New Year, an Olympic one. New China ? New Olympics? I don't think so..

Published on January 10, 2008

Athens

m 2008 we are going to watch the Opening Ceremony of the Beijing Olympic Games and as the creator of the ceremony inform us it is going to present us the chinese culture and history and with them the environmental problems we have to deal with. All these in 2008, the year that China will be the first country to emit Co2 surpassing the amount of the US pollution. China wants to use the Olympics to show the world that is here to stay. Also the cost to organise the Olympics is getting bigger as years pass, making it impossible for smaller countries to host them. Those who believed that the Athens Games would give a spirit in the organisation soon found that sponsorships were bigger than thos of Sydney 2000. However Greece managed to host secure Games and presented an Opening Ceremony which was very different of what we had seen before and was regarded as one of the best one ever. But it didnt manage to change them.. Now it is expected the opposite: while in 2004 all the people expected that with the return to their birthplace the Olympics would change, in 2008 Olympics are expected to change China. But is it going to happen ? Will China change its political system and give more freedoms? Or will things going to get better with Thibet and Taiwan ? Will the Red Dragon decide to adopt a model of green economical development ? I dont think so...While all these happen voices worldwide and especially in Greece believe that the Olympics are nothing more than a big party of politicians, athletes and sponsors and they have nothing to do with the Ancient Games and the romantic era of the Modern Games. Is the Olympic movement on decline? How all these dopping scandals and economic relations with sponsors reflect on its image? Is there any hope to restore their previous glory, or the Olypmic movement today reflects a small image of our world ? A world were money, enterprises and illegal drugs are above human beings ?