Home sweet Rome
Rome, Italy
There's a substantial sweepstake among the world's media here at the 13th World Swimming Championships on what the final world-record tally will be.
My guess at the beginning of the week was an optimistic 25. But in the first two days alone, there have been 10.
Looking back I should have added another dozen to in order to give myself any chance of bringing home the bacon!
There has been much said about the legitimacy of these World Championships with 'Suitgate' dominating the headlines. My perspective on the issue is simple.
As an athlete, you play by the rules and achieve your potential - don't expend any energy on things that are out of your control. We await the announcement from Fina to see what athletes will be allowed to use in 2010.
There is much more to a World Championships than what happens in the pool. The meeting of many nations brings an opportunity to make friends and share cultures.
I met with a rather anxious Mr Davenport yesterday in the British Swimming supporters club, hours before his son, Ross went in the 200m freestyle semi-final. Of course we chatted about the swimming but he also pointed out what a great place 'Roma' is and how well the spectators are catered for.
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St Peters, the Sistine chapel, Trevi fountain, and the Colosseum provide great tourist attractions during the day but a little closer to the pool is the World Championship village.
The temporary village includes two sets of tennis courts which have been converted to water polo and synchronised swimming centres. A temporary 'street' plays host to bars, cafes, restaurants, shops, a concert dome and a 20-metre swimming pool for children.
About 400,000 visitors are expected here during the tournament, and all can take their pick from a choice of pizza, pasta and wines on offer from several bar and cafes.
Yesterday I saw a schools' gala taking place in the 20m pool and heard shouts in Italian that even I could understand: "Fede! Fede! Fede!" Of course a reference to their heroine Pellegrini who could yet win another gold medal here on Wednesday.
I'm not one for boy bands but there was a Busted 'wannabe' band entertaining a few hundred people in the temporary plaza last night.
I saw Becky Adlington's mum tapping her feet and enjoying the atmosphere with some other GB fans. We all had a good laugh and exchanged opinions on the evening's swimming until I realised I was late for the bus and had to leg it.
It may not sound like much but there are so many opportunities to make Olympic sports appealing to the spectators. I hope we can entertain the hundreds of thousands of people that come to visit London for the Olympics in three years' time.
I have no doubt we will be successful in the sporting arena in 2012 but let's hope we give visitors a positive cultural experience of our amazing country too.
I'm Steve Parry. I won an Olympic bronze medal in Athens and I'll be aiming to give you an insight into the world of swimming as well as all the other Olympic sports.
~RS~q~RS~~RS~z~RS~08~RS~)
Comments
Good article.
1. Might be useful to know where all the influx to London are likely to stay? Not athletes but customers? Make it easier to organise suitable places for entertainment eh?
2. Music in the park seems one option: Hyde Park's just next door to the Proms........
3. Big screens in parks like the fan alleys in Germany 2006?
4. Olympic cultural exchange dinners at Emirates Stadium, Wembley or the like?
5. West End Clubs hosting themed nights on particular countries?
6. Special theatre shows bringing foreign guests shows in their own languages?
7. The Bolshoi coming to town?
8. La Scala popping in to sing some Italian opera?
9. Special attention to the Muslim world who will be fasting for Ramadan?
10. Co-ordination of open days at golf clubs around London - masses of great courses......?
11. A few pre-season friendlies of top EPL clubs played in London at e.g. Wembley, Emirates? Tickets prioritised for foreign Olympic tourists?
12. A real ale fest, linked with e.g. Belgium and German tradition in this regard?
13. A suitably dragon-like celebration of the Chinese symbol for 2012?
14. A suitably tailored list of religious places of worship included in all customer welcome packs?
15. An online booking facility for all global customers wishing to plan their stay to accommodate all groups wishing to partake?
Find another 1000 like me and you'll doubtless get a list of things to make it be the best, most welcoming show on earth............
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Would like to know where Mark Foster got his shirt from... It's the one from Sundays World Championship Swimming Programme. Grey with white cuffs/collar. Can't quite make out the logo.... Thanks
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