Interview: Athens Olympic Games left legacy for Greece and world: HOC's President
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E-mail Xinhua, July 26, 2012
By Maria Spiliopoulou
ATHENS, July 26 (Xinhua) -- Greece, birthplace of the Olympic Games, has hosted the Olympics twice in modern history successfully in 1896 and in 2004 in Athens.
Greeks know well how the Games can transform the image and the spirit of a city and a country. As London hosts the Games this summer, they wish best success to the British organizers, the Olympic movement and all athletes of the world.
Shortly before travelling to London for the opening ceremony of the 2012 Games on Friday, Hellenic Olympic Committee (HOC) President Spyros Capralos discussed the legacy of the Athens Games and the expectations for the London Olympics in an interview with Xinhua at the premises of HOC, overlooking the Olympic Stadium.
In late 19th century Athens as host city was the "natural choice" of the newly established International Olympic Committee (IOC) for the revival of the Games born in ancient Olympia 2,500 years ago. Despite setbacks, the 1896 Athens Games were regarded as a great success.
French Baron Pierre de Coubertin, father of the modern Olympics, and some 50,000 spectators cheered at the marble Panathenaic Stadium, refurbished for the occasion, as more than 200 athletes from 14 countries competed in the sporting event with the largest international participation to that date. The victory of local water carrier Spyros Louis in the marathon race filled Greeks with pride and confidence.
The same emotions outpoured, when Greece welcomed back the Games in 2004, as IOC was aiming to restore the values of the Olympics, lost due to the over-commercialization by previous organizers.
Despite doubts in the months leading up to the Games, as projects were behind schedule, Athens was transformed into an idyllic host city with some of the most modern sporting venues worldwide and state-of-the-art transportation infrastructure. After the closing ceremony at the Olympic Stadium within the Athens Olympic Sports Complex (OAKA), the country's international image had changed.
"The 1896 Games left a legacy for the whole world, because it was the rebirth of the Olympic Games and looking backwards today I think we owe a lot to Pierre De Coubertin, to all the people who helped have the first modern Olympic Games in Athens...because the Olympic Games have become the most important sport event in the whole world with more than 200 countries participating, which means that the universality of the Games is bringing together the whole world," Capralos said.
"In 2004 it was a completely different story. 2004 Athens Games was very emotional, because the Games were coming back to the country that created those Games and as bid Committee and as government of Greece we thought that the Olympic Games were a very good chance for modernizing the country," he added.
Capralos explained how a country that lives out of services and tourism seized the opportunity to construct a new international airport and a series of infrastructure projects in particular in the transportation sector, such as more than a hundred kilometers of new roads, three new metro lines, and a new tramway.
These projects helped not only a smooth operation during the Games, but are a daily legacy for Athenians. He pointed to studies showing that ever since commuters save 40 minutes every day.
"Every single sector of the economy inherited a lot of things from the Athens 2004 Games. But most importantly the legacy that was left to the people, the people who worked in the Olympic Games as workforce, as volunteers and managed to conduct and deliver very successful Games was pride, but also confidence that under difficult conditions, under stress, under time limitations we Greeks are able to deliver and to excel at an international event like the Olympic Games," he stressed.
Looking backwards HOC's President remembers that he was crying with pride during the opening ceremony, he remembers the medals Greek athletes won, but also with sadness the doping cases that briefly tarnished the event.
"But overall what I remember with pride is that everybody was coming at the end of the Games thanking me, congratulating me about the efforts and the superb Games, the experience in Athens," he said.
Capralos acknowledges that Greece could make better use of sports facilities, such the complexes at the Faliron coastal zone or the site of the old Hellenikon international airport which were left abandoned after the Games.
The HOC's chief strongly rejects though the notion that the 2004 Athens Olympics enlarged the Greek sovereign debt dramatically, leading to the current acute economic crisis.
"Of course, there were also mistakes done, especially in the construction of sport facilities, and especially the use of those facilities after the Olympic Games. There was no proper planning before, and because we were late, when we started constructing those facilities there was no real action of what was going to happen with them after the Games," he said.
"But from that point to saying that the Olympic Games are responsible for the difficult situation of the country, is something grotesque. The Olympic Games cost more or less, including all the infrastructure projects, about 8 billion euros. The overall debt of Greece was more than 350 billion euros. So you can understand it is like a little drop of water in a full glass of water," Capralos underlined.
The crisis has severely affected Greek sport and HOC's work over the past two years. There is less state funding and the Committee and national sport federations turned to sponsors to cover the entire budget for the Olympic preparation of athletes and the trip to London.
Despite difficulties, Greeks retain high hopes for medals. A total of 105 Greek athletes managed to qualify for the 2012 Olympic Games in 20 sports. "Our target is to exceed the number of medals that we got in Beijing. In Beijing we had four medals, two silver and two bronze. For London we are aiming to get more," said Capralos.
Greeks expect more, wish the best to the organizers of the 2012 Olympics, as well. "Every city which organizes Olympic Games contributes to the history of the Olympic Games. We are hopeful and we hope that the Olympic Games of London will also be as successful as the Games in Beijing, Athens before or Sydney before," he said. Enditem
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