Greek Ambassador George Savvaides Greece Ignites Olympic Spirit by Larry Luxner On Aug. 13, Greece will inaugurate the first Olympic Games of the new millennium in an elaborate ceremony attended by 70,000 lucky spectators. Unfortunately, Greek Ambassador George Savvaides wonít be among them. ìI have to be here in Washington,î lamented the diplomat, who plans to celebrate his 59th birthday that day while watching the festivities on television, along with 3.5 billion other viewers. ìAll Greek ambassadors are required to stay at their posts in order to make sure everything goes well.î And everything will, Savvaides assured usódespite worldwide fears that terrorists will disrupt the Games, which conclude Aug. 29. ìThis is a very important undertaking for Greece, not only from the organizational point of view, but also from the cultural and political point of view,î says Savvaides, former secretary-general of the Greek Foreign Ministry and an ex-ambassador to NATO. ìThis event promotes human understanding and friendship, but also the values of culture that were born in Greece 3,000 years ago.î The Olympic Game s began in 776 B.C. and continued until 393 A.D., when the Roman Empire prohibited all Games that were not considered pagan. As such, the marathon for the 2004 Games will be run on the original route, cycling will take place in the historic city center around the Acropolis, archery will be held in the Panathinaiko marble stadiumósite of the first modern Olympic Games in 1896óand the shot put event will be staged at the ancient stadium of Olympia. ìThis will be the first time since the 4th century that an athletic event will take place there,î the ambassador says proudly. ìWe also promote the idea of the Olympic truce. In ancient times, the Olympic Games were accompanied by the cessation of hostilities by warring factions in order to provide safe passage of spectators to Olympia and back to their towns. Last November, the U.N. General Assembly unanimously passed a resolution calling on all countries to respect the Olympic truce.î In total, 202 national delegations will be represented at the Olympics, ranging from war-ravaged Afghanistan to financially destitute Zimbabwe. The largest contingents will be coming from the United States and Australia. Greeceís neighbor to the north will be participating under the name ìFormer Yugoslav Republic of Macedoniaî because the Greek government hasnít recognized the name Macedonia since that country declared independence 13 years ago. ìUnder a 1995 agreement, both sides are obligated to find a mutually acceptable solution to the name issue,î says Savvaides. Also fielding national teams are places such as American Samoa, Aruba, Bermuda, Hong Kong, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, which are not independent countries but act as such for Olympic purposes. Taiwan is sending its delegation under the banner of ìChinese Taipeiî to avoid offending Beijing. The Afghans, incidentally, are participating thanks to the generosity of the Greek government. ìThe Olympic team from Afghanistan has been in Greece for a few months now, training on the island of Lesbos,î Savvaides says. ìAll the expenses were covered by the Greek side. We are doing this as a symbolic gesture. Weíre not looking for any concrete financial benefits.î Nor should Greece expect any, he suggested. The official budget for the Games is approximately $2.5 billion. Of that, 37 percent will come from radio and television broadcast rights (some 3,800 hours of live coverage are planned). Another 28 percent is coming from product licensing and ticket salesówhich have been much slower than anticipatedóand 23 percent from corporate sponsors. The Greek government is footing the remaining 12 percent of the bill. Major international sponsors include Coca-Cola, McDonaldís, Panasonic, Samsung, Sports Illustrated, Swatch, VISA, Kodak and Xerox. Greek sponsors include Olympic Airlines, Alpha Bank, Heineken/Athenian Brewery and Hellenic Post. In addition to the Games themselves, Greece is spending $7 billion on infrastructure improvements either directly or indirectly linked with the Olympics. This includes the new Eleftherios Venizelos Airport, opened in March 2001; a new metro system for Athens that now carries 400,000 passengers a day; a new, 32-kilometer-long suburban railway that will link Athens with the new airport; a tram system; and a ring road around Athens that was completed in June. The Olympic Village, located 21 kilometers from central Athens, consists of 366 buildings that will house 16,000 athletes and team officials. After the Games are over, the village will provide affordable housing for 2,500 families. ìThe entire political spectrum in Greece is supportive of the Games,î says the ambassador. ìSome Athenians are not very happy about the traffic, but they know very well that following the end of the Olympics, all this infrastructure will remain there for the benefit of the city. This is a national cause.î All told, the upcoming Olympic Games will encompass 28 sports, 35 competition venues, 301 medal ceremonies, 72 Olympic training facilities, 10,500 athletes, 5,500 team officials, 45,000 volunteers, more than 21,000 media people, and 5.3 million ticketed spectators. In addition, this will be the first Olympics to enforce the new code of the World Anti-Doping Agency, with 613 people to staff the International Olympic Committeeís anti-doping program. But numbers alone donít tell the whole story. ìThe Games will be an excellent opportunity for Greece to project an image of a modern country with the capacity to organize and host major eventsóprovided the Games are successful,î Savvaides says, noting that Greece receives more than 14 million tourists a year, ranking it among the worldís top 15 tourist destinations. However, tourism has been a sore spot this year, with the number of visitors to Greece down sharply, and unless the trend changes, ìthe drop in arrivals could be as much as eight percent compared to last year,î according to a statement released by the countryís union of tourist enterprises. The decline has been attributable to fewer Americans