The flags and the athletes mingled: at the Verona Arena we saw the spectacle of peace

From sport as a multiplier of nationalism, which was already observed at the end of the nineteenth century, to the Olympic dream of mixing and fraternity formed in the ceremony...

The flags and the athletes mingled: in the Verona Arena we saw the spectacle of peace

From sport as a multiplier of nationalism, which was already seen at the end of the nineteenth century, to the Olympic dream of mixing and camaraderie that crystallized in the closing ceremony.Milano-Cortina relaunched the challenge of the Games: to become a place of cosmopolitanism.

It was 1896, the first edition of the modern Olympic Games, and even then Charles Maurras, the founder of the right-wing political movement of royalist and nationalist inspiration, Action Française, understood that the international games would be devoted to nationalistic and individualistic goals.Although Maurras was initially a staunch opponent of the Olympic Games and the international broadcasting of sports, believing that their world would end up killing the country, he changed his opinion after personally witnessing the games in Athens.When he returned from Greece he wrote: "Besides extinguishing patriotic passions, all this false world of the playground does nothing but annoy them. And I certainly do not complain about that. The country was not destroyed. The war is not dead." Indeed, the prediction was correct: the game undoubtedly became a catalyst for nationalism and a tool of propaganda.1936 represented the culmination of this process, with the Olympic Games hosted by Nazi Germany, the Winter Games in Garmisch-Partenkirchen in February, and the Summer Games in Berlin in August.The impact is still well represented by the national opening today.ceremony: an unchangeable protocol, a parade of nations behind their flag, strong oaths, a well-lit ceremony (you will remember what was discussed after Paris 2024), each opening ceremony remains an expression of the national call that finds sublimation on the days of the competition, the symbols of the flag.Regarding the Milan-Cortina Games, the last day of the competition had a very sensitive time from a geographical point of view, and the final of the ice hockey competition between the USA and Canada, in a time that was not small from the point of view of the relationship between the two countries.However, the Santa Giulia Stadium was full of fans, but with a strong presence of stars and fans of the line. The closing match and decisive extra time, the atmosphere was happy, without the slightest feeling of tension between the fans.A great start to the closing ceremony that was to take place a few hours later at the Verona Arena and which for exactly seventy years has represented the highest level of worldliness that sport can represent.

The style of the closing ceremony we saw on Sunday, which ensures that the flags come out together and blend into the rhythm of the athletes' parade, was actually born from the intuition of seventeen-year-old Jonano West's apprentice marshal at the 1956 Melbourne Games. At the closing ceremony, athletes of at least all races, ethnicities and religions marched together to become members of one great nation, putting aside political tensions and offering a signal of peace, harmonyand benevolence to the world. The cosmic message also came through loud and clear during the ceremony at the Verona Arena.Let us think of the recent decision by the International Paralympic Committee to return athletes from Russia and Belarus to the Paralympic Games, which begin on March 6, and let us hope that this will be the case, despite the many conflicts before, during and after.I present my own good suggestion.He recently proposed to the IOC to change the athlete's oath.Games.Today in the oath: "We promise to participate in these Olympic Games with respect for the rules and the spirit of fair play. For the honor of the sport and the honor of our athletes, we strive to practice sports without doping and cheating, according to the basic principles of Olympism."Accorinti said that it is enough to replace this period with a comma and add it to the bottom.to make the world a better place" is a simple revolutionary phrase.