secret Service and units of the U.S. military. Around-the-clock surveillance and armed security patrols will be deployed to secure the Olympic Village--the athletes' residence--and other critical sites. They are poised to make sure that, as one official put it, "even the bad guys will be on their best behavior."

As a city known for its traffic snarls, Atlanta had to be creative to avoid the strong likelihood of all traffic coming to a standstill during the Games. Its answer has been the deployment of the most sophisticated traffic management system in the nation, a $140 million project that links all of the city's transportation agencies via fiber optic cable to highway cameras, roadside monitors and stoplights.

While the jury is still out on the ultimate net effect of the Olympic Games, one early positive spinoff has been a massive resurgence of civic pride. This has resulted in hundreds of community-sponsored projects aimed at sprucing up neglected neighborhoods, getting rid of graffiti and planting flowers and grass.

One of Atlanta's major tourist attractions is the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change. Although not directly related to the Olympic Games, the Center with its white marble tomb of the martyred civil rights leader is expected to draw more than 100,000 visitors daily during the games.

Visitors to the Games will have an opportunity to enjoy a wide variety of artistic offerings at the Olympic Arts Festival, which runs parallel to the Games from June 1 through October. The Festival will feature more than 50 major gospel, pop, rhythm & blues and country acts, and will showcase such diverse talents as James Brown, the Alvin Ailey Dance Theater, Wynton Marsalis and Jessye Norman.

Ever since 1964 gold medalist Rafer Johnson took off from Los Angeles on April 27 to become the first U.S. runner among the 10,000 Olympic Torch Relay Team members who will carry the flame to Atlanta for the opening ceremony, Atlanta has been waiting to exhale. Never have so many hopes and prayers been riding on a sports event and never have the stakes been as high. Most Atlantans are confident that the Games will be a big success that will provide not only a big boost to their city's economy, but will elevate Atlanta to world-class status, a ranking that will pay dividends for years to come. Whatever the outcome, one thing seems certain--post-Olympics Atlanta will never tee the same.