2008 News
- News Archive
Big Turn Out for Olympic Lecture
Professor Dick Fisher reflected on the journey of the Olympic Ideal from the ancient world to the present day in a wide ranging inaugural lecture last night entitled An Ideal Olympics at St Mary’s University College.
Professor Fisher, a former Vice Principal at St Mary’s University College, now looks after St Mary's planning for London 2012 including provision for Pre-Games Training Camps, networking and planning.
"It was all there in antiquity," he told the gathering as he explored the path from ritual and serving a higher purpose to concentration on the sport itself, the growth of professionalism and nationalism, and the importance of the spectacle.
It was also clear from the reintroduction of the Games in 1896 onwards that controversy was never far from the Olympic flag, particularly where politics was concerned. He pointed out that the Games offer a prominent platform for political protest and some have argued that this is both necessary and justifiable.
Professor Fisher also pulled together a variety of social and historical threads in examining what had been lost from the ethos and principles of the Olympic Games and the challenges in the future.
A packed lecture hall heard Professor Fisher talk passionately about the core values associated with the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games in 2012 and how London could learn the lessons of previous Games.
He attended this year’s Olympic Games in Beijing and examined the strengths and weaknesses of these and the Games in Sydney, generally considered to be the best. Professor Fisher highlighted the need for London to have an opening ceremony with purpose and reflecting the values espoused in the bid as well as engaging the centre piece of the Games – the athletes.
"Children and young people were at the heart of the London bid for 2012 and in making them part of the mission for the Games we have touched base with the ancient notion of serving a higher purpose through sport," he added.
The latter part of this inaugural lecture addressed issues of legacy and education and he stressed the need for higher education to secure its place at the top table during what is effectively a re-landscaping of British sport up to 2012 and beyond.
The climax of the lecture dealt with the emergence and success of the Paralympic Games and the launch on the evening of Special Olympics Richmond. A reading of the Special Olympics song by Stefan Nakoneczney, who is autistic, closed a highly interesting and thought provoking event.
Dr Arthur Naylor, Principal, paid tribute to the work Professor Fisher had done in putting St Mary’s University College on the map as planning for London 2012 gathered pace and said that his networks through sport and education were an invaluable asset to St Marys.
