CO

Culture @ the Olympics

issues, trends and perspectives
www.culturalolympics.org.uk

Athens Olympic Games 2004

Research diary of the British Academy project
Andy Miah and Beatriz García

Between the 2nd and the 23rd 3 August

of August 2004, we were
based in Athens
undertaking research about
the role of non-accredited
media centres in promoting
the culture of the hosts of
the summer Olympic
Games. This project was
funded by the British
Academy and is described
in C@tO (vol.6, issue 1). The
following pages present our
informal research diary
notes.
2 August
Welcome to Athens
Arrival in Athens at 3.30am local
time. We have been travelling
since 3pm UK time the day before
(Monday). We sleep in the airport
until 7am. Just over one week
before the Games begin, the new
airport is looking very tidy and
spatious. It was an early flight -
arriving around 5am - so we
didn't really get to test the airport
at its busiest, but all was smooth
in any case. We decided to try the
bus system into the city, which
would drop us off near to our
accommodation.

On Route to Athens
The flight from Glasgow was
with British Airways. We had
expected to see a reasonable
amount of Olympic branding,
since BA is the UK official carrier.
However, there was very little on
our journey that indicated we
were on our way to the Olympic
host city or that the Games were
Athens looks completely transformed by
about to begin in just over a the ‘look of the Games’
week.

Culture @ the Olympics, 2004: vol. 6, issue 2, pp. 8-34


The bus actually seemed quicker
than other times we have had to
travel from the Airport into the
city. It had been just under a year
since either of us were last in
Athens and, on the bus ride
alone, it seemed like a different
place.
We spend a lot of this day getting
re-acquainted with our hosts. We
are staying in area called Nea
Smyrni, which is not far from the
new tram route from the city
centre, south towards the port,
where some of the coastal sports
venues are located. It is a nice
neighbourhood 15min away from
Athens city centre and other 15m
from the coast, the Faliro
Olympic complex etc.
First priority was to purchase a
new SIM card for the mobile
phone! Easily done, but only if
you have a Greek friend or can
speak a little yourself. This was
not the city centre and the area
has a very local, community feel
to it.
4 August
The Zappeion Media Centre
Our fears of being denied
accreditation at Zappeion Press
Centre (ZPC), the Athens
Olympics non-accredited media
centre, are soon dispersed. It is
very easy. They have our cards
ready on arrival and the place is
just great. There is plenty of space
to work, free broadband
connections, a wide range of
Miah and García, 2004: Research diary
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display areas with information
about Greek culture, the
environment, events and
business.
One of the comfortable press working
rooms at the Zappeion Press Centre
6 August
Pre-Olympic Congress in
Thessaloniki
The International Council of
Sport Science and Physical
Education (ICSSPE) Pre-Olympic
congress is the largest Sport-
related congress on the calendar.
This year it is taking place in
Thessaloniki, the second largest
city in Greece at the border with
Macedonia.
We have a very nice train ride
from Athens with views of the
changing Greek landscape,
including mount Olympus and
the sacred hills of Meteora.
We get a nice first impression of
Thessaloniki, one of four Olympic
cities around Greece hosting the
football tournament. The city is
full of Olympic banners, but has a
9

very different feel to Athens. The
air is cooler, the buildings have a
marked Turkish and Macedonian
influence and there is not the
chaos of Olympic preparations
that pervade in the capital. The
trip from the train station to the
hotel is very straight forward.
Upon arrival we met one of the
Congress delegates in the station
and both proceed to ask for
information from the unaffiliated
info stand. Hotel very pleasant,
even a small glimpse of the ocean
and not too far from the Congress
venue.
Thessaloniki, Olympic city 2004
The congress opening ceremony
is around 6pm and includes
MANY welcomes from officials,
including Patrick Schamash, the
IOC representative for Jacque
Rogge and high priests from the
Greek Orthodox Church coming
from Olympia, the birth place of
the Ancient Olympic Games. The
long and elaborated ceremony
offers a first glimpse at Greek
protocols which are going to be
continued at length throughout
the Olympic fortnight all around
the country.
Miah and García, 2004: Research diary
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The evening ends with a range of
cultural presentations and –
finally! – some nice Greek food.
Greek dances at the opening of the Pre-
Olympic congres, Thessaloniki 2004
7-8 August
Congress in progress
What is most noticeable about the
Pre-Olympic this year is the
presence of social science and
humanities research. There are a
lot of papers discussing the law
and philosophy of sport, which
were not quite so present in
Brisbane 2000. However, Brisbane
was an important stage towards
this presence and the role of John
Nauright in 2000, who was able
to put a lot of social science on
the programme, was greatly
appreciated. It is encouraging
that some of the sport science
congresses are now opening up to
the less hard sciences. The ECSS
meeting is also a good indication
of this and its numbers are also
quite staggering – around 1800 in
2003.
In the evenings we have the
chance to explore a bit of the city.
10

Thessaloniki has great food to
offer, very different from the
excessive touristy bias that tends
to predominate in Athens most
popular spots (there is not really
a Plaka here, but rather plenty of
little squares full of local
unpretentious flavour).
9 August
Back to Athens
After the conference, we took
train back to Athens and had
dinner there with a friend from
University of British Columbia,
Canada. The city is thriving – and
restaurant prices roaring!!
We do not get home until 1am,
after taking a metro to Dafni and
then getting into a taxi with a
driver that tries to scam us by
taking unnecessary long turns in
the area. We jump off at the first
opportunity but then feel we are
in the middle of nowhere. A bit
scary considering that we are
carrying laptops and all the
material gathered during the
Congress.
The tram services that are to run
late every night during the
Olympic fortnight are not yet
fully operational. As it is common
in most Olympic host cities in the
final days before the Games,
travelling at night is a bit messy
but we end up managing well.
We find a nice old lady in one of
the lonely streets who offers some
useful directions – in English!
Miah and García, 2004: Research diary
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11 August
Museum moments
The morning is a little cooler
today, helped by getting out of
the house by 9.30am. We
managed to catch the bus to
Dafni within seconds of arriving
at the stop. This was helpful as
the last two times we have had to
wait around 20minutes for the
bus to arrive. At first, we had
trouble asking for tickets in Greek
and finding a kiosk, but were
assisted by an English speaking
Greek woman. This is essential
where we are staying, though
even those who do not speak
English try to help.
We arrive in Syntagma square
around 10am, looking for some
breakfast. At first, we see the
fancy café on the square and sit to
eat, but decide it would take too
long and cost too much. What we
want is a quick, tasty breakfast,
or, failing that, just a quick one.
We decide to walk to one of the
museums and on the way grab a
croissant and a frappe. The
museum is just five minutes to
the north west of Syntagma, it is
the Old Benaki Museum. The
museum is beautiful, full of
classic items from antiquity and
more recent times. The building
is four stories high with ornate
decorations and a view towards
the Panathenaiko stadium. We
spent at least 40 minutes there.
There were few people attending,
but we saw at least one female
11

