A French language study group has complained that too little Olympic business was being conducted in French. French and English are the two recognized languages of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and most staffers speak French well, but English has become more prevalent in IOC circles over the years. It also seems to be the main language in Athens for most Olympic workers and volunteers. When asked about the use of French at the Athens Games IOC spokeswoman Giselle Davis said all reports are written in English and French and that translation of English comments into French is available at all official IOS and ATHOC press conferences. There are translations also available for many other languages, including Russian, Chinese and Spanish. Some downtown street signs that were only in Greek have been modified to include English, but an official with Athens 2004 said the writing would have to be too small if French were added.
Special commemorative postage stamps bearing the image of Leonidas Sampanis, the 32-year-old weightlifter stripped of his bronze medal after testing positive for excessive testosterone, are to be withdrawn from circulation, according to a decision Monday by the Greek Post Office. The decision to remove the stamps is to be finalized by the end of the week. About 136,000 Sampanis stamps have been printed.
According to the Athens 2004 Organising Committee, an Olympic recycling initiative has been extremely successful with more than 20,000 cans of trash gathered from Olympic venues to far. The trash has been sorted into three groups – plastics, paper and other garbage to facilitate recycling, said ATHOC. So far, a total of 350 tons of waste paper and 450 tons of plastic garbage have been collected from Olympic venues and elsewhere, said a statement. But not from one area where some journalists recently saw a trash collector emptying all the contents of three bins into one container and carting it away. Ooops!
And finally, it’s party time! Thousands of fans draped in their national flags and sporting their country’s colours on their arms, cheeks and foreheads, are converging in the heart of Athens, to the joy of shopkeepers and tavern owners. In August, Athens streets are usually deserted by residents who leave the city in droves for vacation areas. From the newly revamped Constitution Square at the foot of the Greek parliament, down the Ermou pedestrian shopping street to the tourist districts of Plaka and Monastiraki, Greeks and foreigners pack the alleys and squares for the free Olympic concerts and events sponsored by the city of Athens. Sports fans flock around the giant TV screens at coffee shops and taverns have a 20-minute waiting list. Waiters say a party climate prevails, with fans of rival nations buying each other drinks during televised contests, cheering wildly for victory but accepting defeat with grace.
