And so, it’s over.
After seven years of preparation, the London 2012 Olympic Games has finished. 17 days of world class sporting talent on show to a global audience of billions of people, with more than 7.4 million of them visiting venues across the UK. We have been enthralled, excited, dismayed.
We’ve laughed, smiled, groaned and dreamt. The Games was a fantastic celebration of all that is great about Great Britain: not just our ability to stage the world’s biggest sporting party, but also about British music, history, culture and even the weather (which stayed mostly sunny, despite the three months of monsoon-like rain preceding the games). I felt proud to be British and proud that my country played host to such a wonderful event.
Please do share your own views on the London 2012 Olympic Games with me.
But I don’t just want to sing Britain’s praises. I released a press statement here earlier this week saying that I was additionally proud of Ethiopia’s success in London. Ethiopia had one of its most successful Olympics, winning seven medals. And it was the most successful Olympics ever for Ethiopia’s female athletes, who won three gold medals and one bronze.
The images of Meseret Defar, Tirunesh Dibaba and Tiki Gelana winning gold will inspire a new generation of Ethiopian athletes. And take a second to think about Mohammed Aman and Yanet Seyoum, two of the stars of our London 2012 film, “Hopes of Ethiopia”. Neither unfortunately won a medal, but both showed the massive potential they have.
They challenged stereotypes; they’ve modelled the determination which defines modern Ethiopia; and they have shown to many Ethiopians the power of self-belief and hard work. Perhaps my favourite memory of the Olympics was seeing the smile on Yanet’s face as she carried out the Ethiopian flag during the opening ceremony.
The London 2012 Olympics was a party for humanity. It showcased the very best of us (and when I say us, I mean all of us, not just us Britons). And it showed what we can do with hard word, determination and commitment. The Olympic flame may now have been extinguished, but there is a flame that burns on in the hearts of young Ethiopian athletes like Mohammed and Yanet.
With the right balance of hard work, talent and support, I am sure that their future will be golden. And that’s not all – because we now await the Paralympic Games, which we believe will be the most thrilling and widely-watched Paralympics ever.
And rather more parochially, we look forward also to the Great Ethiopian Run in November (which my Embassy sponsors by the way, and helped set up 12 years ago…).
The excitement isn’t over yet.
I really like your writing style, fantastic info, thanks for posting :D. “Silence is more musical than any song.” by Christina G. Rossetti.
…sorry Greg, but I had a technical problem.But what I really want to add is:That it’s to me not important that the movie “Hopes of Ethipia” doesn’t won a prize at the London performance.I think, that it is much more important that it was shown at all and -logical- also showed, of what you called a “Massive Potential”.
BW, Ingo-Steven Wais
Dear Greg, “…and so it is over …”? Well, not for me.In fact and in my opinion the impact and the benefits of the “OLYMPICS” in London 2012 (and the “PARALYMPICS”, starting next Wed.,July 29th, 12 !)will surely be lasting over this entire decade.But that is not the topic of your report.For 1st. I also want to write and to join the already big group of people, who wants to CONGRATULATE the entire Ethiopian olympic team.I ‘m not only talking of the outstanding success of their female athletes, standing in my imagination under a “shower” of golden and bronze medal rain.These little lines of mine are also dedicated to these team-members /players – behind the “official” star-athletes.In other words:The whole Ethiopian – Olympic team.Cleaning women and men, helpers or volounteers.
Of course, I do agree that Tiki Gelana, Meseret Defar and Tirunesh Dibaba will not only “inspire” a whole generation of Ethiopia ‘s current sportswomen- and men but -also very important- the next one of athletes of their state. I do also believe that they (and their team) will give this country itself new hope and new self-confidence in re. of Ethiopia ś probelems today and in the next future.I mean that you ‘ve once wrote, for e.g. about the 60.000Eritrean refugees in Ethiopia.Such successes will surely lead into the right direction of a solution.So may the Olympic-Flame slowly disappear-the fire itself has just begun to burn.
BW, Ingo-Steven Wais