athlete walking around on her
own.
Accreditations and security
One of the problems with
wearing any form of accreditation
is that you do not really know if
people change their approach to
you just because you are wearing
something official. We do not
stand out like the fully accredited
Olympic family.
Official cars display their Olympic
accreditations
Our accreditation looks less
official and most people probably
would not have heard of the
Zappeion Press Centre, though
all Athenians do know the
Zappeion building, which sits
just inside the park adjacent to
Syntagma. The building has a
long Olympic history, having
been the headquarters for the first
Olympics in 1896.
It is possible that we look more
official, or simply official in a
different way, as our
accreditation clearly indicates
‘Zappeion Press Centre’. In
contrast, media accredited to the
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main press centre or International
Broadcast Centre, do not have
this information clearly visible.
All officially accredited people –
athletes, coaches, camera people,
presenters, IOC members – have
the same kind of accreditation
and their specific affiliation is in
very small print, too small to
catch unless you have excellent
eye sight.
After the museum, we walk
through the park to Zappeion,
taking the route through the zoo
and the maze of paths that
surround the building. For the
first time, the guard seemed
interested to check our
accreditation, perhaps an
indication of the heightened
security, given that the Mayor of
Athens is presenting today.
Though perhaps this is just a
coincidence. We make it through
the x-ray machine, following a
couple of broadcasters who are
worried about their expensive
cameras.
Working our way around
The ZPC is quite peaceful at this
time. Computers available,
though sometimes trouble
working out how to change the
keyboard settings from Greek to
English. The facilities are
excellent, though we wonder how
much busier it will become and
whether there will be enough
space. The provision of free
lockers is a big help to free-lance
journalists. We keep there a
change of clothes and every-day
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 www.culturalolympics.org.uk

material, which accumulates until 45 minutes before. We take

quickly.
After a couple of hours emailing
and addressing journalists and
interviewee correspondence,
Andy attends the final minutes of
the lecture from Prof. David
Young, Olympic historian. The
lecture is well attended, though
lacks dynamism and the slide
show is poorly lit. Afterwards,
Andy speaks with the PR person,
who could not seem less
interested in him. However,
Andy speaks with Prof. Young,
who is delightful and pleased to
make contact. We will try to meet
again at the Society of Olympic
Historians’ AGM in Athens.
our seats early, a few other
journalists are there, though
many cameras are already set-up.
We speak with a presenter from
US television in Colorado, who
has a Greek advisor with her.
They are both busy constructing
the ‘track’ for her recording later.
As time goes on, the room fills
up, until eventually the Mayor,
Dora Bakoyannis, is escorted in.
She is an impressive woman, tall
and attractive, with a distinct
presence. She is dressed in white
with a Greek blue Athens 2004 t-
shirt. Her hair is immaculate and
she is accompanied by an adviser.

At 12.30pm, we take the metro

one stop from Syntagma to
Akademia, to pick up some
tickets for tomorrow night’s
welcome torch ceremony. It will
take place in the Odeon theatre at
the Acropolis. Tickets are free to
anyone, but the difficult part is
finding that out and then
knowing where to pick up the
The mayor of Athens, Dora Bakoyannis
tickets. It is not clear whether it is
elitist, but it seems likely. This
The conference lasts for one hour,
information is not available
with first questions from the
everywhere, though we have not
main media companies, who
yet fully checked the Ministry of
seem to receive special attention
Culture’s website.
from the chair, though this might
just be an impression. Most of the
Press conference with the Mayor
questions are banal; we really
of Athens
wonder what journalists think
After obtaining the tickets, we
they are doing. Is Athens ready?
head back to the Centre for the
Of course. Do Athenians want it?
press conference with the Mayor.
Of course. Is everything
We arrive an hour before, though
wonderful? Of course.
cannot receive the press packs

