SO HOW was it for you? Sitting in the cool of the English summer, with your feet up, watching television, it must have been pretty good.
Well, for me, barging on to buses alongside 20,000 other media personnel, going through endless security checks in temperatures of up to 40C (104F) and getting increasingly exhausted, it was . . . absolutely brilliant.
To most people’s amazement, Athens has staged stupendous Games, vastly superior in quality to what had been feared. It must be remembered that the IOC was so worried four years ago that it considered moving the Games to another city.
Instead, the Greeks responded wonderfully to get everything right, with the IOC becoming increasingly relaxed over the last few months yet still insisting that there could be no let-up in the preparations. The superb facilities were ready on time and although it might have helped to have staged more test events had the venues been available earlier, the slickness of the organisation could scarcely have been improved.
Nor were there any serious breaches in security. The incident in the marathon on Sunday could have happened in any road race in the world and there was nothing that the Greeks or anyone else could have done about it.
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The greatest surprise was the efficiency of the transport system. Roads and trains flowed regularly. The expected gridlocks did not appear, with Athens showing the Americans how to run a bus service. It was light years away from the chaos experienced in Atlanta in 1996. The IOC became so content with how the Games were going that it even stopped its daily meeting of the Co-ordination Commission to sort out problems.
The absence of spectators at many of the venues was the most notable defect. Although the organisers insisted that they had surpassed their target of 3.4 million seats sold — more than in Seoul or Barcelona — it was disturbing to see such vast empty spaces at some of the men’s gymnastics and the boxing finals. There were understandable reasons. Many of the Athenians were on holiday, particularly over the first week of the Games. The lack of cheap hotel rooms and worries over security meant that many visitors did not attend.
The ability to fill stadiums, particularly in sports that are not necessarily popular in Greece, was also difficult in a country of only ten million inhabitants, the smallest to host the Games for 50 years. This lack of manpower put a huge strain on the organisation and it was remarkable how many volunteers were available. They are the forgotten heroes and heroines of an Olympics. It was their friendliness that I will remember above everything.
The Athenians eagerly wanted their visitors to enjoy themselves, to go away thinking highly of their country. And they succeeded. Their joy was captured in moments such as when the music from Zorba the Greek was played in the main stadium and people began chanting and dancing.
To return to Greece, the birthplace of the Olympics, does have a unique feel and helped to propel these Games to the same level as Barcelona and Sydney. Athens produced a celebration to remember. As its placards and flags read across this city: “Welcome Home.”
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MY HIGHLIGHT
Men’s coxless four: After all the injuries, changes and controversies, the relief and ecstasy were palpable. A victory for a hastily prepared crew and a fourth gold for Matthew Pinsent. He was not the only person in tears