Unity in diversity

In a world that is beset by turmoil, the Olympics stands out as a bastion of hope that nations can co-exist peacefully. IOC president Thomas Bach has said that in gathering athletes from different countries under the Olympic flag, there is unity in diversity. It is only in sports where people of all ethnicities, religious beliefs and political leanings are united in respecting the same rules, regulations and guidelines.

However, IOC isn’t turning a blind eye to countries that commit infractions that violate Olympic tenets, particularly with regard to consuming performance-enhancing-drugs, and wage war in acts of aggression. Rightfully, IOC takes action against nations that destroy the spirit of Olympic solidarity and fair play. But while nations may be sanctioned, IOC makes sure athletes are not disenfranchised.

In 2017 when IOC suspended Russia for engaging in a state-wide doping scheme, uninvolved Russian athletes won an appeal to compete. In the 2018 Winter Olympics, Russian athletes who passed drug tests were given the green light to participate. In 2019, Russia was banned from the Olympics by the World Anti-Doping Agency for four years, later shortened to two on appeal. For the Paris Games, Russia and Belarus were banned for invading Ukraine but athletes from both countries were allowed to compete if disavowed from the war under the banner of AIN or Athletes Individuels Neutres.

During the Paris opening parade of countries on boats sailing along the River Seine last Friday, the display of unity was evident. Everyone was smiling, unmindful of being drenched by the pouring rain. The Olympic spirit was alive. The hope for global peace is alive. The Paris Olympic organizers put on a historic show that was unprecedented in pageantry, creativity and magnificence. The whole world was in awe. For the first time in Olympic history, an entire city was transformed into a stage for the opening ceremony. Olympic heroes, past and present, were recognized. Celine Dion and Lady Gaga performed. French singer Juliette Armanet sang John Lennon’s “Imagine” whose lyrics “you may say we are dreamers, we are not the only ones” were borrowed by Bach in his inaugural remarks. “Imagine” has been an Olympic anthem for six editions.

Bach’s vision of inclusivity has brought the Olympics to organize a refugees team since 2016, move closer to gender equality and welcome the LGBTIQA+ community. “All sports for all people,” once said Baron Pierre de Coubertain, a French educator, IOC co-founder and its second president who passed in 1937 at 74. “The Olympic Movement gives the world an ideal which reckons with the reality of life and includes a possibility to guide this reality toward the great Olympic idea. Olympism seeks to create a way of life based on the joy found in effort, the educational value of a good example and respect for universal fundamental ethical principles.”