download - IOA

easy for the flammable material placed there to self-ignite as a result of over-heating.
Since 1980, Professor Peristerakis has handed over to me the technical part of
the ceremony.
But who would be the most suitable person to light the Flame?
The idea was to find a "priestess" with Greek features, good education, a stage
presence and a vibrant voice. So, the artistic responsibility for the first ceremony
was entrusted to Koula Pratsika and her Amateur Dance School. Koula Pratsika
thus became the first high priestess, with her students acting as priestesses: Eisa
Vergi, Lisa ahd Heleni Dragoumi, Maria and Dora Loundra, Loulou Pesmatzoglou,
Anna Frangiadi, the striking young girl Aleka Mazaraki (who later became the
great actress Aleka Katseli) and the even younger girl, but the school's best student,
Maria Horsch. It is she who, since 1964, has been responsible for the choreography
at the Flame ceremonies, with remarkable results so far.
So, with the simple choreography of the talented Koula Pratsika, the beautiful
girls in archaic dress and the ignition of the Flame directly from the rays of the sun,
all conditions were there to make the lighting ceremony the most important and
significant pre-Olympic event, marking the beginning of the Games and their link
with the past.
Have you ever thought what have been the fate of this most important symbol
of Olympism, if the flame had been lit, the first time, with a match or lighter or
even a mirror, by some well-dressed gentleman?
It would probably have degenerated, whilst now, through constant improvements,
it has become a divine, inviolable, heavenly institution.
Millions of eyes around the world are watching the ceremony, with tears in
their eyes when Apollo, god of the Sun, gives his vitalizing flame to illuminate and
warm the site of the Olympic Games.
As the person in charge of the lighting of the Flame, with the HOC's consent, I
have preserved all the elements which keep the tradition intact, with some improvements,
i.e.
1. I have arranged for two similar mirrors to be made; one adorns the Museum
of the Olympic Games in Lausanne and the other is used at the rehearsals, while
the original is kept in the Museum of the Olympic Games in Olympia, to be used
only for the official ceremony. I arranged for the auxiliary mirror to be built first
because the original one was showing signs of wear, after so much use and, se
cond, as a security against theft, since the Olympic memorabilia collectors' market
is highly developed.
2. We believe that the girls of the priestesses' chorus should be allowed to do
their work without any interference; this is why we have arranged for the best pos
sible accommodation and meals under conditions that allow them to think of no
thing else but the final ceremony.
3. Because, in the past, we had not been able to isolate the site of the cere
mony, the result was that on the pictures and on the screen you would see the
151