Miah and García, 2004: Research diary 13


No surprises here, though she
does still have a way with people
that is playful and yet
authoritative and
uncompromising.
Afterwards, a cocktail reception
is held and the Mayor stays for
15minutes or so. The Centre is
quite busy now, not much room
to find a computer. We check
email a few more times and then
sit for a while in the massage
chairs that are provided by one of
the sponsors. Andy receives a
phone call from BBC Five Live
about his book. Then we head out
for some lunch at around 430pm.
We don’t seem to get hungry,
despite the messy eating times.
Street cycling and gallery walks
On the way to finding food, we
notice Syntagma in a little chaos.
The main road was closed and we
wondered whether the torch was
about to arrive. Some police
confirmed this, though it actually
turned out to be the time trial for
the road cycling. The bikes
whizzed past, one of them even
taking a photo while peddling
past the government building.
Who says Olympians don’t sight
see as well?
Miah and García, 2004: Research diary
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We get some food in what has
become our usual, unremarkable
place, though the food is ok and
it is quick and convenient.
Afterwards, we do a little clothes
shopping and then find
somewhere else to eat for dinner
at around 9pm.
After dinner, we take a stroll to
one of the art galleries, which are
open from 8pm until midnight
during games time. It is all part of
the organising committee
(ATHOC) official cultural
programme, consisting of
contemporary exhibits at unusual
venues. The building for this one
is a block of flats and doesn’t
seem too inviting, but the
exhibition is beautiful and
worthwhile.
The way home, again, is not
straightforward. We take the
metro to Neo Cosmos, then the
tram, though had to wait around
20mins for the tram to get
moving. They seem to be having
problems with this system. When
it works, it is excellent, but we
have had difficulties so far.
12 August
Is Athens ready?
Just one day to go. It is the first
morning that we have had the
strength to get up at 7.30am. We
are getting used to the heat.
Athens looks ready as the Mayor
of Athens, Dora Bakoyannis
emphasised in her press
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conference at the Zappeion
Centre yesterday. She looked
confident and pleased, and
probably she has good reason.
The city looks fantastic.
However, some things keep
going wrong with local transport:
the tram is not very reliable at the
moment, there are signs
indicating how long until the next
train, but you get stuck in the
longest ‘1 minute’ waits ever. The
screens never seem to go beyond
‘7min’ to the next tram, no matter
whether you have to end up
waiting for one hour. On the
other hand, the metro and buses
seem to work fine.
Olympic cultural programmes
We are particularly impressed
with the cultural preparations.
Since the first day we wandered
around Athens, 4th of August, the
final touches to an extensive
public art programme and the
amount of information about
other initiatives throughout the
city have developed at an
amazing speed.
‘Catch the light’ is a visual arts
programme consisting of images
of Greek (or Athenian) people in
medium size boards hanging
from the gates of the National
Gardens, plus enormous
billboards showing stills of sports
and creative views on Greek
culture and related endeavours
that cover full buildings at
different points of the city.
Miah and García, 2004: Research diary
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Catch the light bright boards at the
National Gardens
It is an effective programme that
achieves a difficult balance
between being creative and
attractive and blending with the
environment. It is a far cry from
the ‘in your face’ flashy sporty
images, heavy on official logos
and sponsor recognition that
were common in Sydney and Salt
Lake.
Information also abounds on the
‘other’, additional cultural events,
that range from ‘happenings’ (or
impromptu performances) in
Olympic venues and
surroundings to concerts in
public squares, national parades,
free theatre and other arts related
shows organised by the
Municipality of Athens and
ATHOC.
There are many other, paying
events, organised as part of the
Cultural OIympiad and the
Athens Festival. In fact, it is
confusing to realise who is in
charge of what, and this, at times,
jeopardises the value of ‘cultural
15

guides’ that may include certain
but not all activities taking place.
ATHOC’s programme is the most
clearly dedicated to highlight the
Olympic experience. It takes
place in and around selected
Olympic venues, in the Olympic
Village, and as end of the day
celebration to the torch relay in
every night-stop of the tour
around Greece. The programme
also includes an interesting visual
arts programme, with the beacon
exhibit ‘Monument to Now’, a
daring proposal of contemporary
art organised in collaboration
with the DESTE foundation.
Interestingly, ATHOC has also
coordinated a ‘gallery walk’ that
takes you through the little street
of Athens, from Psyrris, Plaka
and Monastiraki to Kolonaki and
as far as Kifisia.
The Municipality of Athens has
launched its ‘A Celebration all
over the City’ programme, which
is all free and, as in the case of
ATHOC, focuses on the period of
Olympic sport competition. The
programme is heavily focused on
entertainment but has a greater
level of cultural endeavour and is
more unique to Athens than the
‘LiveSites!’ in Sydney.
The Cultural Olympiad has
stopped its performance
programme during the Games,
only leaving a collection of
interesting exhibition at
prestigious venues and a reduced
number of free events that are
often ‘by invitation only’ in rare
Miah and García, 2004: Research diary
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venues. Special performances and
events will continue in
September, once the sporting
competitions are over.
The Athens Festival is also in full
swing, with top cultural events
taking place almost daily at the
beautiful Odeon of Herod
Atticus, the most spectacular
theatre in Athens. The events are
often pricy, but welcomed by
visitors interested in the arts and
aware of this prestigious festival.
A further myriad of activities are
taking place under the wings of
several foundations, cultural
centres etc. There is not clear
coordination of all of this wealth
of cultural offerings, but it is
obvious that Athens exudes it
and this makes the experience of
walking around the city
particularly provocative, enticing
and memorable.
City initiatives: ‘real prices’ &
volunteering
We also observe some other
interesting initiatives. The
Municipality has issued a ‘real
prices’ list for visitors to ensure
16

