During the Sydney Olympic opening ceremonies Friday, athletes from North and South Korea wearing the same uniforms will march together for the first time behind a unification flag. There will be 180 marchers, 90 from each country. But the two countries, 50 athletes from North Korea and 400 from South Korea, will compete against each other in their own uniforms and with their own flags and anthems.
Oh no! It seems that International Olympic Committee President Juan Antonio Samaranch and the rest of the IOC Executive Board were left waiting for a ride outside their hotel for more than 25 minutes. Samaranch then canceled a trip to the International Broadcast Centre. Perhaps the driver that was supposed to pick them up was miffed because Samaranch had autographed an old Australian sailor’s cap, and wrote “Sidney” instead of Sydney, on the cap.
More word problems. SOCOG told radio announcers in Sydney that they may refer to the Sydney 2000 Games, the Sydney Olympic 2000 Games, the Olympic Games and The Games. But they are not permitted to say The Olympics, Sydney 2000 Olympics or The 2000 Olympics. Hopefully, if the broadcasters accidentally use the wrong terminology, they won’t be sued like the 1800 plus web sites using the word “Olympic” in their domain names.
Is the word “Olympic” the same in French or English? We may never know. French foreign Ministry spokeswoman Anne Gazeau-Secret said Paris had not officially been notified that Australia’s Governor-General Sir William Deane had decided to speak only in English at the Sydney Games’ opening ceremony. She said the independence of the Games was at stake if English was the only language being used. Diplomats said France’s President Jacques Chirac personally asked IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch to try to convince Sir William to speak French at the opening.
A study of Digital Marketing Services says 73 per cent of 88 million U.S. households with Internet access will log on for Olympic coverage at least once before or during the 2000 Summer Games in Sydney. That’s up from 33 per cent before and during all previous Olympics combined, when not nearly as many people were Internet users.
A 33-member delegation of police, firefighters and paramedics from 13 Utah agencies will be in Sydney to work alongside Australian police and fire agencies at the Games. Four federal agencies are also sending representatives. And emergency services managers from Salt Lake, Ogden, Park City, Provo and other Olympic venue sites will serve as deputy venue commanders in Sydney, working 12-hour shifts six days a week. Craig Dearden, commissioner of the Utah Department of Public Safety said security preparations for Salt Lake’s 2002 Games are about 80 per cent of where Olympic organizers want them.
An Athens 2004 update. Jacques Rogge, who is heading the coordination commission overseeing both the Sydney 2000 and Athens 2004 Games, said Athens is making progress in preparing for the Games, but there are still some concerns. Rogge said construction deadlines should be brought forward from May 2004 to late 2003. Meanwhile he said the Greek government had taken measures to improve security in the wake of the terrorist assassination of a British diplomat last June.
And finally, Samsung Electronics has renewed its worldwide sponsorship for the four-year period 2001-2004. Samsung will remain the exclusive Wireless Communications Equipment sponsor for the 2002 Winter Salt Lake Olympics and the 2004 Olympic Summer Games in Athens.
