Athens is hot. The people, in their demeanour, seem to be rather laid back, although when you don't know the language and see a lot of gesticulation, you could be swayed to believe there is a lot of arguing going on.

I endeavoured to follow the Olympic path, so on my arrival I went into the city centre, up to the Acropolis, where the Olympic flame is lit, according to tradition, using sunlight. As you may know, this year is the first time in the history of the olympics that the torch has been carried across all five continents - amazing what you can learn when locked inside the stadium for the opening ceremonies...

Being up at the Acropolis offers an incredible look at Athens, past and present. Although one knows what to expect from history and art lessons, to find oneself physically present at the sight of the begining of modern western civilisation, dwarfed by the magnitude of the buildings' remains is na breathtaking and humbling experience, it leads to some philosophising on the issue of what a strange species humans we are.......From the corner of the Acropolis facing Hadrian's gate you can just see, swathed in lush greenery, the 1896 Olympic stadium, the site of the revival of the Olympic Games, the first modern Olympiad. The structure is actually 4/5 of a stadium oval, with an open end facing one of the main downtown thoroughways, and it's easy to see its size and structure. Here is another wonder of Man. One hundred and eight years since the revival of the Olympic games the magnitude of this event has grown unbelievably. The !896 stadium looks so small compared to the new one. A small athletics pitch and the track with such tight end curves, the athletes must have really had to lean into the corners!

Friday evening was time for the key event - the opening of the Games. The Stadium has just been finished, the paint still fresh-smelling, a blazing, setting sun circled by a zepplin extending the time-warp effect. The ceremony was superb. Giant floats entered the stadium arranged with figures looking like wooden puppets, recalling scenes from Greek antiquity. It looked like an oversized puppet theatre, until the figures began to move and circle the stadium and you realise that it's al life size and you finally connect that the puppets are people. Much emphasis was placed on the fact that the Olympics were, for the first time since their modern revival, returning to Athens. The audience was reminded of their participation in the making of Olympic history, of the making of the living history of Humanity.

What better setting for Strangelove to present work on a Truly Global platform, to present our contemporary South African identity to all other nations! Our country, with a track record of recent events exemplifying a struggle and true victory of humanity, presenting an image of a people in the process of establishing a new identity as a nation, with clothing hinting at tradition and heritage, yet forward-thinking in its simplicity of design, evoking essential design elements of contemporary Africa.

As I stood waving our flag, forgetting to take photographs as our team of athletes passed my position in the grandstands, I realised the extreme, true importance of sport for the Human race in the context of the Olympic creed. It is the universal understanding of the magnitude of effort required to live life to its fullest which unites people above race, religion and creed. 

They are the same principles which convince us at Strangelove that life is art and art is life in all its forms. We are proud to now, officially, be part of Olympic History.