Olympic Truce - the principle of promoting peace through sports
Kenya's Eliud Kipchoge celebrates after winning the men's marathon final during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Sapporo on August 8, 2021.
What you need to know:
- This concept goes way back to the ninth century BC in Ancient Greece. The Greek city-states were constantly engaged in conflict with each other.
- Three Kings of these Ancient Greek Cities Iphitos of Elis, Cleosthenes of Pisa and Lycurgus of Sparta signed a treaty to allow safe participation in the ancient Olympic Games for all athletes and spectators from their city-states.
The characteristic of competition often has a negative connotation. Most definitions of competition use the words such as rivalry, supremacy, opposition, defeating, winning.
Sport is one of the few friendly competitions in the world. The Olympic Games is the only event that brings the whole world together in a friendly and peaceful competition.
In 244 days, about 11,000 athletes from 206 nations and the Olympic Refugee Team will gather together in the city of Paris.
All athletes live together at the Olympic Village, as one world.
There is no better demonstration of the universality of the Olympics. There is not even a delineation of continents in the Village.
Promote ideals
Peace through sport is a common feature now, used by many organisations to promote their ideals.
This concept goes way back to the ninth century BC in Ancient Greece. The Greek city-states were constantly engaged in conflict with each other.
Three Kings of these Ancient Greek Cities Iphitos of Elis, Cleosthenes of Pisa and Lycurgus of Sparta signed a treaty to allow safe participation in the ancient Olympic Games for all athletes and spectators from their city-states.
Born
The tradition known as Ekecheiria or the Olympic Truce was born.
Taking into account this history, the International Olympic Committee revived this concept to apply in the Modern Olympic Games.
This has been in collaboration with the United Nations, comprised of 193 nations -- almost all of the world's sovereign states - -whose mission is to preserve world peace.
This week, the United Nations came together in the UN General Assembly in New York, USA. One of the resolutions adopted by the General Assembly was presented by President of Paris 2024 Games Tony Estanguet and supported by IOC President Thomas Bach.
The Resolution “Building a peaceful and better world through sport and the Olympic ideal” called for the Olympic Truce to be respected before the Olympic Games in July 2024 until after the Paralympic Games.
Areas of conflict
The Olympic Truce calls for using “sport as a tool to promote peace, dialogue and reconciliation in areas of conflict, during and beyond the period of the Olympic and Paralympic Games.”
It calls on halting hostilities and allowing free participation and movement of athletes and fans to the Games.
It was overwhelmingly agreed on with 118 votes in favour, two abstentions, and no votes against.
A simple flicking through channels of international media shows the kind of polarization and conflict going on in the world at the moment.
We hope that everyone can respect and observe the Olympic Truce to give athletes and fans a chance to enjoy in the celebration of sports by the Olympic Movement and in extension the world come July 2024, organised in the spirit of friendship, mutual understanding and values of building a better world through sport.
Mutuku is the Secretary General of the National Olympic Committee of Kenya. [email protected]
