The Athens Olympic Games 2004 (XXVIII Olympiad) has officially
begun, 108 years after being given birth in the ancient Greek capital.
A record 10,500 athletes and 5,500 team officials from 202 National Olympic
Committees, three more than four years ago in Sydney, are participating in the
world's most watched sporting meet. They will battle for 301 gold medals in 28
sports.
It is expected that there will be 4 billion TV viewers and 5.3 million
spectators actually on the scene to watch .
For the city itself, the Games has brought little so far but trouble and
cost.
Construction nightmares, budget over spending, security concerns over the
first Olympics since the 9/11 attack in the US -- and constant concerns about
whether the city would be ready in time -- have all added to the stress of the
homecoming.
But it seems they have achieved the impossible. The building is completed,
transport in the city is running smoothly and there is a tight but not intrusive
security network looking over it all.
"Welcome home," read the signs everywhere in the city.
"We are ready for the Games to begin," says Gianna Angelopoulos, president of
the organizing committee for the Athens Olympic Games. "Four years of teamwork
have created an Olympic city here in Athens. Our city is painted in the Olympic
colours and we are ready for competition.
"We will show the world our country's traditions and modern achievements."
This morning's opening ceremony backed him up.
The three-hour heartstopper showed that the modern Greeks have the same
ambitions and abilities as their predecessors..
They turned the Olympic stadium into a giant pool representing the Aegean
Sea.
Four hundred drummers paraded around the stadium to a thunderous beat before
the Olympic rings floated up from the water followed by a boy floating in a
giant paper boat.
Ancient Greek goddesses then turned the stadium into the Olympiad Mountain.
But the Greeks are keen to show more than history.
"With these Games, Athens wants to show the world a modern Greece. We believe
we are already doing that, as we promised, but we also wanted to make a
connection with ancient Greece -- which did give birth to these Games," said
Angelopoulos.
The goddesses then gave up their major roles to today's deities -- the
sportsmen and women from all over the world.
The Chinese contingent entered the stadium headed by NBA Houston Rockets
basketballer Yao Ming -- a towering 2.26-metre superstar -- as flag bearer.
China's neighbours -- the Republic of Korea and the Democratic People's
Republic of Korea -- marched in together under one flag, as in Sydney.
China is sending a record 633-member delegation, including 407 athletes, to
compete in 26 sports.
The nation aims to grasp at least 20 golds following the 28-top medal tally
in Sydney, which gave it third place in the medal standings.
And there will be a special eye kept on China, who will host the next Games
in 2008, and who will see Athens as a testing ground for their
athletes.
