Well, my wish came true! I got the opportunity to attend the opening ceremonies of the Special Olympics 2011 summer games in Athens at the Kallimarmaron Stadium, the oldest stadium of the world built in 566 BC, made out of marble and holding up to 46,000 spectators today!
Athlete Procession into ancient stadium for Opening Ceremonies of Special Olympics 2011 in Athens.
After deep contemplation and uncertainty, I obtained my ticket and found myself seated in the ancient theatre taking in the opening moments of the Special Olympic games. Spectators were gathered from all over the world, donning their countries colors, waving flags and anticipating the moment when their nation would be called and the athletes representing them would process proudly into the stadium.
The ceremony oddly started off with the “Music of the Ancient Potsâ€, a musical performance from Minoan island of Crete which ended in a fireworks backed smashing of the pots which symbolized breaking down the walls of discrimination. Afterwards, the Parade of Athletes started in random order as to not put one country over another. Some other observations I made were that Irish fans (conveniently seated right behind us) did in fact cheer on the team from Great Britain. Many country’s athletes dressed in ethnic dress including the Haitians and the Indonesians. Recent war-torn and politically unstable countries participated, like Iraq, Iran, Cuba, Kuwait, and Palestine, which symbolized unity and peace to me. In addition, I felt pride and cheered a little louder when countries like USA, Kenya, China, Japan and Peru entered. And finally, when the Irish team entered, the boisterous Irish fans erupted in cheers, a chant of “I-re-land, I-re-land†and song: “ole-ole-ole-oleâ€. Over 180 teams participating in the Olympics marched in with over 7000 total athletes. By far the largest applause came when the Greek team was announced; the whole stadium stood to their feet and cheered continuously for several minutes! There was a sense of a oneness and wholeness in that stadium.
Later, 12 special Olympic athletes from different countries shared testimonies of their own “victories†including one who recently got married and another who earned a top level business job. Afterwards, there were several speeches including one from Timothy Shriver, son of Eunice Maria Shriver, founder of the Special Olympics. He said that the acts of athletes uniting for “victory†are an example for the world. He challenged the stadium (now full of athletes, coaches, family and spectators) to start a “dignity revolution†right then and there; a world with many abilities and no disabilities. Another moment of shared unity and oneness came during the live Stevie Wonder performance. That’s right STEVIE WONDER! The whole stadium was dancing and clapping and having a good time. It was like one big party. Beyond that, I admired him for his short speech which talked about humans as God’s unique creation, made with dignity and beauty.
A major portion of the ceremony was “Our Odysseusâ€, a 45 minute performance focused on Homer’s story of courage, strength and hope. It is a journey for the world and for the athletes of the Special Olympics. There were six scenes each with elaborate choreographed dancing and neat special effects. The first was a scene of setting sail for Ithaca, a journey of adventure and learning. The next scene featured Polyfimos, the Cyclops and spoke of overcoming impenetrable challenges with education and training. The third scene depicts a storm created by Poseidon, god of the seas, and teaches that the strength of the soul can empower us to overcome adversity. The next scene featured bird-like sirens and we gleaned that there will be distractions and temptations on the journey, but perseverance and commitment to goals is necessary to succeed. Scylla and Charybdis followed, the classic rock and hard place, which showed that while fear and self-doubt lurks within us all, it can be defeated through patience, strength and solidarity. Finally, the Island of Feakes closed the story with challenge and a rise to divinity. This tied in to the philosophy and Greek history that we’ve been reading and learning about in our classes and study abroad adventure. Furthermore, this rendering of Homer’s Odyssey not only tied in perfectly to the spirit of the Olympic games, but to life in general!
“If anything is to bring world peace, the Special Olympics will, not the Nike and Adidas Olympics.” ~ Paraphrase of a verbal quotation by Dr. Moore
