Make or break
Forget the medals (almost). The Olympics are about whether cities can successfully sell themselves
THE extravaganza that opens in Sydney on September 15th is making all kinds of claims for itself. These are the “athletes' games”, returning the Olympic focus to sport after years of interruption by politics; the “green games”, with an athletes' village run on solar power and recycled water; and the “wired games”, where contenders can create their own home page and check messages from fans across the world on a site especially created for Olympians. In case e-mails are not enough, the athletes are also being provided with 752,000 condoms.
This article appeared in the Briefing section of the print edition under the headline “Make or break”
Briefing September 16th 2000
From the September 16th 2000 edition
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