(16 Apr 2024)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Ancient Olympia – 16 April 2024
1. Ancient Olympia stadium following the Olympic flame ceremony
2. Man walking past posters following the ceremony
3. International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach listening to reporter’s question as he talks to the media
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Thomas Bach, IOC President:
"They’re the, the Olympic Games, you know, they’re the only event, which really bring the entire world together at one place and competing peacefully with each other and this is a great symbol and the great message the games are sending. And, we hope, that many people around the world, you know, are inspired, by seeing this work that the athletes are doing that you can compete fiercely against each other. But, you, at the same time, you’re living peacefully together in the Olympic village, sharing your meals and your emotions."
5. People in ancient Olympia stadium following the ceremony
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Spyros Kapralos, Hellenic Olympic Committee President:
"Our aim is to remind everybody what in ancient Greece they were doing during the Olympic Games: They would stop the wars, they would put down the arms and they would compete in a noble competition. This is what we are… the message we are trying to pass to the whole world. If they could stop the wars and the conflicts and get together and unite in this event where more than 200 nations and the athletes of these nations, they are together competing in competition, noble competition where the best wins."
7. Various of people in ancient Olympia stadium
STORYLINE:
The flame for this summer’s Paris Olympics was lit on Tuesday at the birthplace of the ancient Olympic Games in southern Greece in a meticulously choreographed ceremony.
From the ancient stadium in Olympia, a relay of torchbearers will carry the flame along a 5,000-kilometer (3,100-mile) route through Greece, including several islands, until the handover to Paris Games organizers in Athens on April 26.
International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach said that "many people around the world are inspired, by seeing this work that the athletes are doing that you can compete fiercely against each other."
"But, you, at the same time, you’re living peacefully together in the Olympic village, sharing your meals and your emotions," he added.
Spyros Kapralos, Hellenic Olympic Committee President echoed the message saying that the aim of the games is to "stop the wars and the conflicts and get together and unite in this event."
Thousands of spectators from all over the world packed Olympia for Tuesday’s event amid the ruined temples and sports grounds where the ancient games were held from 776 B.C.-393 A.D.
The sprawling site, in a lush valley by the confluence of two rivers, is at its prettiest in the spring, teeming with pink-flowering Judas trees, small blue irises and the occasional red anemone.
AP video by Lefteris Pitarakis
Production by Theodora Tongas
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