they do not get ripped off by
overly ‘entrepreneurial’ retailers.
The diversity of ‘volunteer
programmes’ is also remarkable.
In contrast to previous Olympic
hosts, where most volunteering is
managed through the official
Olympic organisers, in Athens,
the Municipality has made
parallel arrangements, among
them, the ‘may I help you’
programme. The transport
authorities have also created their
own ‘follow me’ campaign to
guide visitors and locals through
the constantly changing public
transport schedules. The only
difficulty is knowing what to ask
to which person and when!
Patras, European Capital of
Culture
In the Zappeion on the 12th we
see the Symphonic Chorus of
Children from Patras. Many
efforts are made by
representatives from this city to
ensure a strong presence in the
Zappeion. They are promoting its
programme as European Capital
of Culture 2006. We have been
impressed by the dedication and
Miah and García, 2004: Research diary
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the amount of activities on show.
These include extensive
information materials, puppet
and shadow theatre and chorus
performances among others. It is
clear that the initiative has a high
profile in Greece.
Interviews with cultural players
Beatriz interviews Georgia
Iliopoulou at the Hellenic Culture
Organisation. It is a pleasant
meeting, though brief. The
interview is useful to get a first
understanding of the structure of
the Cultural Olympiad and its
relation to the Hellenic Ministry
of Culture and ATHOC among
others.
We also meet with Jude Kelly,
the chair of Culture and
Education at the London 2012
Olympic Bid. She is extremely
open with her views and very
interested in our work. She
invites us to attend a lunch with
Tessa Jowel, UK Secretary of
State for Culture, Media and
Sport and head of DCMS. This
will take place tomorrow.
The flame arrives
Yesterday we got free invitations
to attend the special party to
welcome the torch to Athens. It is
in the beautiful Odeon of Herod
Atticus. It is a full house, so it
takes a while for people to get to
their seats in this ancient open
theatre. In the meantime, the
torch is being carried around
Athens towards us, footage of
which is being projected over the
wall of stone behind the stage.
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One of the many Olympic torch bearers
passing by the city neighbourhoods
As the torch passes the Odeon, it
is carried by former Olympic
champion Carl Lewis. The torch
is finally taken up the Acropolis
and there is a special ceremony at
the Parthenon, where the torch is
to rest at night. We have followed
all of this through video
projections on the Odeon’s stone,
which create a strange and
memorable effect.
Impressive light projections at the
Odeon of Herod Atticus to celebrate the
arrival of the torch to Athens
Miah and García, 2004: Research diary
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The city mayor, the head of the
Hellenic Culture Committee, the
Greek Prime Minister and the
head of ATHOC all make
speeches at the Parthenon and,
after this, come to join us at the
Odeon for a concert. The concert
is also attended by the King of
Greece and the rest of top Greek
personalities. It is a beautiful
concert, in particular, the second
piece, with title ‘Slow Motion’, by
a Greek contemporary composer.
There is also a funny situation
during the third piece by
Shostakovich. The solo pianist
stops playing of a sudden in a
rage and seems about to leave
due to being disturbed by loud
noise in the background that
spoils the quiet moments of the
composition. This is the down
side of having the whole of
Athens celebrating! The orchestra
director manages to convince him
to stay to the relief of the concert
organisers and front row
personalities. In the way out of
the concert we have the chance to
say hello to Kostas Georgiadis,
the dean of the International
Olympic Academy, who, as
always is half-smiling and happy
to see us.
Unfortunately, we end up
missing the special cultural
activities organised by ATHOC to
celebrate the opening of their
‘Catch the Light’ programme in
the Keramikos area. Our group
has grown unexpectedly and we
must accommodate and go to
Plaka for a most needed dinner.
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13 August
Let the Games begin!
Oddly, today is a public holiday
in Athens. The day of the
Opening Ceremony and everyone
gets a holiday, as if all the work is
done. Actually, we thought this
was supposed to be some reward
for the city, but we seem to find
out that it was just a coincidence.
The streets are empty and we
leave home at around 9.30am –
breakfast on the go. Spend time
in the ZPC until 11.4pam, trying
to find out about arrangements
for the ceremonies. The difficult
task was finding out about public
spaces, where we could watch a
screen showing the ceremony – a
€900 ticket for the actual
ceremony just didn’t fit into our
budget! However, nobody can
tell us of any clear venues where
people could gather. There was
some suggestion of big screens,
but the ‘May I help you’ people
deny this.
Lunch with the British Olympic
Association
We depart the ZPC at around
12.30pm for our meeting with
Jude Kelly at the British Olympic
Association villa. The area where
we needed to arrive is ‘Psychiko’
and buses did not seem obvious.
We are fortunate enough to have
some advice from some locals
and make it there on time. The
bus passes by the Hilton IOC
hotel, very impressive, with
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cameras everywhere waiting to
spot a VIP.
The lunch was really informative
and a great opportunity to talk
with London 2012 bid committee
members, among others. It was
hosted by Jude Kelly, but
invitations were on behalf of
Tessa Jowell, MP. Some time
through the lunch, we were told
that Cherie Booth, the UK Prime
Minister’s wife, would join us, as
she was soon to be announced as
a new ambassador for the bid.
This was also a great opportunity
to have a discussion about
Olympism, which is precisely
what took place. It was a small
gathering and included Ric Birch
(executive producer for the
ceremonies at Sydney’2000,
Barcelona’92 and LA’84), Nigel
Short (British Chess champion),
Marco Balich (executive producer
of the ceremonies in Torino 2006)
and the British Council Director
based in Athens.
Opening ceremony
At 4pm, we leave and take a bus
to the area of the Hilton Hotel,
where we visit one of the Modern
Art Gallery exhibitions –
TransCultures, part of the
Cultural Olympiad programme.
We then try to find out more on
the Opening Ceremony, but still
no information available. It is
amazing that we know nothing
and that, with all our contacts,
nobody can confirm any
arrangements. We wonder what
visitors will be doing – probably
watching the television!! Around
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7pm, we arrange to meet a friend
from ATHOC, who has been told
of a big public screen at Omonia
Square. We all walk down there
and nothing is happening, so it is
back to the ZPC to watch the
event at a big screen that has been
installed within the perystile.
The Olympic flame is finally lighted at
the main Olympic Stadium, signalling
the end of the Opening Ceremony and
the start of the XXVIII Games.
14 August
BBC interviews
We depart the flat around 9.40am
and take the bus to Sygrou Fix,
where the tram is now
terminating, due to the road
cycling track arrangements in the
city. From hereon, the tram does
not leave from Syntagma Square
for the rest of the Games.
Andy’s first task is an interview
for the BBC Today Show radio
programme at one of the BBC
posts nearby the Panathenaiko
Stadium. He also records a
generic for the BBC and talks
with the journalists about the
Zappeion Press Centre.
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They have not had a very good
impression of the facilities,
though this seems largely due to
their expectation to access sports
information, for which the ZPC is
not set-up.
Olympic truce event
We both meet at the ZPC at
12.15pm awaiting information
about the Olympic Truce press
conference. There is nothing
available yet, so we check emails,
etc. At 12.40pm, Cathy Freeman
turns up with her Samsung-
sponsor entourage. We spend
some time watching the media
frenzy and get a sense for why
she is there. We are given the
opportunity to interview her, but
decline seeing how tired she
looks and given that this is her
lunch time!
Cathy Freeman pays a visit to the ZPC
Nevertheless, her associates seem
to know which media is worth
giving specific time to; we are
asked just because we have
already begun to make friends
there. Stelios Korkidis, Greece
Press Counsellor in Beijing and
previously Sydney, spends a bit
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of time talking to us and at 2pm
we leave the ZPC just in time to
catch the cyclists whiz by for the
road race. We then try to find one
of the Cultural Olympiad
exhibitions, but find it difficult to
locate the venue, despite asking
advice from the local police.
Actually, we get the impression
that a lot of the police on the
streets have been brought in from
elsewhere.
At around 315pm we arrive back
in the ZPC for the Olympic Truce
conference, due to take place at
4pm. What we were led to believe
would be a low-profile meeting
turns into the highest profile
meeting of the entire schedule for
the ZPC. It is not completely
chaotic, but certainly no media
were getting into the official
meeting. All press were lined up
ready to take photographs of
guests, but only the select few –
mainly international news wire
reps such as Associated Press –
were allowed into the meeting
room, where the IOC president
Jacques Rogge would introduce
the Truce.
The IOC president arrives at the ZPC
Miah and García, 2004: Research diary
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We arrived and managed to
squeeze to the front of the press
line, increasingly frustrated at
what was happening. Truce is
one of our major interests and we
thought we had planned for this
event. But, here we were being
squeezed out of the main
meeting. Admittedly, we had no
entitlement to be there, as we
learned once the guests started
arriving.
Among the VIPs were Tony Blair
and Cherie Booth, Juan Antonio
Samaranch, Prince Albert of
Monaco, Queen Sofia of Spain
and many, many more. So here
we were, missing the entire
event, only to see people arrive
and walk into the adjoining
room. We just weren’t having
this. We quickly needed a plan B!
Andy protested at our exclusion
to one of the ZPC staff, who
clearly did not have any
influence. So, he tried someone
else who seemed a little more
central to the proceedings. This
woman, as it turns out, was
coordinating the event. He
quickly explained that we are
21

