Athens 2004 Unveils
Paralympic Logo
The dates for the Athens 2004 Paralympic Games are now set, and the official countdown has begun. The XIIth Paralympic Games will be held in Athens from September 17 to 28 2004, according to the decision of ATHENS 2004 Board of Directors. It is now less than three years before the Games’ opening, and the Athens Organizing Committee is staffed with 550 employees, most of them working either on a part or a full-time basis for the Paralympic Games as well. The Paralympic team has grown and works with great excitement and commitment in order to deliver the 2004 Games successfully.
A new Paralympic record has already been set three years before the Paralympic Games. With participants from 75 countries attending the 9th IPC General Assembly in Athens, a new participation record is set. The General Assembly 1997 in comparison, which was held in Sydney, hosted representatives from 73 countries.
ATHENS 2004 embraced all members of the Paralympic family and guests with the famous Greek hospitality. Ms Gianna Angelopoulos-Daskalaki, President of ATHENS 2004 welcomed all delegates and participants in the Opening Ceremony of the General Assembly, on the evening of 6 December 2001. ATHENS 2004 declared Greek Paralympians as ambassadors of volunteerism.
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In addition, the logo for the Paralympic Games was unveiled during the Opening Ceremony. When presenting the logo, ATHENS 2004 President Gianna Angelopoulos-Daskalaki noted that it reflected “the four unique values of the 2004 Paralympic Games: Pursuit, Strength, Inspiration, and Celebration”.
The concept behind the design of the emblem is based on the wish to communicate the equal status of Paralympic and Olympic Games. As the Paralympics are to be seen and treated as a continuation of the Olympic Games, this extension should be reflected in the logo as well. Thus, some elements are common to both the Olympic and Paralympic logo. The ATHENS 2004 creative team further incorporated a Greek sun to express greater dynamism, warmth and life and laid a clear emphasis on the human element to denote the fact that the focus will be on the athletes rather than on their disabilities.
In principle, the Logo was endorsed by the IPC Executive Committee. However, concerns were raised with regard to the visibility for partially sighted persons. ATHENS 2004 committed itself to propose to the IPC possible changes so that the logo fully accommodates the needs of visually impaired people.
According to the Host City Contract signed between the IPC and ATHENS 2004, a necessity for the smooth coordination of all issues related to the Paralympic Games was the establishment of an Advisory Committee. The Committee was established in October, consisting of nine members. ATHENS 2004 Managing Director Ioannis Spanudakis was appointed President of the Advisory Committee. Other members are:
- President of the Hellenic Paralympic Committee, Ioanna Kariofilli
- ATHENS 2004 General Manager for Sports, Assimakis Assimakopoulos
- Manager of the ATHENS 2004 Paralympic Division, Aris Kallipolitis
- General Secretary of the Hellenic Paralympic Committee
- Deputy Mayor of Athens, Nikos Giatrakos
- a representative of the Hellenic Olympic Committee, as appointed by its president
- President of the Association of Greek Paralympians
- Ioannis Tseklenis, businessman
Mr. Aris Kallipolitis, Manager of the Paralympic Games, will be responsible for coordinating the work of the Committee. In all cases, the Committee refers and makes proposals directly to the Board of Directors of ATHENS 2004. The mission of the Advisory Committee for the Paralympic Games is to ensure that all plans and provisions for the Paralympic Games accurately reflect the needs and concerns of the athletes.
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