Just like the original athletes we walk thirty two metres from the Temple along the arched passageway or “Krypte” and find ourselves in the bowl of the first Olympic Stadium – still largely as it was in the fifth century BC.
Me and Martin in front of the 'Krypte':
Here the high priestess passes the Flame to the first relay runner who sets off on a journey of over eighty thousand miles which will end up in the Birds Nest Stadium in Beijing on August 8th. Her assistant releases a white dove to remind us of the Olympic Truce which made the first Games possible.
The new Flame is lit!:
The exact form of the modern day protocols for the Torch Lighting, the Relay and the Olympic Cauldron may owe much to the pioneers of the 1930s Games, but here in Olympia the bonds between the modern and the ancient games need little translation. They are there for all to see.
Witnessing a ceremony such as we saw this morning it’s clear that the Olympic Games transcend any mere sporting event. It is as spiritual as it is physical. Pierre De Coubertin’s tomb is just over the hillside and it is easy to see why his modern Games celebrate mind, body and spirit.
Martin Green (London 2012’s Head of Ceremonies) and I spent the whole of Easter Sunday travelling and drove for almost five hours from Athens last night to get here in time. Tomorrow we have an early start to get back into the office on Wednesday. There were times, as we negotiated the Greek road system, when it seemed like a long way to come for a bit of protocol. And of course there has been the odd demonstration too. But nothing – absolutely nothing – could diminish the atmospheric purity that links three thousand years of history and philosophy to the project we’re building in 2012. If you can find a way, plan a visit to ancient Olympia in the spring of 2012.
Just a week ago, perhaps by way un-witting preparation, I and a group of London 2012 staff formed a much less formal but equally meaningful relay of our own. We joined the hundreds of thousands of runners in wave after wave completing the Sport Relief Mile. We were on London’s Embankment, but anyone who joined in or watched on TV will have seen vast crowds of runners all around the UK and beyond. The joy of running just a mile is that pretty much anyone can do it, and pretty much anyone did; from game grandparents to toddlers in pushchairs and from gasping armchair sports fans to famous Olympic athletes (including Seb Coe of course). It’s a valuable charity fund-raiser, but beyond that there’s an equally important message about the inspiration we can all draw from some very tangible sporting direct action.
The genuine coincidence of these two great events, just a week apart, speaks eloquently about what lies ahead on our own very long journey to 2012...