university ‘professors’ and that
this was central to our research
and, by the way, could we get in.
Andy also tried to play the ‘we
met Cherie Booth yesterday and
arranged to see her here’ card,
which seemed to work
reasonably effectively, though her
PA was clearly not overwhelmed.
Could it be for the fact that he
was in beach wear and looking
not much like a professor? What
can we say?
We did not expect this to be
anything like the event it turned
out to be. Anyway, perhaps it
was because this woman was
from the UK, but, she let us in
and we were able to get a
reasonable position on the
speeches. At the close of the
meeting, one of the initiatives
was the Truce wall, where guests
were asked to sign their support
for the initiative. Beatriz nearly
rugby tackled Tony Blair on the
way out, but everything went
fine enough.
The Olympic Truce function was a high
profile event aimed at generating some
media headlines about this poorly
recognised but important initiative
Miah and García, 2004: Research diary
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Afterwards, we had a chance to
speak with Stelios and also
foreign press counsellors Stavros
Stathulopulos (Germany) and
Nikos Papaconstantinou (London
and Egypt). We have some
renewed kudos from having been
two of the few to make it into the
meeting. Hehe. It is a very fruitful
conversation, about the ZPC, how
it emerged, who was pushing for
it and what were its expectations.
After the main guests had left,
everything calmed down
considerably and it was back to
the real work. We sent a couple of
emails to inquire about access to
the International Broadcast
Centre and the Main Press
Centre, and Monday seemed
possible.
Then we took a walk to the
Acropolis and Monistiraki, where
we had a drink. The restaurant
where we ate that night had an
‘Olympic’ theme – a 5 course
meal, each course representing
one of the rings and the food
even corresponded to the colour
of each ring. ZPC again at the end
of the day and home by 1am.
15 August
Beach Volleyball
Today was our first sporting
event, Beach Volleyball. It was
about time we found out how the
journeys to Olympic venues
functioned and what kind of
experience visitors had
throughout the process. We had
22

to leave at 7am, walking first the
10mins to the tram and then
taking it south to the water
venues in the south of the city.
First problem – the tram is
delayed and both we and one of
the volunteers for the beach
volleyball venue have to give up.
She advises us to take the bus,
which is just arriving. At the end
of the line, we change to Tram 2,
which takes us north along the
coast.
One among many volunteers helping
direct people to the enormous coast-side
Olympic venues
Arriving at the beach volley
venue, the surroundings look
unfinished, but it could be that
these spacious areas look strange
when there are few people
present and they are really
geared up to deal with big
crowds at peak times.
There were no queues at the
venue, we could easily have
arrived much later. The food and
drink was not overly expensive
and it was easily accessible at this
time of day (around 8.30am).
The stadium was less than half
full, so we are able to sit
Miah and García, 2004: Research diary
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anywhere we like within our
section. We easily access the front
row and have a great view for the
entire morning.
If you ignore the fact that the
ambiance of beach volley is a
little masculine – note the ‘fun
girl’ dancers at time-outs – there
is a cool, relaxed feeling about the
place.
The competitions take place with
music throughout and a DJ. The
matches went well. Spain won
the final match, which pleased
Beatriz!
The session finished around
1250pm and we then walked
across to the sponsor park (the
Water Plaza), where Swatch had
a range of stands, including
‘serving spots’, where you could
serve a volleyball and see how
fast your serve is. Other sponsors
were also visible, particularly the
Visa ATM machines – oh yes, if
you are visiting the Olympics,
don’t forget that official retail
outlets only take VISA cards or
cash. If you want to use any other
plastic, you will struggle!
23

Sponsor spaces
Across from the beach volley
venue was the Water Plaza,
another sponsor spot, with a
range of spaces of activity. This is
the first time we see a ‘big
screen’, like the LiveSite! Screens
in Sydney. Apparently, they were
open for opening night, but few
were present. One of the major
spaces here is the Coca Cola pin
trading area, an enormous room
shaped like a coca cola bottle.
It also included sport spaces,
where you could have a go at
archery, weight-lifting, karate,
baseball, fencing and shooting.
Great idea, though seemed
poorly placed – quite empty too.
Hyundai cars also had space and
would take photographs of
guests in front of their cars,
drawing people in with the big
fluffy ATHOC mascot people,
with whom you could take your
photograph. They also offered a
free bus back to Athens, but we
didn’t think too much of the
schedule – seemed few and long
wait time between them.
Olympic park and gymnastics
We took the tram and metro back
to the centre on our way up to the
main Olympic stadium – OAKA
– where the rest of the day would
be spent watching the artistic
gymnastics. It takes a while to go
from north to south, but we make
it in time, fitting in some self-
service food before hand and
popping in to the ZPC for
updates.
Miah and García, 2004: Research diary
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OAKA was calm, no enormous or
long queues and the gymnastics
was also easily accessed and
quite enough that we could sit in
seats that were more expensive
than our ticket price. It pays to
watch the heats!
The artistic gymnastics is
amazing. The tv only conveys one
section at a time. Watching the
event live is so very different, so
much is happening at any one
time and the athletes fall a lot!
16 August
City scenes
We arrive at ZPC at 11.30am only
to find out that our Main Press
Centre accreditation application
has been declined. The ZPC
officials are clearly not that
influential when it comes to
ATHOC accredited buildings.
We go to the New Benaki
Museum, another Cultural
Olympiad venue; an impressive
exhibition of clothing from a
range of locations called
24
 www.culturalolympics.org.uk

‘Ptychoseis=Folds+Pleats’. This is
definitely one of the most
extraordinary exhibitions during
the Games.

