DID YOU KNOW?
“There will only be 1 NATION. War, politics and nationality will be all forgotten, what more could anybody want, if the whole world could be made as one nation. Well you can do it in a small way. This is how I think (…) no team is to keep together and there should be no more than two team mates together, they must be spread out evenly (…). I'm certain everybody even yourself would agree with me, that this would be a great occasion for everybody and no one would forget it.”
These were the words of John Ian Wing, a Chinese-born teenager and apprentice carpenter living in Australia, in a letter addressed to the Melbourne Organising Committee for the Olympic Games 1956 a few days before the Closing Ceremony. He suggested that the athletes all gather together in one big, joyful international crowd, rather than being separated by country. (Click on the image above to enlarge the letter)
This excellent idea was immediately accepted, with the athletes in Melbourne entering the stadium together at the Closing Ceremony just a few days later. This was the start of what is now a great Olympic tradition – and a symbol of global unity!
- Sign up
-
Share
