Written by: Dr. Ayman Al Kiki
Ceremony and Program of the Ancient Olympic Games
The program of the ancient Olympic Games lasts five days and there was a dispute between historians over the program’s pattern during these five days. The participating champions should arrive one month earlier before the opening of the games, from the Greek cities to Olympia, and their names get registered by the judges (referees), also the spectators come during this month. They reside in the suburbs of Olympia, and hold poetry, music, orating, dance, and singing sessions, while merchants seek to promote their goods, manufacturers present their products, politicians take the opportunity to publicize their views, and philosophers introduce their theories, and finally the ceremony begins as follows:
The religious rituals of the ceremony start (similarly to the modern opening ceremony), in which the referees are shown with their purple gowns, the Greek cities’ ambassadors carry the precious gifts for the temple, the priests walk holding the sacrifices to offer them to “Zeus”, the father of gods, and the funeral chants are chanted around a symbolic shrine of Achilles’, after that at sunset the blood is drenched on the “Shrine of Pelops” to recall the origin of these acts of worship.
The thanksgiving prayers are performed for Zeus, offerings and vows are presented in the names of the participants, and in the name of the host nation, and they were making their oaths in front of the niche of Zeus, the protector of the covenants. Each player make his oath that he has spent a sufficient period – not less than ten months – in order to prepare for participating in the ceremony and that he would not behave in a manner that is not honorable, or that contradicts the rules of sport, custom, and ethics. As for the minor participants, their guardians make the oaths on their behalf. In Ellis, a training camp was being held to train those participating for the first time, to familiarize them with the followed sports behavior.
Establishment of the first modern International Olympic Committee:
The International Olympic Committee was established on June 23, 1894 AD in Paris, after the participants in the first sports conference in Paris decided that the International Olympic Committee should be composed of delegates of the participating nations in the conference, which were thirteen nations. The president of the International Olympic Committee would be in charge of organizing the Olympic Games from the selected host city since there was no a permanent headquarters for the International Olympic Committee. The task of forming the first International Olympic Committee was assigned to the French founder, Baron “Coubertin”, and later he asked “Demetrios Vikelas” (Greece), the gymnastics club delegate at the conference, to take over the presidency of the International Olympic Committee according to the committee’s regulations. “Vikelas”, the Greek delegate was nominated as the first president of the International Olympic Committee. The first International Olympic Committee consisted of fourteen members: “Vikelas” (Greece), “Coubertin” (France), “Callot” (France), “Butowski” (Russia), “Balck” (Sweden), “Sloane” (United States), “Jiří Guth” (Bohemia), “Ferenc Kemény” (Hungary), “Herbert” (Great Britain), “Ampthill” (Great Britain), “Zubiaur” (Argentina), “A. Cuff” (New Zealand), “Lucchesi” (Italy), and “Max de Bossis” (Belgium).
Some basic principles from the modern Olympic protocol
- The Olympic Games are held every four years.
- The honor of hosting the Olympic Games is granted to cities, not to their nations, and they are chosen by the International Olympic Committee members. Members cannot vote when their home city candidates for hosting the event, also honorary members and suspended members are not allowed to vote. Authorization voting is not allowed too.
- The competitions are individual, and the victory counts to the winner’s name, not to the nation.
- Only amateurs are allowed to participate at the event, however, professional athletes can take part too now in some team games.
- The Olympic Games cannot be held without certain sports, which are: “athletics, gymnastics, aquatic sports, equestrian, cycling, and fine arts and literature program”.
The opening ceremony of the modern Olympic Games:
The opening ceremony of the Olympic Games begins with the state president’s arrival or sometimes, his representative, at the Olympic stadium. He will be hosted by the president of the International Olympic Committee and the head of the organizing committee at the entrance to the Olympic Stadium. The state president heads towards the stage of honor, along with his entourage, national anthems are performed, then the national flags of the participating nations are raised at the gates of the stadium, the participating nations begin to marsh in their official uniforms, each team behind a sign with the name of the nation along with the national flag. Greece comes first in honor of it, followed by the rest of nations in the alphabetical order of the organizing nation, and the organizing nation comes at last of the parade, after that all the flags of the participating nations relapse, when passing in front of the main stage as a greeting to the officials – except for the “Saudi flag” because it bears the slogan of monotheism, “There is no god but Allah; Muhammad is the messenger of Allah”.
The Iraqi flag too does not relapse because it bears the words “Allah is the greatest”, and after each team completes its course on the field, it lines behind the sign holder and flag holder in front of the president’s podium, and the president of the organizing committee accompanied by the president of the International Olympic Committee head to the podium in front of the honor cabin. The president of the organizing committee presents the president of the International Olympic Committee in a few words, and asks him to present the state president or his representative to open the tournament. Then the president of the International Olympic Committee ascends to the podium, and after a brief welcome, inviting the state president to open the Olympic Games.
At that moment the Olympic flag rises slowly, until it reaches the top of the mast, then a herd of the homing pigeons gets released, and in the leg of each pigeon there is ribbon of the Olympic flag. Then the music is played, three shots are fired, and the mayor of the city rises, with the head of the International Olympic Committee next to him, and the delegate of the previous organizing city comes and presents the frilled satin flag to the president of the International Olympic Committee, who in turn presents it to the governor, and order to keep the flag in the municipality building until the next tournament. There are two flags, one for the Summer Olympics, and the other for the Winter Olympics. The last runner comes carrying the Olympic flame, and runs around the Olympic stadium, then he heads towards the permanent flame and fires it. The flame keeps burning and does not subside until the closing ceremony. The flag holders then form a semi-circular shape heading to the main podium, holding their flags relapsed, after that the teams start to leave with the same order in which they entered, and the state president leaves his place to end the opening ceremony.
