SPEECH BY
PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC MARTTI AHTISAARI
TO THE MEMBERS OF THE INTERNATIONAL OLYMPIC COMMITTEES
EVALUATION COMMISSION
AT THE PRESIDENTIAL PALACE IN HELSINKI ON 17.11.1998
There can hardly be another
country in whose history sport has such a significant and
important place as in Finlands. It was through sport that
we built our national identity in the early decades of this
century, both at home and in the world.
In Finland, a powerful breakthrough on the sporting front and the
creation of a foundation for our national independence happened
at about the same time. In the arts, this historical period is
known as the National Romantic. It was then that our most
precious national treasures were created. In sport, the whole of
Finland was swept along on a tide of Olympic success and
euphoria. The magnificent personification of it all was the
unforgettable Paavo Nurmi, whom we Finns and also many others
believe to be the greatest athlete of our century.
The opening ceremony of the Helsinki Olympics in 1952 is among
the most unforgettable moments in Finnish sports history. Paavo
Nurmi ran a circuit of the stadium bearing the Olympic torch; it
was the only time in the history of the games that the ranks of
the athletes dispersed completely, because everyone wanted to see
the worlds greatest sportsman. When he raised the torch and
the Olympic fire was lit, the biggest dream in Finnish sport had
come true. The war had prevented that dream from being realised
in 1940. The greatest moment in our sports history to date also
symbolically marked the birth of a new Finland, a country in the
process of internationalising, opening up to the world and
modernising.
My reason for telling this is to strengthen your perception of
Finland as a land of Olympic sport. This is a country whose
history can not be understood without taking the influence and
importance of the Olympic spirit into account.
Helsinki is now bidding to host the Winter Olympics in 2006. This
is another shared dream and project, which has the backing of
both the State and broad circles of citizens. The arrangement of
the Winter Olympics in Helsinki would be the fulfilment of a
national dream. It would also make our capital city the first
place to have been the venue for both the summer and the winter
games. Finland is a country where natural conditions make summer
and winter sports possible on an equal footing, both as leisure
and in competitive forms. The success that Finnish athletes have
enjoyed in the Olympics has been equally strong in summer and
winter disciplines.
Hosting the Winter Olympics in Helsinki in 2006 would not,
however, be merely the fulfilment of a national dream and goal.
We can justifiably say that Finland is in the debt of the
international Olympic movement. Are we now in a position to give
something new and significant to the movement? Something that
would have an enduring and substantial place in history?
I believe we are. I have a background of many years in a great
variety of international diplomatic positions. I know well how
international understanding and positive development of
international relations can best be strengthened and promoted.
Therefore I also know that the Olympic movement and the
International Olympic Committee are very important. The Olympic
movements role in emphasising internationalism, peace and
friendship is an important unifying factor throughout the world.
The movements solidarity work gives faith and inspiration
to every nation in the process of creating a foundation and
identity for its national existence - as Finland was doing at the
beginning of this century. Olympic sport reaches out to and
unites all of the nations of the world.
We must together ensure that the international Olympic
movements opportunities to get its message across
constantly improve. One dimension of the movements
authority is its positive ecological effects and above all the
example that it provides in this respect. Arranging major sports
events in a way that respects the ecological harmony of nature
and sustainable development is an enormous challenge. Here, the
International Olympic Committee should show the way!
The fact that to all intents and purposes the venues that would
be needed in Helsinki are already in place entitles us to talk of
an ecologically sustainable alternative. It is an alternative
that would also serve as a constructive model to be followed over
the long term.
Finland is a great place for winter sports, because snow and ice
are part of the natural cycle in this country. What we lack is
high mountains. But does that mean that the realisation of our
great sports dream, to arrange the Winter Olympics, would be
impossible?
Fortunately not! The International Olympic Committee under the
leadership of its distinguished President Juan Antonio Samaranch
made it possible to divide the games between several venues, even
in two different countries.
Experience shows that it is factually impossible to arrange all
Winter Olympic disciplines in one city, to gather all athletes in
a single Olympic village or to herd all of the media to one
centre. In this respect, the future of the Winter Olympics must
be examined openly and also against the background of ecological
considerations.
It is true that many sports people have been in two minds about
the idea of dividing the games, something that has not been done
in practice up to now. Nevertheless I believe that Helsinki and
Lillehammer could become an ideal model for dividing the games.
That is guaranteed by Finlands and Norways history in
winter sports and their sports-loving peoples. It is guaranteed
by our experience of organising major sports events. It is
guaranteed by our desire to make a positive contribution to the
development of the international Olympic movement and support the
achievement of its goals.
In 2006, the significance of rapidly-developing technology will
have reached yet another new level. A level on which the
visibility and impact of the Olympic games will be greater than
ever. It is important that the International Olympic Committee
plays a pioneering role in availing itself of the new
opportunities that sport, media and telecommunications offer - a
role that suits it and which should be visible and strengthening
in all Olympic games. Finland is a world leader where the
development and use of new technology, especially
telecommunications and data transmission, are concerned. Creating
a joint Olympic village in Helsinki and Lillehammer by means of
telecommunications is a challenge that we will be delighted to
accept.
It is right to strive for victory in sport. But it must be done
in a spirit of fair play and with respect for the other
contestants. All of the candidates to host the Winter Olympics in
2006 represent magnificent sporting achievement and capacity for
organisation. As the head of state of a sporting nation and
someone who knows the mood of the Finns well have the confidence
to claim that Helsinki can give the games the kind of added value
that is not to be found elsewhere.
The dream lives on: to weave the fantastic international
traditions of the Summer and Winter Olympics together in one
place. Paavo Nurmi will have a successor, the Olympic fire will
be lit again in Helsinkis Olympic Stadium. That is our
dream. Let us fulfil it together.