One hopes that such virtues can be ascribed to the Greek ode that Johnson has commissioned especially for the Olympics from Armand D’Angour, fellow in Classics at Jesus College, Oxford.
The ode itself is, as per Johnson’s instructions, to have the lightest of touches: six stanzas in Greek that all offer puns’ on athletes names.
For those who question whether this is an exercise in the Mayor’s personal amusement – Johnson, an Oxford classicist himself, once said of becoming Prime Minister: “Were I to be pulled like Cincinnatus from my plough, then it would be an absolute privilege to serve” – there will, mercifully, be a translation into English.
From the moment D’Angour’s creation is read out at the Royal Opera House on July 23, at a gala welcome for the International Olympic Committee, there will be no escaping the literary dimension of these Games.
The ritual imitates a tradition of the ancient Olympic Games, where poets including Pindar would compose odes in honour of victorious competitors.
Such was the symbolism of the Olympics’ restoration to Athens in 2004 that D’Angour offered this suitably Pindaric contribution:
Blessed precinct of the land of Athena
Immortal City of Theseus and the sons of Erechtheus
We will sing of you, whence Athenians of old
And heroes once set forth to the Games
Of shining Olympia.
You might be inspired, upon absorbing these soaring words, to study the intricacies of Pindar’s dithyrambs in greater depth. You might, equally, be tempted to disregard them as the intellectually aloof scribblings of a remote academic.
But on the second count, you would be misguided. For poetry, and the celebration of artistic merit, has remained enshrined in the Olympic movement to an extent that few in its modern incarnation appreciate.
From 1912 to 1952, Olympic medals were bestowed for works of art reflecting sport across architecture, literature, music, painting and sculpture.
The story-makers in London this summer would do well to contemplate the deep cultural immersion of their forebears and the fact that, in the capital in 1948, it was possible for Finland’s Aale Tynni to win literary gold for her lyric poem Laurel of Hellas.
The notion that the rich sweep of poetry could inform a present-day Olympics is not so anachronistic.
Indeed, it was the innovation of Pierre de Coubertin, deemed to be the father of the modern Games, to incorporate art competitions into the Olympic programme.
Ever the virtuous pedagogue, De Coubertin was the son of an artist whose works featured in the Parisian Salon, and his obsession with giving the Games a broader edifying purpose grew all-consuming.
In 1904, he decreed: “In the high times of Olympia, the fine arts of were combined harmoniously with the Games to create their glory. This is to become reality again.”
It did seem a trifle skewed, though, that he should have claimed the gold for literature himself in 1912 for his poem Ode to Sport. Silver and bronze were not awarded.
But the legacy bequeathed by his poetic preoccupations is a positive one. Quite apart from D’Angour’s experiments in the metre of Pindar, the anticipation of these Olympics is stirring a national revival of perhaps the purest of art forms.
In the seaside Norfolk town of Wells-next-the-Sea, a group of residents have prepared for the torch relay next month by composing an ode of their own, entitled Going for Gold.
From Wordsworth’s affection for cricket to John Betjeman’s A Subaltern’s Love Song, a hymn to the rhythms of tennis, poetry and sport have been inextricably intertwined.
The impending Olympic narrative promises the strengthen the connection like never before.
Olympic torch: London venues revealed - BBC News
London's most famous landmarks will be visited by the Olympic flame on the day before the opening ceremony.
On 26 July, the torch will be carried from Camden to Westminster in the final stages of the Olympic flame's journey through every London borough.
Torchbearers will visit venues including Buckingham Palace, St Paul's Cathedral and Shakespeare's Globe Theatre.
London 2012 Seb Coe said the venues were "iconic".
The 175 torchbearers will carry the flame through Camden, Islington, City of London, Southwark, Lambeth, Wandsworth, Kensington and Chelsea, Hammersmith and Fulham and City of Westminster on day 69.
Lord Coe said: "The penultimate day of the Olympic Torch Relay is set to include many of London's iconic landmarks which are famous around the world and give the city its special character.
"I hope that the people from these boroughs come out and line the streets to cheer on the torchbearers as the start of the Games draws near."
The first torchbearer of the day will begin with the flame outside the Roundhouse in Camden, which will be followed by a journey along the Regents Canal on a barge and then a visit to a community event at Granary Square.
The flame will visit the giant Olympic rings in the Eurostar terminal at St Pancras International and then a community event at Islington Town Hall featuring music from the London Symphony Orchestra.
In the City of London, the flame will visit St Paul's Cathedral, the Museum of London and the Guildhall.
It will then be carried across the Millennium Bridge into Southwark where it will visit Shakespeare's Globe.
In Lambeth, the flame will pass Clapham Common and in Wandsworth it will pass Battersea Dogs Home.
Other venues include the Royal Hospital Chelsea, home of the Chelsea Pensioners, the site of the 1908 Olympic Stadium in White City, Trafalgar Square and Downing Street.
Cauldron litBefore arriving in Hyde Park, the flame will visit Buckingham Palace.
Due to the expectation of large crowds, some areas will have limited capacity.
