Olympic Games - Sporting spectacle unites world

AS the 28th Olympic Games get underway in Athens today, it is timely to reflect on the unifying potential of sport in a world ravaged by wars, beset by racialism and bigotry and riven by economic crises.

For the next 17 days, more than 10,500 athletes from 199 countries will participate in 28 different sports in the cradle of the Olympic ideal.

Tonight’s ceremony will be seen by 72,000 spectators in the stadium and will have an estimated global audience of four billion people.