The International Olympic Committee announced Sunday that the Athens 2004 Opening Ceremony set a new record in TV viewing on a world scale. In Britain more than 8.5 million viewers, 2.5 times more than Sydney’s Opening Ceremony, watched the ceremony. In France 7.3 million watched the ceremony and in Germany more than 12.95 million people saw the ceremony which is 3.5 times more than the Opening Ceremony for the Sydney Games. In the United States more than 56 million viewers watched the Opening Ceremony.
Total insurance coverage for the Athens 2004 Games set a record in the amount of $1 billion (U.S.) coverage. The largest premium – $6.8 million – was purchased by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). The main insurance companies involved are from Britain, Greece and the United States.
Track and field events over the weekend helped fill up the stands at the Games and many venues were more than three quarters full, said organizers. On Saturday venues were about 78 per cent full, up from 66 per cent on Friday. Organizers said 22 events were sold out Saturday, including athletics, badminton finals, baseball, beach volleyball, cycling and weightlifting. Handball and boxing preliminaries were among events with fewer spectators. About 43,200 tickets were sold Saturday, pushing total sales to 3.34 million of the 5.3 million available.
Volunteers sprayed the crowd at the Faliro Olympic complex, site of beach volleyball, when the temperature climbed to about 33 degrees Celsius. Tournament officials checked the temperature of the sand for the first time and discovered it was 42 degrees Celsius. The mercury climbed to 37 at the main Olympic complex.
Every volunteer at the Athens Games will receive a collectible Swatch watch not available in stores which bears the insignia of Athens 2004 and the Athens Olympic Games colours. The modern-looking watches are in the colours and designs of the Athens 2004 uniforms.
And finally, there are reports that United States President George Bush is planning to visit the Athens Games this week to watch the Iraqi soccer team. Unconfirmed reports say the White House is examining the logistical and security implications of Bush travelling to Athens for Saturday’s soccer final. Iraq is playing Paraguay Tuesday for a place in the finals. But reports say it’s possible the presidential visit to the Games will fuel a dispute between Bush’s election campaign and the U.S. Olympic Committee over a commercial that links Iraq’s and Afghanistan’s participation in the Games with the U.S.’s “war on terrorism”. The commercial has been broadcast in the U.S. for the past week. Members of Iraq’s team have reacted furiously to the news that their efforts are being misused by the Bush campaign team’s efforts to win a second term in the White House.
