Olympic truce

The Olympic Truce is a sacred tradition originating from Ancient Greece that dates back to the 9th century BC. A Truce (Ancient Greek: ékécheiria, meaning "laying down of arms") was announced before and during the Olympic Games to ensure athletes and spectators could travel safely to the Games and peacefully return to their respective countries. During the Truce period (lasting up to three months),^[1] wars were suspended, armies were prohibited from threatening the Games, legal disputes were stopped, and death penalties were forbidden.^{[citation needed]}

In 1996, the Athens Bid Committee committed to reviving the Olympic Truce and promoting it to the world through the Olympic Flame Relay.^[2] Three years later, the International Olympic Committee announced the establishment of the International Truce Foundation and the International Truce Centre in cooperation with Greece. The vision was to protect the interests of athletes and sport, and to promote peaceful principles in modern day. Each host city was encouraged to embrace the meaning and spirit of the Olympic Truce in the planning and staging of the Games.^{[citation needed]}

Goals

Through this global and symbolic concept, the goal of the Olympic Truce movement is to:^{[citation needed]}

• Mobilize youth for the promotion of the Olympic ideals
• Use sport to establish contacts between communities in conflict
• Offer humanitarian support in countries at war
• Create a window of opportunities for dialogue and reconciliation

Initiatives

• 1994 Lillehammer Winter Games: the former Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was allowed to participate in the Games of the XXV Olympiad in Barcelona and the XVII Olympic Winter Games in Lillehammer despite ongoing wars. A delegation from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) visited Sarajevo in 1994 to extend its solidarity to the city that had organized the XIV Olympic Winter Games in 1984.
• 1998 Nagano Winter Games: During a time when tension in the Persian Gulf region was high, United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan intervened to seek a diplomatic resolution to the crisis in Iraq. In a release from the International Olympic Committee, the Secretary General was quoted, I call upon all nations to observe the Olympic truce.^[3]
• 2000 Sydney Summer Games: During the Opening Ceremony, South and North Korean delegations walked in the stadium together, under the same flag. It was the first Olympic Games event where the two divided peninsulas walked side by side.^[4]
• 2004 Athens Summer Games: The Olympic Truce was promoted through Olympic Flame Relay events. The UN supported the IOC in asking the nations of the world to stop all wars for 16 days during the Games.
• 2006 Torino Winter Games: During the games, athletes and officials showed support for the Olympic Truce by signing one of the three walls situated in the three Olympic Villages (Torino, Sestriere and Bardonecchia).
• 2010 Vancouver Winter Games: Truce projects were rooted in an open invitation for people to 'Make Your Peace' which asked individuals to create everyday peace at home, schools, work, and in the community. Projects included: delivering Olympic Spirit Boxes filled with hockey, soccer, lacrosse, baseball, and basketball equipment to 20 Aboriginal communities in Northern Canada;^[5] an Olympic Truce Youth Dialogue with Canada's Governor General;^[6] and an art installation titled "Room to Make your Peace".^[7]
• 2012 London Summer Games: On the 22nd April 2011 a Member of the House of Lords - Michael Bates, Baron Bates - began walking over 3000 miles from Olympia to London to highlight the opportunity to bring the Olympic Truce into reality in London 2012. So far on the Walk for Truce, Lord Bates has been successful in securing pledges from a number of governments to both sign and implement the Truce. Lord Bates is expected to arrive back in London in May 2012 before the games commence.