visiting Greeceóofficials at the American Embassy in Athens said their estimates showed a 30 percent decrease in the number of Americans coming to the Olympics compared with four years agoówhich has been largely the result of the high prices that Greek hotels have been charging. ìThe government must battle profiteering which may appear during the Games so as to avoid defamation of the whole Greek tourism sector,î the tourist union warned. Nevertheless, Savvaides says the Games will cast a positive light on Greece despite the difficulties in getting the country ready for such a massive undertaking. ìGreece is determined and capable of doing the job, and we will use our unique position to revive the true Olympic spirit of international cooperation, understanding and brotherhood,î he says. ìVery few countries in the last 100 years have been given the opportunity to host the Olympics a second time, and even fewer countries of our size have been considered, with the exception of Finland, the Netherlands and Belgium [in the early 20th century].î Yet the threat of terrorism hangs over the Games like never before. Painfully aware that these are the first Olympics since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001ónot to mention the recent wave of al Qaeda attacks in Iraq, Spain and Saudi ArabiaóGreek officials are leaving nothing to chance. ìEven though we donít have any indications of threats concerning the Olympic Games, weíre taking all the necessary precautions in order to avoid any eventuality. Following the events of 9/11, we consider the security aspects of the Games of cardinal importance. For this reason, we did not spare any effortófinancial or politicalóto cover all the possibilities.î Savvaides says the Gamesí security budget exceeds $1.2 billion, four times the amount spent on security in Sydney or Salt Lake City. The biggest piece of that budget, $300 million, is going to San Diego-based Science Applications International Corp. (SAIC), which will oversee responsibility for security at the Games. As such, SAIC will implement a program known as C4I, which consists of 67 systems, including command centers, secure digital trunk radio network, closed-circuit television and access control, automatic vehicle location and the like. ìWe have asked NATO to assist us in averting any possible security threat, to provide early-warning aircraft and naval units to patrol the Aegean Sea, and also help us face any potential biological or chemical attack,î says Savvaides. ìWe are talking of a comprehensive effort.î More than 60,000 security forces are involved, he says. In addition, an advisory committee of eight countriesóthe United States, Great Britain, Germany, Spain, Australia, Russia, France and Israelóis providing Greek security authorities with anti-terrorism expertise ìto avoid any unpleasant situations.î Less publicized will be the participation of 400 U.S. Special Forces soldiers, who along with Israeli and possibly British security officers will be armed. According to the New York Times, ìThe delicate arrangements, which the officials say will not be formally acknowledged for fear of roiling anti-American sentiment, represent a significant departure from Olympic tradition, as well as from Greek law, which prohibits foreign personnel from carrying weapons within the country.î The Bush administration reportedly pressured the Greeks to seek NATO sponsorship for the U.S. forces ìas a way to avoid stirring a political stormî in Athens, according to NATO officials quoted by the Times. Several NATO member countries were opposed to the idea but relented under pressure from Washington. In addition to the Special Forces, the U.S.-Greek agreements call for 100 armed American agents to be used largely as bodyguards for U.S. athletes and dignitaries. The Times reported that ìthe FBI is also sending a hostage rescue team, as well as evidence-gathering and analysis personnel who will be pressed into service in the event of an attack.î The newspaper quoted unnamed foreign officials as saying that their biggest concern ìremains that some Greek anarchist group will set off a small explosive device in a public area removed from the Olympics and cause a panic that could affect the Games.î Savvaides discounted that possibility, however, saying that domestic terrorism no longer exists within Greece. ìThe 17 November group was eradicated two years ago,î he told The Washington Diplomat. ìThese people were arrested, tried and sentenced to very long prison terms.î Just in case, he says, a series of operational readiness exercises have been staged over the past few years, including Rainbow 2002 (mock airplane hijacking and incident at the seaport of Piraeus) and Blue Odyssey (chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear incident and hostage situation on a yacht). During the Games themselves, according to the New York Times, participants will be protected by Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) planes, U.S. Navy frogmen in the port of Piraeus, radiation detection devices along Greek borders, and cameras in stadiums and elsewhere on the lookout for terrorist suspects. ìThis did not happen overnight,î Savvaides says. ìItís the outcome of a lengthy process, a longstanding relationship we have with the United States that has entered a mature phase. We do not have any outstanding issues between our countries. We have trust, communications, and in my opinion, a commonality of purpose.î Greece, a NATO member since 1952, has ìvery goodî relations with the United States, partly a consequence of the strong Greek-American community that numbers more than 2 million. ìIn all major wars and conflicts of the 20th century, Greece and the United States were side by side.î Asked about anti-American incidents in Greece, Savvaides conceded that ìthere might be some expressions of anti-Americanism in one form or another, but no more than in other European countries. Such events happen all over the world, but it does not change in any way our basic feeling of friendship toward the United States.î Larry Luxner is a contributing writer for The Washington Diplomat.