On 27 July millions will drown in syrup as Jacques Rogge, President of the International Olympic Committee, delivers his usual platitudes about international togetherness and sport without boundaries. He might, for example, do something close to reciting the mission statement of the IOC’s world conference on Sport for All, held in Beijing last September: ‘to build a better world by encouraging the practice of sport for all, particularly in the developing world’.
Then, once the last firework has been discharged and the stands are cleared away, we can get on with the business of the Olympics: rich countries hauling in the medals which they bought with mountains of public and private cash. Forget the guff about the world competing as one: Usain Bolt aside, this year’s Olympics will, even more than the last one, be a conspiracy of the rich world to show its sporting prowess over the poor.
Huge efforts will be put in over the next few months to try to ensure that no athlete gains advantage over his rivals through drugs.
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