Logo

The official Olympic Truce logo is a graphic with three elements: a dove, flames, and the Olympic rings. The meaning behind the logo is as follows:

The Olympic Truce is symbolized by the dove of peace with the traditional Olympic flame in the background. In a world that is plagued by wars and animosity, the peace-dove symbol represents one of the IOC's ideals to build a peaceful and better world through sport and the Olympic ideal. The Olympic flame has brought warm friendship to all the people of the world through sharing and global togetherness. In the symbol, the flame is made up of colourful effervescent elements, reminiscent of festivities experienced in the celebration of the human spirit. These elements represent people of all races coming together for the observance of the Truce.^[8]

United Nations support

The United Nations is in support of the Olympic Truce and before each Olympic Games, adopts a resolution called "Building a peaceful and better world through sport and the Olympic ideal".^{[citation needed]} UN Member States are asked to observe the Olympic Truce, and work towards the settlement of international disagreements by peaceful and diplomatic means.^[9] The United Kingdom was the first ever nation to get all 193 UN Member states to sign the Olmpic Truce for the 2012 Olympic Games.

10/17/2011 - The international community pledges to suspend all wars for the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. This time around, the resolution was officially titled “Sport for Peace and Development: Building a Peaceful and Better World through Sport and the Olympic Ideal” and was introduced by LOCOG chairman Sebastian Coe. “The Truce helps to show the world that peace is a possibility," he said Monday in New York City. "It shows the power that sport has to inspire unity, mutual understanding, and respect among different types of people.” Coe exhorted all member states of the UN to respect the ideals of the Truce. “Countries should feel an obligation to respect the Truce because it holds true to the idea that we can coexist without the need for discrimination and fighting," he urged. “It gives us something to strive towards outside of the Olympics and the arena of sport.” ^[10]

See also

• Ancient Olympic Games

References

1. ^ Toohey, K., James Veal, A. (2007). The Olympic games: a social science perspective. UK: CIBI International. pp. 65. http://books.google.ca/books?id=ywy9aslk3M8C&pg=PA65&lpg=PA65&dq=Sydney+2000+Summer+Games,+truce,+korea+flag,+opening+ceremony&source=bl&ots=CKm-zXEWlW&sig=Su63dPFvmfk2WPA1D0HvaHaZMrw&hl=en&ei=BuMpTreEI8nZiALj8v2vAg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=5&ved=0CDoQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q&f=false. 
2. ^ Olympic Truce Centre. "Olympic Truce Milestones". http://www.olympictruce.org/discover/timeline.php. Retrieved July 22, 2011. 
3. ^ Longman, Jere (February 4, 1998). "OLYMPICS: NAGANO 1998; I.O.C. Asks White House To Honor Peace Pledge". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/1998/02/04/sports/olympics-nagano-1998-ioc-asks-white-house-to-honor-peace-pledge.html. Retrieved July 22, 2011. 
4. ^ "Koreas to March Into Olympics Together". ABC News. September 10, 2000. http://abcnews.go.com/Sports/story?id=100609&page=1. Retrieved July 22, 2011. 
5. ^ Canada National Defense (January 5, 2010). "Olympic Truce initiative takes to the skies". http://www.airforce.forces.gc.ca/17w-17e/nr-sp/index-eng.asp?id=9934. Retrieved July 22, 2011. 
6. ^ Governor General of Canada (February 4, 2011). "Governor General to Host Youth Dialogue in Celebration of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games". http://www.gg.ca/document.aspx?id=13508. Retrieved July 22, 2011. 
7. ^ Vancouver Olympic Games. "Room to Make Your Peace: 2010". http://72.35.10.20/paralympic-games/more-2010-information/cultural-festivals-and-events/code-connect-create-collaborate/code-live/code-live-3/. Retrieved July 22, 2011. 
8. ^ Olympic.org. "Olympic Truce". http://www.olympic.org/content/the-ioc/commissions/international-relations-/olympic-truce/. Retrieved July 22, 2011. 
9. ^ Roukhadze, Marie-Hélène. "The Olympic Winter Games: Fundamentals and Ceremonies". IOC. http://www.olympic.org/Documents/Reports/EN/en_report_267.pdf. Retrieved July 22, 2011. 
10. ^ On the Scene -- UN Adopts Olympic Truce – Around the Rings website

External links

• United Nations
• Perseus Digital Library