We then venture over to the

Technopolis venue, an extensive
complex of cultural centres and
activity. There were few people
around and the guard seemed
desperate to talk to someone. One
of the exhibits was a video of
Olympic history, which included
interviews with Olympic veteran
academics John MacAloon and
Norbert MXXller.
Back at the ZPC at 7pm to find
out about a Torino 2006 function
due to take place that night. No
info is available, which ruins the
plan for that evening.
Instead, we take the evening to
have some sushi and find some of
the Catch the Light events.
However, there was no
information available about this
at Syntagma square and the
people handing out leaflets about
it at Korai Square were almost
invisible.
The Olympic volunteers look cheerful
and relaxed regardless of the heat and
pressures from some Olympic visitors
17 August
Athens by art
Depart home around 9.15am,
Beatriz meets Nelly Kyriazi,
Director of the Municipal Gallery
of Athens. She is meeting her to
talk about her role as curator of
the ‘Athens by Art’ contemporary
public art programme being
presented throughout the city
during the Olympic fortnight.
Andy was at the ZPC until
1230pm, conducting the daily
archival work.

At around 10pm, one of the ticket

booths happened to be closing
and we saw an argument
between a visitor and an
employee, the former of which
was protesting at their closing so
early. A fight very nearly broke
out! The volunteers are so
vulnerable sometimes and just The Athens by art programme brings a
refreshing look at the city by placing
get too hard a time from visitors.
contemporary public art within
otherwise traditional environments

Miah and García, 2004: Research diary 25


ZPC events
Later that day, the Expo 2008
Thessaloniki bid committee gave
a presentation about their aims.
That night, we would prepare for
one of the ZPC culture events, an
evening of Greek cuisine. We had
hoped for a table with ZPC
officials and it more or less
worked out, except for an
unusual Frenchman who decided
to sit with all of us and show us
photographs of him with, among
others, the Pope!
The magnificent Zappeion perystile is
used to host daily cultural events
This was a truly bizarre evening,
with somewhat serious
consequences. The meal was
supposed to be the one occasion
when colleagues from the ZPC
could sit and have some relaxing,
together time. Well, while we had
been invited to join their table, he
had not and he was taking the
last seat. Ultimately, the boss of
the ZPC group dealt with it very
professionally, but we did feel
sorry for them!
Anyway, the food was great, but
not sufficient for the many
Miah and García, 2004: Research diary
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hungry guests, so it was a quick
McDonalds later. We stayed at
the ZPC all night tonight, since
tomorrow was the 4.30am
departure to the ancient stadium
of Olympia for the Shot put. This
will be the first time the
venerable stadium hosts a
professional sports event since
ancient times.
18 August
Olympia or bust
At 3.45am, we walk over to
Syntagma to catch the media
coach down to Olympia. This was
not provided free and was
actually quite expensive. Their
luxury coach was far from being
luxury and we did feel sorry for
some of the media, many of
whom were big guys with big
equipment. The 5hr journey
down to Olympia cannot have
been easy. Most of the journalists
were from the Main Press Centre
and it was full.
We arrive in Olympia at 9am and
the route was quite different
towards the end. Olympia had
gone through some dramatic
changes in recent months. Andy
was last here in June 2003. Upon
arriving, we discover that
departure is not until 8pm – we
had been told it was 1pm, after
the shot put finished. This spoils
our plan to be back in Athens for
the Cultural Olympiad event
tonight at 9pm, so new plans
were necessary.
26
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The tour guide assures us she will
find out about other possibilities,
so we watch the event and relax a
little. It is amazing how they have
transformed the walk from
Olympia down to the stadium,
though there are nearly no water
kiosks and certainly no food
anywhere.
The train back to Athens was not
much fun. First leg was packed in
like chickens. The second leg
began in a nice first class carriage,
until we were moved and had to
walk through a ‘raining’ carriage
– air conditioning leaking into the
train – and into our less air-
conditioned, but dry carriage.

It took around 6.5 hours to get

back and we were exhausted by
the end of it.

Still, just enough time to get

cleaned up for the Cultural
Olympiad function at the ZPC.

We feel privileged to be part of the

crowd at the ancient stadium of
Olympia, hosting its first professional
sport competition in almost three
millennia.

At around 12.30pm, we rush to

the restaurant to see if we can
grab a bite before learning that
we need to take the 1pm train
back to Olympia to ensure we
make it there for the evening. It is
a shame, since it would have
been good to talk more with the
journalists, one of whom said that
being in Olympia is the highlight
of his career. So much for being
Stamatis Mavros, President of the
cynical about sports media
Hellenic Culture Company presents his
journalists. Here we were in the vision of the Cultural Olympiad
heart of where sport began and it
actually managed to touch
someone in a very important
way. How reassuring.

