Justin Bedford, Deputy Head of Mission: The spectacle of the Olympic and Paralympic Games gives us a reminder of what sporting excellence should be all about: top-class competition, set within a spirit of friendship. This summer, just 100 days from today, the 2012 Olympic Games will open in London.
The last time London hosted the Games – in 1948 – the world was recovering from a catastrophic war. But even then the Games were an opportunity to look forward, not back. This time too we relish the prospect of great sporting achievements being played out before our eyes: world records, personal bests, or simply the pride of making it to the start line.
But beyond the sporting success, the Olympics and Paralympics provide an opportunity for us to contemplate some wider human qualities: commitment, fair play, teamwork, hospitality, setting a positive example. The Olympic spirit engenders all of these. And so it’s great to see that, through the More Than Gold initiative, the Catholic Church in the UK, together with other Christian denominations, will be using the backdrop of the 2012 Games to highlight the benefits of sport and to focus on some central themes for building a better society: community engagement, hospitality and service.
Internationally too we have seen how the Olympics can have a positive effect. Last summer I welcomed Lord Michael Bates to Rome during his “Walk for Truce” – a lone, unaided trek across Europe from Olympia to London, aimed at promoting the ancient tradition of calling a pause to conflicts for the duration of the Games. Late last year, for the first time, every country in the world signed up to the UN’s Olympic Truce Resolution, and in February 2012, in a joint communiqué with a group of visiting UK Government Ministers, the Holy See added its support. So we hope that, with just 100 days to go to before the opening of the London Games, people around the world will do what they can to implement the Olympic Truce.
Hosting the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games will be a proud moment for Britain. It’s shaping up to be a great event and, in the spirit of the Olympic Charter and the Olympic Truce, we look forward to welcoming the world to be part of it.