In search of inspiration

Sunday 26 April 2020

As the Coronavirus lockdown continued into its second month, I found myself looking for some inspiration. Something happy, something to make me feel good about the world.

I decided to watch some highlights of the London 2012 Olympic Games, notably the Opening Ceremony.

I had been in the stadium that evening eight years ago, to witness the patriotic extravaganza that marks the start of the greatest sports show on the planet, crammed into the following frenzied fortnight. It had cost me a lot for a single ticket, but the memories of the once-in-a-lifetime event vindicated my decision to go.

When you’re in the stadium, you notice different things than on TV. For example, during the spectacular re-enactment of the industrial revolution, I missed a lot of what was going on in the centre, but the thing that sticks in the memory was the incredible drumming. The rhythm was all consuming, pulsating through me from head to toe.

The most boring bit of the ceremony is, of course, the seemingly endless parade of nations. Except that when you’re there in person, it has a real buzz about it. Every country, no matter how small, gets cheered and has a set of fans somewhere in the stadium. It’s actually quite incredible to witness the diversity of the human race coming together like this, cramming in for the finale.

Something I didn’t pay much attention to on the night was the appearance of possibly the most famous person with Parkinson’s of modern times, Muhammed Ali. In the London 2012 games he had a small role in the flag ceremony but, in Atlanta in 1996 he had been given the most important role of all: the world held its breath as, with shaking hands, he lit the Olympic flame with the torch that had travelled thousands of miles around the world.

Ali got his Parkinson’s from brain injuries resulting from his life in boxing ring, but the effects are the same as for people like myself with unknown causes. He died in 2016 at the age of 74, shortly before the start of the next Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

I had mixed feelings when I watched the brief footage of him. On the one hand it’s sad to see such an iconic sports person reduced to a trembling cripple. On the other hand, I then watched some YouTube clips of him lighting the flame in Atlanta. Now that was the sort of thing I was looking for. The defiance he showed as he held the torch aloft in front of an audience of billions was – truly – inspirational.



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