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As can be seen from the above, the profit shown by the Atlanta Committee was
much higher than that shown by the Athens Committee. Moreover, Atlanta had
promised to plough back profits to develop sports in the World through IOC. One
has to wait and see how much of this money will go to IOC to develop the World
Sport.
Culture and Centenary Celebration:
The Cultural programmes planned by the bidding cities were also an important
aspect in the whole Centenary Games bidding process. Conceptually, the planning
of Athens for cultural programmes was well defined. The Athens bidding committee
wanted to project the concept of Olympism and Olympic culture throughout
the 20th Century.
They planned a 4 year programme beginning from the receipt of the flag after
the Barcelona Games in 1992. They wanted to hold exhibitions, symposia, theatre
performances, dance performances, cultural and film festivals and several other
cultural programmes during the 4 years throughout Greece. The real Festival was
planned to begin in spring 1996. The venues at Athens were historical. The centre
of cultural activity was planned at Panathinaikon Stadium where the first Olympic
Games were held. Other sites chosen were Ancient Odeon of Herodes Atticas,
open air theatres in the hills around Athens and 15 theatre-concert halls. The
Athens Bidding Committee also planned two major cultural events in 1996. One
was on the theme of Olympic Games in ancient times and the other was one hundred
years of the modern Olympic Games.
Apart from the events in and around Athens they also planned many events
outside the city. The historic centres of Dephi and Epidauros were also the centres
of cultural activities for Literature, Poetry, Theatre, Music, etc. They also wanted to
hold an international exhibition on the theme of "Human Beings and concept of
the Human Figure." The participating countries were supposed to be encouraged
to bring their own cultural groups to perform in Greece.
During the Games cultural happenings were also planned in the Olympic village.
The plans for the village included cinema hall, a theatrical hall, a concert hall,
an open air theatre, an indoor discotheque and several other entertainment facilities
for the athletes.
On the other hand, Atlanta planned to project the European discovery of new
world as a focal point of their cultural programme. They wanted to highlight the
exploration of migratory routes from Africa, Asia and South America in their cultural
programmes. They argued that by exploring the routes of the culture of the
American South, Atlanta would draw the world together in dance, theatre, art, music,
architecture, etc. The Atlanta Committee has planned a unified theme, "Dance
of life," to project the Cultural Olympiad. They also claimed that they would like
to project the high ideals of the Olympic Movement. The four year programme
was planned from 1992 to 1996.
Atlanta's primary goal was to say thanks and express their gratitude to the
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