Epic homecoming for Olympics

ATHENS: With five rings ablaze in the middle of a man-made sea, the Olympics returned to its birthplace yesterday in an epic homecoming heralded by a pounding heartbeat, a galloping centaur and an array of Greek gods followed by the biggest parade of nations in the event’s history. “The Olympic Games: Welcome back to Greece!” an announcer cried to kick off the opening ceremony that culminated with Nikolaos Kaklamanakis, windsurfing gold medallist from the 1996 Atlanta Games, lighting the cauldron at the end of a slender 31-metre (102-foot) arm that rose slowly over one end of the stadium. It was a moment many doubted Greek organisers could pull off, after years of worrisome delays and constant pressure to bolster the most expensive security network ever at an Olympics. The ceremony also closed an important circle in sports, from the Games’ innocent rebirth in 1896 to the latest gathering of the world’s greatest athletes under 202 flags in an age beset by fears of terrorism and instability.

“Greece is standing before you. We are ready... We have waited long for this moment,” said the Games’ chief organiser, Gianna Angelopoulos-Daskalaki, under a model of an olive tree alongside International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge. Rogge said: “We need peace, we need tolerance, we need brotherhood. He urged athletes to “show us that sport unites by overriding national, political, religious and language barriers.” At dusk, a countdown video filled the screen at the Olympic Stadium — whose new weblike canopy was bolted into place only last month. The numbers clicked down from 28: one second for each of the games scheduled since the first modern Olympiad in an all-marble arena in central Athens. Each tick of the clock was accompanied by the amplified sound of a human heartbeat. Then, with a blast of fireworks around the stadium roof, the ceremony was fully under way. Minutes later, the five Olympic rings were ablaze.

“We did it! We did it!” chanted a group of Greeks in the stand waving their flag. A round-the-clock work blitz —  under broiling sun and blinding spotlights —  managed to pull together the vast network of venues, transport links, villages and security needed for the athletes and heads of state at the first Summer Games since the September 11, 2001, attacks. A sign of the security measures floated overhead —  a blimp with supersensitive spyware. Outside the stadium sat symbols of  the delays —  dirt expanses instead of landscaped paths, idle  cranes and trees planted just last week. Earlier, an International Olympic Committee member who helped oversee the preparations noted how much was at stake if the Greeks failed the task. “I think you have saved Greece and saved the IOC from great humiliation,” Alex Gilady told Athens organisers. The spectacle of the opening ceremony —  tradition mixed with Las Vegas-style fanfare — celebrated Greek history, culture and civilisation. After the burning Olympic flames subsided, a boy on a replica of a ship sailed into the arena, waving a small Greek flag. 

 Then the centaur —  the mythological half-man, half-horse —  waded into the water and tossed a spear of light representing a javelin. From the centre of the stadium rose a statue representing an ancient form from Greece’s Cyclades islands. The form broke apart to reveal other figures from Greek history. The ancient god of love, Eros, flew above two lovers dancing and playing in the water. Then Eros hovered over a procession of figures from Greek history —  from ancient vase paintings to a tribute to the Greek shepherd, Spiros Louis, who won the first Olympic marathon. “The great moment has come!” cried the announcer in the stadium. Moments later, the parade of athletes began with the appearance of Greek weightlifter Pyrros Dimas, who is seeking his fourth consecutive gold medal at the games. Behind him, more than 10,500 athletes streamed into the stadium. (AP)