The 2004 International Relay: a Greek around the world with the Olympic Flame

Abstract

This paper presents a first-hand experience of the 2004 Athens International Olympic Flame Relay (IOFR) from the perspective of one of the Greek team members who accompanied the flame. It provides a rich description of the mechanics of the relay itself, demonstrating that it involved complex international exchanges. It is about much more than the torchbearers. The author describes life on the road with the flame, highlighting the cultural, political, and personal challenges entailed in this endeavour. It explores the tensions: between sponsor interests and the spirit of Olympism; from professional ‘world's best practices’ implementation of the relay to volunteers' expectations of their roles and experiences; and in the division of labour between the International Olympic Committee (IOC), National Olympic Committees (NOCs), and Olympic Games Organizing Committees (OCOGs) as stakeholders.

Notes

¹ I would like to thank my brother Panos, who was then working for ATHOC designing the route of the domestic relay. He called me one day at my office where I worked full-time for the official bank of the Athens Olympic Games on its sponsorship. My brother asked: ‘Would you like to go around the world in a month?’ In response, I asked if I seemed like Phileas Fogg to him? He suggested that I should send my resume to Além International, the company that was undertaking the execution of the project, and due to my past Olympic experiences and language skills I should volunteer.

² ‘The IOA is like the Olympic Village without the anxiety of competition’. Bruce Kidd, personal communication, April 2005.

³ The Archaeological site is situated one kilometre away from the village of Ancient Olympia. The lighting ceremony for the Olympic Games takes place near the ruins of the Temple of Hera. The lighting ceremony for the Winter Olympic Games has evolved over the years but now has two parts: the lighting of the flame at the ruins of the Temple of Hera, and the chorus performance which takes place at the monument where Pierre de Coubertin's heart was buried. The first torchbearer makes his first stop at the monument in the case of the Olympic Games, and starts from the monument in the case of the Winter Olympic Games.

⁴ The National Olympic Committee (NOC) of Greece.

⁵ The idea of keeping the flame lit outside the Panathenaic Stadium for two months was received with reservation by the Greek public. The HOC board members were affiliated with PASOK, the Socialist party that was then in power. The coming parliamentary elections were scheduled for the beginning of April, so the HOC wanted to give an opportunity to the Socialists for a public appearance with ‘Olympic’ significance. Unfortunately for them, the Parliament decided that the elections would instead take place on March 7, one month before, giving the opportunity to the newly elected Conservative party (NEA) to preside at the first Olympic ritual event.

⁶ Nikolaou means the date of the opening ceremonies of the 1896 Olympic Games, not the lighting of any flame.

⁷ The first modern Olympic Games were held in this stadium in 1896. For the internal debates on this programme, see MacAloon, ‘A Conversation With Athanassios Kritsinelis’, in this volume.

⁸ George Bolos was the marketing chief of ACOG who acquired control over the flame relay as part of his portfolio (for details, see MacAloon, ‘A Conversation With Athanassios Kritsinelis’, this volume). When Mr. Bolas was present on the relay, he was the one to step down the airplane's steps with the lantern and deliver the speech on behalf of ATHOC during the evening celebration.

⁹ According to Greek mythology, Zeus was the ‘father figure’ and leader of all 12 Greek gods and Hera was the wife of Zeus. The Olympic Games of Antiquity were held to honour him and the whole site of Olympia was dedicated to him.

¹⁰ Sydney, Melbourne, Tokyo, Seoul, Mexico City, Los Angeles, Saint Louis, Atlanta, Montreal, Antwerp, Amsterdam, Paris, London, Barcelona, Rome, Munich, Berlin, Stockholm, Helsinki, Moscow.

¹¹ New Delhi, Cairo, Cape Town, Rio de Janeiro.

¹² New York and Geneva.

¹³ The IOFR in Barcelona started around 02:00 in the afternoon. It is well known that around that time the ‘siesta’ starts throughout Spain, that is the 2–3 hours in the afternoon while everything is closed and people rest at their homes. A small but important detail that was not taken proper notice of and had as a result empty streets for the first two hours of the IOFR.

¹⁴ The candidate cities for the 2012 Olympic Games were: London, Madrid, Moscow, New York, Paris.

¹⁵ An advance team with a manager was already there to take care of all details.

¹⁶ See MacAloon, ‘Introduction’ and ‘A Conversation With Steven McCarthy’, in this volume.

¹⁷ Karlis, ‘Volunteerism and Multiculturalism’.

¹⁸ MacAloon, ‘Volunteers, Global Society, and the Olympic Movement’.

¹⁹ Moreno and de Moragas, ‘The Evolution of Volunteers at the Olympic Games’.

²⁰ The logo of the International Olympic Flame Relay included the brand names of the two sponsors, Coca-Cola and Samsung.

²¹ The Emblem of the Athens 2004 Olympic Games was the olive tree wreath in circle.

²² The Olympic symbol is the interlocked five rings.

²³ On emotions and social movements, see Turner, ‘Liminality and the Performative Genres’; Katz, How Emotions Work; Jasper, ‘The Emotions of Protest’.