Striking contrast. In Brazil, Thursday June 20 was marked by historic demonstrations on the sidelines of the Football Confederations Cup. More than a million demonstrators poured into the streets of major cities. An 18-year-old young man died. Several dozen people were injured, some seriously. Sport takes second place. The Confederations Cup matches would even become anecdotal.
In Turkey, the popular movement against the regime in place has still not given up. But it seems overshadowed, in recent days, by the joint organization of two of the major events of the year, the Mediterranean Games in Mersin, organized from June 20 to 30, and the Under-20 Football World Cup, scheduled in Turkey from June 21 to July 13.
In Mersin, Jacques Rogge, the president of the IOC, and Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Prime Minister, shared the honors of the opening ceremony on Thursday evening. The first turned out to be very sober. The second, invited to declare the Games open, gave a slightly political speech, praising the values of sport and its ability to bring people together. No incidents were noted.
Since their arrival at the athletes' village, the delegations have admitted to being rather satisfied with the decor and the organization. “Everything is fine, everything is calm,” assures Denis Masseglia, the president of the French Olympic Committee. The Turks are making enormous efforts to ensure that these Games are a success in view of the election of the host city of the 2020 Olympic Games, where Istanbul competes with Madrid and Tokyo.
Same story with the French Olympic sailing team. Guillaume Chiellino, its director, says: “We are very pleasantly surprised by the entire site and infrastructure here in Mersin. Initially, these Med Games were to be organized by Greece and the economic context made things impossible. Turkey took over only 18 months ago. The Marina is brand new and the village is very large. We can really talk about “Mini Olympics”. That’s really the spirit it gives even if overall the athletes are younger. »
In Istanbul, where the French under-20 football team set down their trunks before starting the world tournament, players and coaches claim to have noticed nothing of the popular unrest. Pierre Mankowski, the coach, explains having taken a long walk around the Hôtel des Bleus: “Everything is very calm. It is impossible to guess that protesters are occupying parts of the city. »
The only downside: criticism from the director of the Tunisian team, Riadh Azaiez, on the organization of the Mediterranean Games in Mersin. “The distance is much too long between the restaurant and the village as well as the training stadiums,” the technician complained to the press in his country, two days before the opening. And transport lacks coordination. »
Both competitions are just getting started. They will be observed very closely. Not just for their sporting results.
— Published June 21, 2013
