Athens Olympic Sports Complex - Assignment Example

FACILITIES, STADIA AND ENVIRONMENT Introduction The researcher chose the Athens Olympic Stadium as the focus of the study; for the reason that Athens Olympic Stadium or OAKA is located at Greece which was the first who introduced Olympic Games in the world. It is interesting to know how the games were started, and what games they have played. Equally interesting is under what theoretical principles these games were played. Today, there are different international sports organizations such as the World Cup, the European Olympics and the Mediterranean Games which operate under different theoretical principles. Some of these international sports events uphold the principles of promoting goodwill and friendship while the Olympic Games promotes mutual interdependence and economic cooperation, as what is shown in the logo. There are lots of Olympic sports events that were inherited from the Ancient Greek Olympic. Some of these were the Javelin throw, which was originally women's game; walkathon, originated by the Greeks and Romans; and, wrestling. The Athens Olympic Stadium stands as monument of the Ancient Greek sports in the modern world. The magnificence of Athens Olympic Stadium reminds the world that at one time, the Greek nation who owns this stadium were the ones dominant in sports, and their keen interest in reviving the glory of sports as evidence by the huge budget they spent merely for the renovations of the stadium. The stadium is indeed, believed to be "the biggest and most beautiful in the world."(Rizzo, internet source) Historical Context It was the Greek who introduced Olympic Games in the world which paved the way for the modern Olympic Sports events. Originally, the Olympic Games dated from the Mycenaean times and were "held in honor of Zeus."(Athens 2004) In Greek and Roman times, "the track provided for foot races."(Universal World Reference Ency. p.4661) The stadium eventually came to be oval shaped and were sometimes built against a hill in order to enable spectators to view the races from elevated seats out into the hill.(ibid) The games were originally designated "exclusively for young Greek males confronting each other for the glory and wreath of olive leafs,"(Athens 2004) because Olympia was dedicated to Zeus and was therefore sacred area for men. The venue of most sports events were at the temple of Zeus in the fields of Olympia. Thus, the early games were held in the "character of festival of sports."(History of Olympic Games) The Olympic Games were highly regarded as festival that they would even stop wars to give way for the start of festival every full moon of August. During the games, athletes usually competed naked. They originally wore shorts but "competitors deliberately lost his short so that he could run more freely during the race in 720 .C., and clothing was then abolished"(History of Olympic Games) But the Olympic Games turned to be potentially corrupt, and finally "declared the games corrupt in 393 AD. (History of Olympic Games) Emperor Theodosius II destroyed Olympia's temple that ended the games that had been going on for centuries. However in 1870, a German excavation "unearthed the beauty and magnificent statues of the classical Greek games."(History) This archeological discovery at the sacred ground of Olympia prepared the way for the revival of the Olympic Games. Through the initiation of a Frenchman by the name of Pierre de Coubertin, the Olympic Games were re-instituted and the modern Olympics were born. With the first Olympiad "celebrated two years later in Athens where an estimated 245 male athletes from 14 nations competed in the ancient Panathenaican Stadium before a large and ardent crowd."(History) Although, the American got 9 of the 12 track and field events, Greece won the most number of medals with highlights of the victory by native peasants Spiros Louis in the first marathon race. The Olympic Stadium was later named after him. Inspired by this performance and by the revival and the return of the Olympic Games came forth the concept of building a modern Olympic Stadium in 1979. By early 80's, the construction of this modern and high technology stadium was underway and was finally finished and inaugurated on 6 September, 1982. But during the 1996 Olympics, it failed to win the bidding to host the events. This promotes the renovation of the stadium in 2004 under the design of Santiago Calatrava. The stadium became the biggest and the most beautiful in the world. Venue Status Athens Olympic Stadium is located in Athens, Greece. Its official name is Olympiako Stadio Athinas Spyros Louis (OAKA), designed in 1979 and was built in 1980-1982 in "time to host the 1982 European Chanpionship in Athletics.(Wikipedia) It was inaugurated by the President of Greece on September 6, 1982 after which it "hosted several events of the 1991 Mediterranean Games and the 1997 IAAF World Championships in Athletics." (Wikipedia) After the Athens' failure to win the bidding for the 1996 Olympics, the Stadium had undergone major renovations under the design of the World's famous architect Santiago Calatrava to "upgrade OAKA using innovative and creative ways including the new roof structure"(2004 Athens) The roof came to be known as "Jewel in the Crown," which covers 95% of the seats with its two "giants arcs have a total span of 304 meters and a maximum heights is 16,000 tons but "it stays standing seemingly as a feather."(Rizzo) Calatrava had used the best law of Physics combined with harmonious and light design for the renovation of its roof. The stadium features the "special coating of the panels which reflect 60% of the sunlight, something extremely important considering the weather conditions in Athens during summer."(2004 Athens) It was re-inaugurated in 30 July 2004 in preparation for 2004 Olympic Games. Its capacity is 72,000 seats with a dimension of 105x70 meters and a grass surface. The attendance record is 74,473. The OAKA is made up of modern "works of arts and world records starting from Olympic Stadium which has the biggest and most spectacular steel and glass covering ever built."