‘Together’ added to Olympic motto
The Olympic motto "Faster, Higher, Stronger" was updated to "Faster, Higher, Stronger - Together" yesterday to reflect solidarity across the world at the time of Covid-19.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) approved the change at its session ahead of the Tokyo Olympics, which were postponed from last year and were in danger of cancellation over the pandemic.
"We see everywhere the collaborative effort bringing faster and better solutions than working in silos," said IOC president Thomas Bach as the proposal received unanimous backing.
"Faster, Higher, Stronger," or "Citius, Altius, Fortius" in Latin, has been the Olympic motto since 1894, when it was adopted at the birth of the IOC at the suggestion of the body's founder, Pierre de Coubertin.
The Latin version of the new motto is "Citius, Altius, Fortius - Communiter."
SLEEPLESS NIGHTS
Bach also revealed "doubts" and "sleepless nights" over the postponed Tokyo Games as the opening ceremony nears and Covid-19 chaos that has made them deeply unpopular with the Japanese public.
Bach said the unprecedented step of postponing the Games had proved more complicated than he thought.
The build-up to Friday's opening ceremony has been exceptionally rocky, with Tokyo still under a state of emergency and public opinion consistently against the Games, which will be held largely without spectators.
"Over the past 15 months, we had to take many decisions on very uncertain grounds. We had doubts every day. We deliberated and discussed. There were sleepless nights," said Bach.
"This also weighed on us, it weighed on me. But in order to arrive at this day today, we had to give confidence, had to show a way out of this crisis. - AFP
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