The Other Games - Here we go again. 2,952 athletes from 92 countries (mostly the cold ones, with some
notable exceptions) have gathered in Pyeongchang, South Korea, for the 23rd Winter Olympics. Here athletes will hurl themselves at terrifying speeds down pristine white slopes, soar through the air against breathtaking backdrops, and glide across vitreous ice as they compete in 102 different events. And hundreds of millions of people around the world will watch, cheer and tear up at the glory and the spectacle of Olympic competition.
According to the International Olympic Committee over the coming fortnight we'll see "the best in international cooperation and friendly rivalry". We may indeed: Koreans from both sides of the demilitarised zone are
marching (or will have marched by the time you read this) under a single flag at the Opening Ceremony. It is only the third time that the unification flag (a blue Korea on a white background) has been used in the last 30 years.
The "Olympic Spirit" - Given that the United States (a South Korean ally) was threatening North Korea with nuclear annihilation (and vice versa) just a few short months ago, the thawing of relations between North and South has been an astonishing development. North Korean athletes will not only compete in a variety of sports, but most importantly will also contribute ice hockey players to a joint Korean team. It will be a truly special sight to see a unified Korean sports team take to the ice.
Alongside the North Korean athletes and a 230-woman-strong cheering squad, some high-ranking officials will also be in attendance. Kim Yo-jong, the younger sister of Kim Jong-un, has been granted leave to watch the Games (
sanctions against her travel have been waived). There are high hopes that she will take part in unofficial negotiations on the sidelines of the Games.
But progress is slow on the Korean peninsula where no sign of detente can exist without a
countervailing show of force. Just yesterday the wide boulevards of North Korea's capital were flooded with tens of thousands of soldiers, tanks and missile launchers in a typically bellicose parade. To top it all off, South Korean security services are working around the clock to
prevent cyber attacks from their hacker opposites on the other side of the border.
Left out in the cold - Of course, it wouldn't be an international sporting competition without a huge doping scandal. The Russian Federation has been banned from competing at the Pyeongchang Games because of a long and well-detailed state-sponsored doping program. So 100 Russians were scheduled to compete under an Olympic (rather than their national) flag. But just this week
the IOC upheld bans on 47 of these athletes. This most recent clash between the IOC and the peak sporting tribunal, the Court of Arbitration for Sport, has once again revealed deep flaws in the global anti-doping effort.
Put simply, the blame doesn't rest solely with the Russians. The IOC is perpetually mired in controversies ranging from corruption to complicity in doping scandals. It is an archaic institution that saps host cities of wealth and rarely delivers on its economic promises. Even now there are several international investigations into the (plainly corrupt) bidding process for the Olympics.
A kind word - For the organisers on the ground, for whom trouble has already begun. 1,200 security personnel were discharged from their duties after they fell sick with a strain of Norovirus.
Officials are working frantically to keep the illness out of the Olympic Village. And remember, enjoy the Winter Games while you can. Climate change is thinning out
an already short list of suitably snowy host cities.
