“The ambition behind the Olympic and Paralympic Games has always been more than providing a festival of world class sport, it has been to seek  to inspire each generation to build a better and more peaceful world.

We all remember where we were, forty years ago, when 11 Israeli athletes were killed at the massacre at Munich.  It was an act of terrorism that was a violation of the Games and all that it represents.

So the reason why this tragedy lives on so much in our collective memory is because it struck against the Olympic vision and everything that the Games stand for.

It was not just an attack on Israeli athletes, but also an attack on the values and spirit of the entire Olympic movement. The memory of this tragedy remains not just with the families of the victims but with the whole of the Olympic family and the world beyond.”

Read more…