The Origin Of The Olympics

Bhopal shadow over London Olympics

The wrap will have 336 individual panels, each of which will be 25m high and 2.5m wide. It will drop a spectacular curtain around the steel girders, breezeblocks and seating of the £486 million (R3,548 crore) stadium. Dow, ‘chemistry partner’ to the Olympics, is to begin installing it next spring.

The decision by Olympics authorities to select Dow for the prized job has been condemned by Bhopal activists. “For Dow to be allowed to be associated with a sporting event is an insult to the people in Bhopal and to those around the world who support them,” said Lorraine Close of Bhopal Medical Appeal, a British charity.

“It is absurd that one of the richest multinationals in the world continues to abuse and neglect some of the poorest people, while being positively reinforced by Olympic organisers and the UK government.”

Another charity, the International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal, is urging widespread demonstrations to protest the move and global environmental group Greenpeace too has issued a swift condemnation.

The wrap, which will be seen by television viewers around the world, was scrapped by the British government last year in a bid to shave off £20 million (R146 crore) from the budget. But Dow stepped in with an offer to sponsor it.

Keith Wiggins, managing director of Dow UK said the company should not be judged on the “awful legacies” of the past. “It’s acknowledged the industry has made mistakes in the past. But the world without good chemistry in the future would be a poorer place,” Wiggins said.

But Close replied: “The fundamental point he conveniently neglected to mention is that there is nothing past tense about the situation in Bhopal.” Those who survived the gas leak from the Carbide factory – as well as their children – continue to suffer, she said.

Campaigners have also hit out at London 2012 Olympic chairman Lord Sebastian Coe, after he declared: “The stadium will look spectacular at Games time and having the wrap is the icing on the cake.” The former British athlete’s mother was of Indian origin.

The Olympic Games The History Of The Olympic Games

Olympics or The Olympic Games is a multi-sports event which takes place once in four years and comprises of winter and summer games. It is an international event and almost all the countries in the globe participate in the games.

The first Olympic game was held in the year 776 BC in Olympia, Greece. The games were held in Greece till 393 AD. Subsequently in 1896, Pierre Fredy, Baron de Coubertin, a French nobleman revived the games which heralded the beginning of the Modern Olympic Games.

Starting from 1896, Games of the Olympiad or The Summer Olympics were held once in four years except during the World War 1 and 2.

The Olympic Winter Games, a special edition of winter sports was first held in 1924. In the beginning, both summer and winter editions of The Olympic Games were held simultaneously. From 1944 onwards the summer and winter games have been held two years apart.

The origin of the ancient Olympic Games was surrounded by many legends. The ancient Greek concept of Olympic Truce is one such legend associated with The Olympic Games. The Olympic Games reached their zenith during fifth and sixth century BC.

The Olympic Games were held in honour of Pelops a mythical king and divine hero of the Greeks. Poems were written and statues were created immortalizing the winners of the events in the Olympic Games. Milo of Croton, a wrestler in the sixth century BC, was the only victorious athlete in six Olympic Games.

After the Romans captured power in Greece, there was a gradual decline in the importance of the Olympic Games. The Emperor Theodosius banned the Olympic Games in 393 CE citing the games as a Pagan Festival not suitable for the Christian Ethics.

Even though the Greek ceremonies included the bearing of a torch as its integral aspect, it was not included in the ancient Olympic Games. This was introduced later as a part of the modern Olympic Games.

In the 2004 Summer Olympics held in Athens, nearly 11,100 contestants from 202 countries participated in various events whereas there were only 245 participants from 15 nations in the 1896 edition of the Olympic Games. The Olympic Games has become one of the biggest events for the media. In the Sydney Olympics held in 2000, more than 16,000 journalists presented the events in various media format while 3.8 billion people watched the games on Television.

Munich Olympics held in 1972 saw the first act of terrorism in the .Olympic Games. Subsequently the Summer Olympics held in Atlanta, Georgia in 1996, and the Winter Olympics held in Salt Lake City, Utah in 2002 were also subjected to acts of terrorism.

A brief history of the Olympic games

Social Issues in Sport

The Olympics, a history of the modern games

The Archaeology of the Olympics, the Olympics and other festivals in antiquity

The origin of the history of science in classical antiquity