Mayor of London Boris Johnson said: "As the Olympic flame takes its final strides around some of the capital's most historic and famous sights there couldn't be a better opportunity for Londoners to come out and demonstrate their support for the Games and show to the world the best our great capital has to offer.
"We kicked off this incredible summer like no other with the huge success of the Queen's Jubilee and as the flame makes its way to the magnificent Hyde Park for its final night we can show the world that not only are we ready to host the most exciting Games ever held but that Londoners are already reaping the benefits and will continue to do so for many years to come."
At the end of the day, there will be an Olympic Torch Relay Finale concert in Hyde Park headlined by rapper Dizzee Rascal, featuring The Wanted, a special performance by Mark Ronson & Katy B, Eliza Doolittle, You Me At Six and Rizzle Kicks.
Towards the end of the eight-hour show, the last torchbearer of the day will light a celebration cauldron on stage at the event, enabling the Olympic flame to be seen by the audience.
Get off Hampstead Heath! What point does Occupy London hope to make by setting up camp on a park open to rich and poor alike? - Daily Mail
By Anna Maxted
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Occupy London are determined to protest against the City of London Corporation, so today they set up camp on that ugly symbol of elitism and privilege, Hampstead Heath.
Sadly, in another victory for the overarching forces of international capitalism, the park's police escorted them off the premises just after teatime.
I've lived near the Heath all my life and it's one of the most serene and beautiful areas of the capital; one of the few that you don't need money to enjoy. When Karl Marx lived in London, he loved to visit with his family. Kenwood House - part of the estate bestowed to the nation by that privileged toff Lord Iveagh in 1927 - may look tatty on the outside, but if you nip inside (donations are voluntary) you can show your five-year old a Gainsborough.
A privilege to be there: When you're on Hampstead Heath, your status, your bank balance ceases to matter
I was there this morning, beaming at the exquisite views of the City, breathing in the delicious air, marvelling at the gorgeous profusion of green, along with various other capitalist pigs (an old lady on a Zimmer frame, an artist, a young photographer, an elderly man walking his dog, a young couple with a newborn...)
Eventually I spotted the Occupy London set, trudging along the sun-dappled paths, squinting at their maps - though they were hardly obvious: none of the people wandering around the Heath this morning were head-to-toe in Dior.
They set up camp in the Vale of Health (convenient for Hampstead High Street; Starbucks, Tesco Metro and Gap). One doesn't have to eschew all trappings of commercialism to make a huffy point against capitalism - I don't expect them to scrape for nuts and berries and live on rainwater - but this exercise was little more than a hypocritical student jolly.
Trespassers in tents: Will we soon see scenes like this, outside St Paul's last year, on the Heath?
I feel aggrieved at the wretched difference between wealthy and poor - but I feel as aggrieved that these protestors were so witless as to think that they were doing the less privileged a favour by camping out - with their litter, and worse, judging from the mess they made of St Paul's - in the one place that is an oasis of peace, and serenity - and free to those who have everything and nothing alike.
When you're on Hampstead Heath, your status, your bank balance ceases to matter. You feel privileged to be there. You feel rich. Until you chance upon a massive bunch of trespassers in tents, and then the Heath loses its magic, and your carefree ramble becomes yet another irritating, slightly depressing exercise in trying to enjoy London despite it being stuffed full of sociopaths and egotists.
Truly, harassing a bunch of dog walkers is not a valid form of protest against bankers. It was facetious, brattish; bullying. If they wish to get their point across in a democratic manner, they have civilised options - from blogging to, hmm, politics - but they made the laziest, most slovenly choice: to make a nuisance of themselves and inconvenience, oh, just everyone. A minority, imposing their selfish will on the majority, is nothing less than tyranny.
Exquisite views of the City: Misty view over London from Hampstead Heath
They claimed that they wanted to 'reach out to the community about shared concerns'... I can tell you what the community's main concern was today - that a bunch of pseudo-crusties had illegally pitched their luxury tents in a public beauty spot. (Hampstead Heath's by-laws forbid 'the training of whippets,' 'the beating of carpets,' and 'Persons in an Offensive, Filthy Condition.' And no camping, either.)
One of OL's excuses was that fans of the Heath ponds were 'up in arms' about the recent outrageous decision by the City of London to charge a couple of quid for a swim. My husband has swum there for years, occasionally with our 10-year old son, and says that most who use the pond have no objection - if they want a lifeguard, and basic maintenance, they see it makes sense to contribute a little.
As far as I can tell, this protest was a feeble excuse for a spot of glamping. If they are genuinely serious about protesting against capitalism, I suggest they occupy Legoland: nearly 200 on the gate, for a family of five. However, if they prefer to occupy a green space owned by the City of London, why not try West Ham Park? It has all the traditional trappings of privilege (children's playground and so on.) Or are the views not spectacular enough?
- hazel, London, UK, 13/6/2012 21:24 - Go back to the Guardian website; we don't do childish, spoiled and uninformed pseudo-socialism here. The OL are a bunch of lazy, smelly spoiled brats who if it weren't for mummy and daddy would be stacking shelves!
- Horatio , London, 13/6/2012 21:49
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