Al-Ahram Weekly 14 - 20 September 2000 Issue No. 499
Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875

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The greatest show on earth

By Inas Mazhar

You would have to be living on the moon not to know that tomorrow the greatest show on earth begins. And with all respect to PT Barnum it is the five rings of the Olympics, not the show man's three-ring circus, that is the ultimate global extravaganza. So say the facts. A worldwide TV audience of more than 3.5 billion people are expected to watch the 15-day event.

Having waited patiently since Sydney was selected to host the Games in 1993, it seems the public just can't sit still any longer. Around 100,000 people streamed into Stadium Australia for the curtain raiser to tomorrow's opening ceremony. Spectators were asked to keep secret the details of the spectacular, but one cat is already out of the bag: homegrown crooner Olivia Newton John will be among the guests.

Officials from the jubilant host city Sydney declared "we're ready" after the dress rehearsal went off almost without a hitch. Transport and security systems passed their first big test as they shuttled the huge crowds across the city. Many Australians had doubted that the city's transportation system would be able to cope with the huge influx of visitors expected to attend the games, and their worries seemed to be well-founded when last week the train service to Homebush Bay ground to a halt after winds blew down overhead power cables along the single-track system. The next day a train jumped the tracks, causing yet more chaos. Out-of-town bus drivers with crumpled maps and worried expressions took athletes and journalists on rambling journeys from venue to venue. Some got lost and turned up late or not at all.

Australian Ric Birch, though, is one man who should arrive on time. His work is all about precision timing. Birch was director of production for the 1984 and 1992 Olympics. Now he takes his act to his home country as director of ceremonies for Sydney 2000. Birch will choreograph the movements of 10,200 athletes and in the process he will get all the help he needs -- 14,000 support staff for the opening ceremony and 5,000 for the closing.

The first protests of the Olympic Games were staged in Sydney on Saturday by the group Australians for Native Title and Reconciliation (far left) who installed 120,000 plastic hands in the city's Centennial Park. Meanwhile, protests continued, despite massive police presence, at the World Economic Forum conference in Melbourne photos: AP & Reuters

When the fireworks end the real fun -- and work -- begins. The battle for medals is what any Olympics is made of. Look for perennial powerhouses the US and Russia to top the medals table. Chinese, Cuban and Australian athletes are also likely to become familiar faces on the medal podium. Egypt, though, which is competing in just 17 events, is not expected to come away with many medals, if at all.

For the organisers, tackling the logistics of holding the event has been an Olympian task in itself. For the first time in Olympic history, all athletes will live in one village, all competition venues will be within 30 minutes of the athletes' accommodation and all training sites within 45 minutes. And after the games are over, the 470 million Australian dollar village will become part of a medium-density housing estate for 5,000 people. Nor have visitors to the tournament been forgotten. From budget accommodation for backpackers to the swankiest of hotels, the city has been preparing itself for a record number of tourists.

The melting pot that is Sydney will make for a lively backdrop. People from more than 140 ethnic backgrounds live in Sydney, one of the great multi-cultural cities of the world. And helping visitors find their way around will be 50,000 volunteers.

Watching and recording the athletes' every word and move will be a record 15,000 media representatives from around the world working in centres connected to all the Olympic facilities, and working 24 hours a day.

The Olympic flame, carried by 10,000 runners on its mammoth journey from Greece, which began on 11 May, has survived three attempts to extinguish it since arriving in Australia. Tomorrow, it will take pride of place at the opening ceremony. The games themselves have survived as much -- terrorism, boycotts, drugs and a games for sale scandal. But the torch, like the tournament it symbolises, just keeps going. (see pp.16 & 17)

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