BY M.A.SINGLACHAR

It is a sheer coincidence, that I happen to be visiting Australia, at the time of Olympics. The year 2000, is a very memorable year for everyone in Australia. This gave me a great opportunity, to attend one of the greatest and spectacular shows of our life time. The design and the layout of the stadiums are excellent, seating is comfortable, facilities are convenient and approach is easy. Plenty of food and beverages were available, at convenient points within the stadium. They had provided well designed throw away moulds, to avoid spilling or dropping, so that the buyer can carry the eatables to their seats.

My son had applied for the tickets, in October 1999, indicating his choice of events, which he felt will be interesting to watch. His choice, of course, fell on Athletics, as it is one of the most interesting. He got information well in advance of the event and the day, for which the seats were reserved. The mail also contained a full fledged booklet, giving details of the Stadium layout, and indicated where the gates are located. It also showed how to reach there, how much time it will take to reach from each main location in Sydney, etc. It contained maps, details of the activities, facilities in the Stadium, what things to carry, what to wear and other do’s and do not’s. The instructions were very exhaustive, crisp and clear. Once you have read these manuals, you are totally armed with everything you need, to enjoy the Olympics, when you are there.

The tickets were door delivered to every home by courier service, TNT. The arrangement for this was perfect and convenient to every one. It was publicised through mass media like TV, Radio and News Papers, that the tickets will be delivered, at the door step, on a few selected Sundays in August. The date of delivery was intimated individually to the recipient, by a letter. We saw on TV, that the couriers flew in chartered planes to remote locations in Australia, to deliver the tickets, in time, on the specific dates. On the scheduled day, the first person at our door was the Courier girl, from TNT, to give us the packet containing the tickets and few more pamphlets. The ticket was self explanatory and it contained the date and time for which it is issued, the seat, row and Aisle number. It was with a view to make it convenient for the spectators to reach their seat without any difficulty. The ticket also entitled you to a free travel to the Olympic Stadia, by any of the public transports like bus or train. This was because there was no car parking facility at the venue and no one was supposed to travel by personal transport to the place. The trains and buses were plying very frequently and the rush hour traffic was cleared, without causing any difficulty to us. Every thing was very meticulously planned and executed. To avoid traffic rush during Olympics, most offices were either closed or people were allowed to work from home, through the internet and computers.

The guide book indicated to us, that, on a busy day, it would take us about two hours to reach our seats in the stadium, from our house. Not willing to take any chances, we left home, two hours earlier than the scheduled time for start of the events. When we started moving, the train connections were so convenient and fast, that we reached our destination within 45 minutes and had spare time, for a look around. The stadium itself was massive, designed to seat 125,000 people. When we entered the main gate we knew how to get to our seats. Only problem, we had, was to walk up to the seat, as we had to climb step after step, covering a height, equal to that of an eight storey building. Our seats were located exactly opposite to the now famous Olympic flame tower. The view from the seat was excellent and we were able to watch the events very clearly. The events on that day included five of the Decathlon, finals of the 200, 400 metres sprint for women and men, long jump, pole vault, wheel chair race. Projection on the huge TV screens, made it easy for us to watch the important actions of the athletes and to know the results of all the participants, immediately after each event. It was a wonderful experience, to watch runners like Cathy Freeman, Marion Jones, Beena Mol, in action, from such close range. We felt sorry that competition from India was highly inadequate, and nobody was there in most of the events. Although we boast of such a huge population, We wonder why we are not able to locate capable youth and train them for the games!! It is really in a sorry state of affair.

Medal distribution followed the events almost immediately. The National Anthem, of the nation to which the Gold Medallist belonged, was played, after the distribution ceremony. The entire stadium stood to attention, as a mark of respect, every time this happened.

The mix of the spectators was from almost every country that participated in the Olympics. Everyone is an Australian and was on his feet whenever an Australian won an event. The entire Stadium would thump their feet on the stands, and the sound and the vibration, would make it appear, as though earth quake had struck the place. There was thunderous roaring of Oz Oz Oz Oi Oi Oi,Oz Oz Oz Oi Oi Oi (Pronounced Aussie, Aussie Oyi, oyi), every time the athletes went though the events. Even our grand son, who is only 10 months old, would join in clapping and shouting, in enjoyment of the action. Still, whenever somebody else from a different Nation, such as USA, UK, Greece, Holland, Canada, Saudi Arabia or Ghana, won an event, there would be adequate supporters among the spectators, to shout and wave the nation’s flag for encouragement. This establishes the fact that, Australia is a multinational, multicultural, multilingual and multi-racial country. We returned home around midnight, totally exhausted, but happy.

In our Suburb, Italians are in the majority and a reception was given to the entire Italian Delegation in our Town Hall, a few days prior to the start of the events. They were also taken in a procession and this was very well attended by the residents. We also witnessed the Olympic Torch Run, Men and women Marathons, as they passed in our area, along with hundreds of other people.