Miah and García, 2004: Research diary 27


20 August
Research intensive
A full research day for both of us.
Andy spends time in the ZPC
working on new archival
material, promotion for the
public communication of our
work, articles for newspapers and
subsequently visits the
archaeological site in Athens.
Despite it being summer and
Games week, it is relatively
empty.
Beatriz has to go through a real
marathon of interviews at the
Hellenic Culture Organisation
(HCO) headquarters. This is the
group in charge of the Cultural
Olympiad on behalf of the
Hellenic Ministry of Culture. The
meetings start at 1pm and do not
finish until practically 6pm.
She receives great support from
Takis Panagiotopoulos, HCO
president advisor.
The first meeting is with
Amaryllis Frangou, the director
of communication. She is a very
straight forward person who
offers very useful information
about the evolution of the
Cultural Olympiad marketing
and promotional campaigns. She
shows videos of the Cultural
Olympiad TV campaign from
2002 onwards.
It is also helpful to learn about
the progress of the logo and the
notion of a ‘brand’ that is
supposed to survive the end of
Miah and García, 2004: Research diary
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the Games and become
established as a permanent
Cultural Foundation with a base
in Greece.
The next interview is with Liza
Tsaliki, director of international
collaborations. It is excellent to
meet her and it will be definitely
be worth keeping in touch. She
has an academic background in
cultural and media studies and is
good friends with Prof. Neil Blain
from Paisley University in
Glasgow, who happens to be the
head of Andy’s school. The
interview provides detailed
information about the Olympiad
wider (and complex!) political
context and the difficulties in
securing a broad international
projection.
An unexpected meeting with
Elias Vergidis, manager of the
new Athens Culture Guide
proves very useful as well. The
Guide is rapidly becoming a key
reference point of Athens cultural
agenda. It is by far the best guide
to get an impression of the wide
range of cultural activity
happening in Athens during the
Olympics, including not only
ATHOC and Municipality
cultural activities, but also the
Cultural Olympiad, the Hellenic
festival programme and a range
of alternative offerings. The guide
is supported by the HCO and has
been set as a long term project.
The final meeting is with George
Liontos, director of the
‘department of programme
28

realization’, that is, the man in
charge of cultural programming.
He is a rather authoritative man,
with a far reaching experience at
the Ministry of Culture. He has a
very good insight of the evolution
of the Cultural Olympiad since its
original inception in 1998 and is
also well aware of the difficulties
in confirming certain acts and
responding to the very ambitious
design of the Olympiad during
the four years it has lasted.
Mr Liontos offers a magnificent
selection of Cultural Olympiad
publications. These include
several hard-back (and extremely
heavy!) exhibition catalogues
with great photographs, which
are, indeed, extremely valuable
additions to our Olympic culture
library collection.
Commonwealth connections
After the exhausting – but great –
interviews session, Beatriz gets
back to the Zappeion Press
Centre to attend a press
conference by the organisers of
the Melbourne Commonwealth
Games in 2006.
During the press reception, we
have a brief chat with Lord
Sebastian Coe, the chairman of
the London 2012 Bid. He is happy
to hear about our project and
very encouraging. We also see
Prof Kristine Toohey from
University of Technology in
Sydney, with whom Beatriz had
worked during her experience at
the Sydney Organising
Miah and García, 2004: Research diary
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Committee for Games in years
1999 and 2000.
The press conference is
interesting enough, but the best
part comes at the end, with the
distribution of information backs
and, best of all, nice
Commonwealth pins. The pin
mania is difficult to avoid in
Olympic and related circles!.
Olympic opera
At 7pm we leave the ZPC for the
Odeon of Herod Atticus. There
we are going to see the opera
‘Rea’ by Spyros Samaras, which
has been made famous because of
its music becoming the basis for
the modern Olympic Hymn. We
are really exhausted and the hard
stone seats do not help to make
us feel relaxed, so we decide to
leave at the end of act 1 and make
a couple of tourists very happy
with our tickets for the opera’s
second half.
A view of the Parthenon from the
Odeon of Herod Atticus
We go out for dinner at
Kolonnaki square, a very
pleasant and upmarket area of
29

the city were prices are high but
service is truly excellent. We are
lucky and have an uneventful
public transport return to our flat.
21 Aug
Olympic park - athletics
A full day at OAKA today for the
athletics. We depart at around
730am, missing our bus and,
thus, taking around 40mins to get
to the tram. We arrive at OAKA
around 915am and are, again,
able to sit where we like. So we
get some near front-row seats to
watch the Heptahlon long jump.
Denise Lewis pulls out with
injury, though looked good in the
performance. A strong
performance from Team GB’s
Kelly Sotherton. We also ‘see’ the
100m heats, which include
Maurice Greene, Kim Collins and
Greg Campbell, though the sprint
track is on the other side of the
stadium, so we don’t really see
much more than small dots of
people and the television screens
in the stadium.
Miah and García, 2004: Research diary
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We took some time to get to
know the OAKA complex. Some
parts look a bit desert-like, sand
on the ground, seemingly
unfinished, though it would be
possible to pass it of as a
traditional Mediterranean dry
and dusty landscape!
There are some beautifully
arranged water areas as well, and
there is where most of the visitors
gather to escape the heat. Despite
the many warnings ‘not to get
into the water’, there are few of
us that can resist the example of
the many children who are
already enjoying it!
The OAKA complex is a grand venue
that looks a bit unfinished in parts but
dazzling in others. The water areas are
the perfect venue to relax from the heat
Sponsor branding is not too
overwhelming, though it is
clearly present in the service
areas. There are many Kodak and
Coke stands and the McDonalds
restaurant is bursting at the
seams. Water and food are
reasonably priced throughout.
30

At 12pm we take the metro to
Nea Ionia to see the DESTE
foundation exhibit ‘Monument to
Now’. Well worth a visit, though
the volunteers around the area
did not know about its existence.
22 August
Visa Olympians meeting centre
After a big breakfast with our
hosts, we get to the ZPC and
spend some time taking
photographs at the Olympic
Truce stand. We will use these for
our university press release and
to distribute information about
the Truce more widely.
We also go to the Panathenaiko
stadium to take some
photographs while it is empty. It
is such a beautiful and
memorable stadium. Later on
today we will come here to see
the end of the women’s
marathon.
Miah and García, 2004: Research diary
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The line for the women marathon which
follows the ancient route from Marathon
to the centre of Athens
After lunch, we go to the Visa
Olympians Meeting Centre to
attend the International Olympic
Academy Participants
Association (IOAPA) reunion. It
is a good chance to catch up with
old ‘Olympic circle’ friends.
Amongst the best surprises is
seeing Thomas Kaptain, who is in
excellent shape and funny as
ever. We also see Kostas
Georgiadis and his wife. Norbert
Muller and Manfred Messing
from Mainz University are also
there. As is Holger Preuss from
the same university with whom
we have a brief chat.
We also have a chat with our
friend Evi, and a quick hello to
Elisabeth Hanley who makes a
speech to congratulate Laurel
Iversen for her dedication to the
IOAPA. We see Bob Barney, John
Lucas and Cesar Torres but have
no chance to say hi.
We meet a UN culture and sport
officer working in Kosovo who
knows Ana Belen Moreno (from
31