(The 21st century Athens) There is the beautiful covering of the Velodrome, the Agora, the Wall of Nations and more. It is indeed a "futuristic park in which you feel as if you can abandon the present and have suddenly been launched into the future."(Olympic Stadium Athens) Facilities The stadium was opened in 1983 and has a highly dynamic shape. The OAKA comprises some of the most important facilities, namely: the Olympic Park. It is located in the modern quarter of Marons/ 10 km north of the Centre. The park is highly sophisticated that its description creates mental image in one's mind of its magnificence. Even the walk ways linking the various park structures "have researched accurately; they are completely made of white marble and all placed radically and symmetrically so that from above they form the shape of a huge sun." The Olympic Indoor Hall was completed in 1995 and is "the largest indoor venue in use for sporting events at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece."(Wikipedia) The arena was used for artistic gymnastic and trampoline and also hosted the finals of the basketball match of the games. The Aquatic Centre consists of tow outdoor pools and one indoor pool, "that was built for Mediterranean Games." (Wikipedia) The large outdoor pool seats 11,500 spectators hosting swimming and water polo events. The smaller pool hosted synchronized swimming. It seats 5,300 fans, and the indoor pool hosted the diving events. The Tennis Centre is a grouping of 16 tennis courts. It hosted the tennis matches at the 2004 Athens Olympic. It consists of main stadium known as the main court seating 8,600 fans. Geographical Significance The term Olympic derived its meaning from the Greek Olympic or Olympus which was a field in Athens, Greece. This is where the temple of Zeus was located. It was considered by the Greek as a sacred ground for men, thus, during this time, only male athletes compete in the Olympic Games. Women were not allowed to watch games for the Olympia was dedicated to Zeus, a male Greek god. Athletes who won medals were hailed as heroes during this period and "statues were built in their honor around the magnificent temple of Zeus, near the sacred grove of Althis and the Stadium of Olympia."(History) Athens Olympic traced its background in the religious concept of the ancient Olympic games. Theoretical Framework The modern Olympic had revived with almost the same context built in culture, history and tradition. The establishment of Olympic Sports Complex has something to do with the traditional concept of Greek about sports itself. Based on the description, the structure and design is considered by many the biggest and most beautiful in the world. In other words, it has the "glory" of the early Athens, the competitive minds of the Greeks, the splendor that had been theirs many centuries ago. For these people, victory in sports is a symbol of royalty that the world must recognize. In effect, sports could be said involved in creating and changing social relations and culture. According to Dr. Danielson, specifically, when he based his explanation to Critical theory, somehow, sports are closely related to culture, power and social relations with political involvement. People in their attempt to make sense out of this world engaged in sports. In the case of Athens Olympic Sports Complex, government had been used to develop this great structure in preparation for the 2004 Olympic Games. Pride was there knowing that originally, Greek were the originators of sports and Olympic Games which, were done by men belonging to royal families. Sports and Olympic Games were part of their culture and tradition. In view of Critical theory, one cannot understand sports without understanding its history and culture. Basically, no one can fully comprehend the essence of sports if one will disregard its historical background. Meaning, sports are part of the culture, therefore, they can be a tool to regain nationalism among the people. The theory also emphasizes "change" in the society. It explains how significant is sports in influencing change in the society. Sports is more than just a reflection of society according to Dr. Danielson, it could be a catalyst for major societal changes. In a sense, for the Greek, the magnificent Athens Olympic Sports Complex is not only a mere pride or glory, but also a means to bring change in their country politically, socially, economically and culturally. Conclusion Athens Olympic Stadium stands as a monument of Greece ancient glory in sports. It reminds them that at one time, they were the most powerful and most admired. But above all these, the OAKA as the stadium came to be known, symbolizes that modern sports have gone far advance and far modern. This is indeed a great honor regaining their once enjoyed glory. This Olympic Stadium put the Greek nation in world of sports bulletin with the distinction of having the most modern and world class sports facilities. Their citizens must be proud of this. They can enjoy the benefits of a genius architectural design of sports facilities like the Athens Olympic Stadium. Work Cited "Athens Olympic Sports Complex." Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/olympicstadium (Athen) "Athens 2004: Information about the Olympic Games of Athens 2004, Greece." http://www.athens_360.com/athens-2004.htm Danielson, R.R."Dr. Notes Homepage" http://danielson.laurentian.ca/drdnotes/4217ch02.html "History of the Olympic Games." Information on the History of the Olympic Games. http://www.athensguide.org/olympics-history.html "Olympic Stadium Athens." http://www.stadiumguide.com/oaka.htm Rizzo, Demetrio. http://athens today.com.2004 "The 21st Century Athens Century Park." http://www.athens-today.com/e-olimpica_stadio.htm Universal World Reference Encyclopedia.(1990) vol.13 Chicago, Illinois: Consolidated Books. http://olympics.ballpark.com/2004Athens/index.htm Read More