Outdoors: Norm O'Reilly's Olympic Diary - Day 13

Friday, August 13, 2004 - 05:00 AM

If you read yesterday, you know that I was privy to an incredible experience last night when I walked with the Canadian Team into the Olympic Stadium as part of the Opening Ceremonies. I was prouder to be Canadian than I’d ever been before. As we walked through the tunnel leading to the stadium, you could hear the incredible roar of the crowd and gradually see, with each passing step, more and more of the packed stadium.

It was a rush. Excitement and jubilation were everywhere; talk of security and terrorism were absent. The Greek crowd was in a frenzy, you could tell that they were delighted to welcome the world and keen to show off their Games. If you didn’t get to watch on TV, the spectacle was very impressive highlighted by the traditional run to the lighting of the Olympic torch. Although most were expecting more, I thought it was a perfect choice to honour the heritage of the Olympic movement in Greece. The ceremonies were the hottest ticket in town with seats ranging from 300 to 950 Euros (0 to 00, Canadian), meaning that many had made an investment to be there.

From an insider’s point-of-view, the Opening Ceremonies were an extremely well organized and controlled event. Event management at its finest! From the time we left the athlete’s village at 6:00pm until we returned at 1:30am, we were in a controlled, comfortable and safe environment. Following a brief bus-ride to the Olympic Complex, all marchers were organized while we relaxed, watched the event on TV and ate a box-lunch in the Basketball/Gymnastics stadium. We were seated by country which made for a charged environment.

The stadium was impressive and the mood charged upon arrival. Countries mixed with one another, millions of photos were taken and everyone relaxed and enjoyed the experience. The fact that the organizers made the movement of 10,000 people so easy was impressive and ATHOC deserves serious accolades. Just consider for a minute the operational challenge of such a feat.

There were two real highlights from the night that I’d like to share. The first was being able to share the experience with so many of the Mission Staff from the Games. Here’s a photo of the four guys who run the admin/transportation office (me, Lorne Lasuita of Regina, Kelly Dearborn of Ottawa, and Hubert Berube of Winnipeg).