the Olympic Studies Centre in
Barcelona). Ana Belen was
working with him the year she
went to Kosovo. He is an
interesting person with a very
interesting job. To be followed
up. As always a bit of surprise as,
in the end, we do not know so
many people within the IOA
world!
The longest time is spent with
Noemi Monin from the
Museum/OSC, now in charge of
Summer Games Coordination – a
post briefly held by Nuria Puig,
who is now back at the OSC in
Lausanne. She will be working on
the Beijing links. We discuss our
views about the Athens cultural
programme. Few people knows
about the ‘cultureguide’ and are
often confused about the
diversity of activity on offer.
We share most of the afternoon/
evening with Berta and Chris
(from the Centre for Olympic
Studies in Barcelona), who have
had the chance to see some events
through IOC support. They have
collected lots of material (25kg)
mainly through the Main Press
Centre, where they were based.
They also visited the ZPC and
found it very useful and
accessible.
Radcliffe’s Greek tragedy
We go to the Panathenaiko
together to see end of Women
Marathon. The entry is a bit
chaotic, with contradicting
directions being given – entry by
the stadium, where tickets are
Miah and García, 2004: Research diary
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still distributed at the official
boot, or through a special
entrance at the National Gardens,
linked to stadium through a
walled corridor.
At the entrance there are lots of
people waiting, then we are told
to move away, as we cannot get
in without tickets. Most of us
have them, so it is a useless
remark that confuses people. It
takes a while to make it through
the corridor – constantly stopped
to be checked out, with lots of
police. We catch a glimpse of two
‘Greek philosophers’ at a bench
behind the fences, in the park,
looking in on us. (Isn’t alcohol a
banned substance at the Games?)
Most of the crowd are Brits
carrying flags. Every British
person in Athens seems to be
here, benefiting from the 10 euro
ticket.
British fans at the women marathon
final in the Panathenaiko stadium
It is not difficult to get good seats
near the finishing line – the
stadium is large and we are early.
We are just next to the media
32

seats, which are indeed always
the best (better than the VIPs
designated area on the side).
While we sit, we see Bridget
McConnell and her husband the
first Minister of Scotland Jack
McConnell. A happy coincidence.
We had a chance to say hello to
them both.
With them is the well known
former British athlete Dame Mary
Peters, creating a fuss as fans ask
her for a signature. Japanese fans
do not know what is happening
(they ask us who she is) but also
ask for a signature.
The stadium is in full swing with
the British fans dancing and
flashing their flags. A smaller
contingent of Japanese fans is also
visible. The race starts and Paula
Radcliffe is leading, which brings
cheers around the stadium. But
she stops, unexpectedly, in the 23
mile mark – just 3 miles to go. She
is in tears, and the stadium in
disbelief.
The Japanese runner wins the
race, with all Japanese of a
sudden getting prominence. We
all cheer for the runners as they
arrive, especially for Liz Yelling.
When she arrives, Andy spots her
husband Martin, an old friend
from Bedford, and has a chance
to talk with him.
It is nice to stay until the very end
– the race started at 6pm and the
final runner arrives around
9.45pm – almost 10pm. It feels
Miah and García, 2004: Research diary
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like this is the real Olympic spirit.
It is inspiring to see the reactions
and appreciation of the runners
who arrive exhausted and still
have the strength to smile or send
kisses to the crowd while they
run the final lap.
British media (Sue Barker) at the
finishing line of the women marathon
Several of them collapse after the
finishing line and must be taken
out in a stretcher. The Japanese
winner, though, after a moment
of rest, is unstoppable, running
around everywhere, carrying the
Japanese flag, talking to the
media and then, after receiving
flowers – one hour or so after
winning – running up and down
the seating area, mingling with
the fans that follow her around.
Andy manages to shake her
hand.
It is so funny! Like a Benny Hill
show, says Chris, as we look at
the Japanese running around
after her, some of them in funny
costumes, a group of them all
dressed in bright pink. What a
strange sight, in this so beautiful
and solemn stadium! It is a nice
33

feeling throughout, despite the
sad end to Paula’s race.
We go for dinner in the Italian
restaurant that is team Japan’s
house after submerging our feet
in the Kiatsu bath at the entrance.
It consists of hot water and stones
for massaging the soles of your
feet. It is an initiative of the
Japanese to promote healthy
practices during the Games, and
it works!
23 August
The finishing line
This is our last day in Athens.
How quickly it has all happened!
The morning is spent trying to
arrange bags, then rushing to
meet Lucy from the Olympic
Truce but she cancels so we get
back to the house. We do not
leave for the ZPC until 12.30 and
decide to have lunch first to learn,
upon arrival around 2pm, that at
12 there had been a press
presentation by the Torino 2006
Winter Games Team. We are
disappointed to have missed it,
but we get information, including
an extensive press pack.
On the way, before lunch, we go
through Swatch street in Plaka to
see ‘Kaleidoscope’, one of many
sponsor-related art initiatives. It
is a clever idea, consisting of
objects made by athletes in the
form of art displays. The street is
painted as a track lane.
Miah and García, 2004: Research diary
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At our return at the ZPC, the
Zappeion peristyle has been
transformed into a food and
drinks display from all over
Greece. As always, it has been
very well arranged. It is amazing
how many shows they are
putting on, most of them in
excellent taste though poorly
attended by the journalists. We
get some free ice cream, which is
always welcome.
We take the bus to the airport
and are very happy to learn that
British Airways will allow us to
take all the material we have
compiled without charge. We see
many athletes at the airport. They
are leaving after their events,
which is a shame as one would
wish that the Olympic village
were full and busy to the end –
and that the athletes were able to
enjoy the atmosphere. But reality
is not always as one would like it.
In the end, it is the athletes with
less chances of winning who are
probably making the most of the
Olympic experience. At least,
they can relax enough to enjoy
and socialise, party and meet
different cultures – and stay until
to the Closing ceremony!
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