SPORT 1913 - 2013

part one_CHAPTER 4

pic Games of ancient Greece were the only event reported that was able to not only attract athletes from near and far but also to suspend wars through the observation of the Olympic Truce or Ekecheira by Greek city-states. This Truce was respected from the seventh day prior to the opening of the Games until the seventh day after the closing of the Games allowing competition between the athletes to take place and ensuring their safe return to their coun- tries of origin. The Games then were a religious as well as an athletic celebration. Pierre de Coubertin adopted this tradi- tion of Olympics and in 1894 incorporated it into his ideals of the modern Olympic Games which include amongst others also the ideals of equality, fairness, mutual respect, interna- tional tolerance and understanding. Con- vinced of his mission to promote peace and international understanding Coubertin stat- ed: “There are people who talk about the abol- ishment of wars, those who claim that these people are utopists are not wrong, others, however, talk about the gradual decrease of the possibility of wars and that I do not think is utopian at all. It is certain that telegraphs, trains, telephones, research conferences and exhibitions have achieved more for peace than all treaties and diplomatic relations. I expect from the enthusiasm for sport that sport can do even more. Those who have ever seen how 30 000 people walk in the rain to attend a foot- ball match know that I am not exaggerating. Let us export our rowers, our runners, our fencers: That would be the free trade of the

future. When the days come when this is a norm for the old Europe then the path to peace will get a mighty new impulse.”… “Should they (the modern Olympic Games) grow, of which I am certain, if all cultures and peoples contribute, they could be a powerful even if an indirect factor of world peace.”(translated as quoted in Mandell 1976, 89). The tradition of Olympic Truce has survived in the modern Olympic movement and was eventually approved and endorsed by the United Nations. Over time it was the ideal of “world peace” that has become a cornerstone of the Olympic Truce, and on November 3 rd , 2003 the UN General Assembly, with unprec- edented unanimity, adopted the draught UN Resolution entitled “Building a Peaceful and better world through Sport and the Olympic ideals”. (http://www.olympictruce.org/html/ news.html). Though Coubertin’s vision of an Olympic Truce and “world peace” is often seen as a uto- pian hyperbole, his intention was always to set an example for international unity: “To ask peoples to love one another is childish, to ask them to respect one another is no utopia, how- ever, in order to respect one another one first has to get to know one another.” (translation of Coubertin 1966, 150). As Avery Brundage stated, “The Olympic Games are never able to prevent wars, how- ever, they can create a good example, what they in fact are doing.” (translated as quoted in Lenk 1972, 113).

Coubertin’s vision survived despite many critiques and scepticism. Surprisingly in our age and time there have been voices and vari- ous international efforts to uphold his ideals over more than a century. These voices include former South African President and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Nelson Mandela. He has always been a patron of the Olympic ideals in- cluding the Olympic Truce and a strong sup- porter for sport, peace and the Olympic move- ment. In 1992, at the Olympic Games in Barcelona, Nelson Mandela was present as South Africa returned to the Olympic Games after years of international boycott. In 1997 he received the Pierre de Coubertin International Fair Play Award by the International Olympic Committee with the following words by Nor- bert Müller: “The Olympic ideal with its quest for peace became durably strengthened and made credible through your personal involve- ment. The International Committee for Fair Play thus honours today Mister Nelson Man- dela as an exceptional example of a personality who has applied the principles of fair play to public life, principles which are the foundation not only of sport but also of all social engage- ments in which the dignity and worth of each and every person is respected.” (Müller 1997). In 2002 NelsonMandela joined the digni- taries with his signature to promote the idea of an Olympic Truce during Olympic Winter and Summer Games. It was on this occasion that he stated: “The Olympic Games represent one of the most evocative moments of celebrating our unity as human beings in pursuit of noble ide-

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