-Then, and Now The tradition of the "Truce" or "Ekecheiria", meaning "laying down of arms", was established in ancient Greece in the 9th century BC by the signature of a treaty between three kings.
The Olympic Truce is a Resolution of the General Assembly of the United Nations which is declared for each Olympic & Paralympic Games. The Resolution calls on all member states to pursue initiatives for peace and reconciliation for the period seven days before until seven days after the Games in this spirit of the Ancient Olympiad. "The Olympic Truce helps to show the world that peace is a possibility" -LOCOG chairman Sebastian Coe
During the Truce period, the athletes, artists and their families, as well as ordinary pilgrims, could travel in safety to participate in or attend the Olympic Games and return afterwards to their respective countries. As the opening of the Games approached, the sacred truce was proclaimed and announced by citizens of Elis who travelled throughout Greece to pass on the message.
Wars were suspended, armies were prohibited from entering Elis or threatening the Games, and legal disputes and the carrying out of death penalties were forbidden.
In 1992, the IOC and the United Nations made the decision to bring the Olympic Truce back, allowing athletes of the former Republic of Yugoslavia to participate in the Barcelona Games. In 1996, the Athens Bid Committee committed to reviving the Olympic Truce and promoting it to the world through the Olympic Flame Relay.
of athletes and sport, and to promote peaceful principles in modern day. Since then, every Host Nation of Winter and Summer Olympic Games has declared the Truce which like in the ancient times is observed from seven days before the opening of the Olympic Games until the seventh day after the end.
-The spirit never changes "Sport alone cannot enforce or maintain peace. But it has a vital role to play in building a better and more peaceful world." -Dr Jacques Rogge, IOC President, October 2007
Three years later, the International Olympic Committee announced the establishment of the International Truce Foundation and the International Truce Centre in cooperation with Greece. The vision was to protect the interests
During a time when tension in the Persian Gulf region was high, in the 1998 Nagano Winter Games, United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan intervened to seek a diplomatic resolution to the crisis in Iraq.
-The 2012 London Summer Games On the 22nd April 2011 a Member
In a release from the International Olympic Committee, the Secretary General was quoted, "I call upon all nations to observe the Olympic truce".
At 2000 Sydney Summer Games, During the Opening Ceremony, South and North Korean delegations walked in the stadium together, under the same flag. It was the first Olympic Games event where the two divided countries walked side by side.
And during 2004 Athens Summer Games, The UN supported the IOC in asking the nations of the world to stop all wars for 16 days during the Games.
of the House of Lords - Michael Bates, - began walking over 3000 miles from Olympia to London to highlight the opportunity to bring the Olympic Truce into reality in London 2012.
So far on the Walk for Truce, Lord Bates has been successful in securing pledges from a number of governments to both sign and implement the Truce. Lord Bates is expected to arrive back in London in May 2012 before the games commence. Athletes from around 205 nations will compete at the Games. The Opening Ceremony is a big
celebration. It will show the world how sport can bring people from different countries together peacefully through sport. London and the UK will be welcoming the world and offering the hand of friendship to athletes and spectators.
By Irfan Budi S., 19 Junior High School Jakarta