2004-07-01 10:31:00 ATHOC
Athens, 30
June 2004 - Thousands of Bavarians and many Greeks of the diaspora gave the
Olympic flame a wholehearted welcome in Munich, the first Relay destination in
Germany, on Tuesday 29 June. As the flame went its way to the Munich Olympic
Stadium whe
re the 1972 Games were held, over 3,000 students from Bavaria¡¯s Greek
schools took part in a warm welcome, waving their Greek flags.
Munich gave 124 Torchbearers of all ages, many of them of Greek descent, the
chance to carry the flame for the ATHENS 2004 Games. The Relay covered 48 km
before reaching the Town Hall in the Marienplatz, Munich¡¯s main square, in the
late afternoon. First Torchbearer was Gunther Zahn, who had also lit the flame
in Olympic Stadium back in 1972, and is today¡¯s chief of Police in Passau. Among
those taking the Flame onwards were German Olympic medallist Dieter Baumann,
retired ace skier Rosi Mittermaier, who lit the Marienplatz Altar, IOC member
Professor Walter Troeger, and Greece¡¯ s Consul-General in Munich, Andreas
Papastavrou.
The city of Munich, closely linked with the history of modern Greece, came
out on the streets to receive the Flame, amongst them the flourishing and
vigorous Greek community of some 30,000 people to whom the city is home. The
Relay made two stops between the Marienplatz and the Olympic Park: at the
Nymphenburg-Schloss and at the Chinese Pavilion in the English Gardens, one of
Europe¡¯s largest parks. It also shone on some of Munich¡¯s most splendid
monuments: the Maximilianeum (Bavaria¡¯s parliament), the Theresienwiese (site of
the great annual Oktoberfest), and the K¦Õnigsplatz, with its museums built in
the classical Greek style.
At the end of the Relay there were celebrations as thousands of people
attended a concert by Sinfonetta, the Munich University¡¯s own orchestra, also
featuring the children¡¯s choir of the 4th Munich Greek school, and Dimitra
Theodosiadou, Greek soprano soloist at La Scala.
ATHENS 2004 representative Spiros Lambridis expressed his heartfelt gratitude
to the Greek community. ¡°We will make you feel proud at the Olympic Games of
Athens and throughout Greece - as proud as you¡¯ve made us here today in
welcoming the Flame. We would like to thank you for trying to make Munich look
like a Greek city¡±. The Mayor, Christian Ude, pointed out that for this one day
Munich was the furthest north Greek city. ¡°We are immensely happy to see the
Flame returning to Munich after 32 years¡±, he said.
The festive spirit that had gripped Germans and Greeks alike was evident in
the words of the Greek community¡¯s president Kostas Tatsis: ¡°We feel proud of
our origins and of the friendship and appreciation German people have shown us.
We send you this ¡®Munich message¡¯: when Greeks stick together, the results are
bound to be good. We must all stand behind Greece¡¯s effort, our national
effort¡±.
Walther Troeger, professor at the University of Potsdam and an IOC member
since 1989, gave the Athens Games his vote of confidence: ¡°I have been in the
Olympic movement for many years now, but this is the first time I have had the
unique experience of running as a Torchbearer. I believe the Athens Games will
be a success and I look forward to coming to Athens and watch them¡±.
The Olympic flame will travel today to Berlin, the Relay¡¯s second destination
in Germany, before continuing its journey to Stockholm and
Helsinki.(Frankspeak)
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