Radio România Internațional

Tag: Athens

October 15, 2023

Israel — The Israeli army announced this morning that residents of the northern part of the Gaza Strip can leave for the south until 13:00 hours local time (10:00 GMT) using a specially designated route, DPA reports. Israel has said that hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have already moved to southern Gaza. On the other hand, there have been reports that the terrorist group Hamas is preventing Palestinian civilians from leaving. The large-scale Israeli military operation against the north of the Gaza Strip is imminent, press agencies report. The American publication The New York Times reported that the Israeli ground offensive had to be postponed due to unfavorable weather conditions. On October 7, Hamas launched a brutal and large-scale terrorist attack against cities in southern Israel, which triggered a harsh response from the Israeli army, Reuters recalls. The violence has so far resulted in the death of over 1,300 Israelis, most of them civilians, and approximately 2,300 Palestinians. On the other hand, since the beginning of the war, the area of the Israeli-Lebanese border has been the scene of rocket fire between Hezbollah (a Shia organization massively supported by Iran and allied with Hamas) and the Israeli army. Also, there are almost daily attempts to infiltrate some Hamas members into Israel, from Lebanon. On a diplomatic level, the American Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who is on a regional tour, had a meeting in Riyadh on Sunday with the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, whose country has suspended talks, regarding a possible normalization of relations with Israel.

MAE — The Romanian Foreign Ministry — MAE announced that, against the backdrop of the deterioration of the security situation in the State of Israel and the Gaza Strip, the Crisis Cell is continuing its ongoing efforts to evacuate, under safe conditions, the Romanian citizens from the Gaza Strip who requested this. There are approximately 200 Romanian citizens in the Gaza Strip who would like to leave the area and have requested the support of the Romanian authorities. The MAE, through the Romanian Embassy in Tel Aviv, the Romanian Representative Office in Ramallah and the Romanian diplomatic missions in the region, maintains coordination with other states and international organizations that undertake similar measures for their own citizens or officials. On Saturday, 58 Romanian citizens returned from Israel with a private flight. All in all, so far, 2,220 Romanians have been repatriated from Israel. On the other hand, the MAE confirmed the death of two other Romanian-Israeli citizens. The death toll thus rises to four.

Handball — Romania’s womens national handball team defeated the Greek team, away from home, score 32-20, on Saturday, in Group 1 of the 2024 European Championship preliminaries. The Romanian players have scored the 2nd outright victory in this stage of the championship, after a score of 49-17 with Bosnia-Herzegovina, at home. In another match, Croatia outperformed Bosnia-Herzegovina, in an away match. Romania takes first place, with 4 points, followed by Croatia, 4 points, Greece, 0 points, Bosnia-Herzegovina, 0 points. The national team will play the next match on February 28, at home, against Croatia.

Football — Today, the Romanian national football team meets Andorra, in the Euro 2024 Qualifying Group I. The match takes place in Bucharest, and access is only allowed to children under 14, according to a UEFA decision. In the same group, the match Switzerland – Belarus is played. On Thursday, Romania drew 0-0 in Budapest with Belarus and remains on second position in the group, after Switzerland. Israel, whose games were postponed, and Kosovo also belong to the Euro 2024 Qualifying Group I.

Elections — Poland sees today parliamentary elections, after a campaign of intense disputes, dominated by issues of sovereignty and security, Reuters reports. Participatin in the elections are the right-wing Law and Justice party (PiS), in power since 2015, and a centrist coalition led by the former president of the European Council, Donald Tusk. The Law and Justice Party is trying to get a third mandate, which would be a record in the Polish political environment. Reuters recalls that, since coming to power, this group has repeatedly come into conflict with the EU due to legislative changes that, according to critics, have politicized the judicial system and turned the state media into a propaganda body. The opposition says that the vote could be the last chance to stop what it considers to be Polands departure from the European mainstream and the transition to a semi-authoritarian system. (LS)

15 October 2023
August 22, 2023

STRIKE Trade unionists from Romania’s
Fiscal Administration this morning staged a warning strike also picketing the
Finance Ministry in order to protest the measures proposed by the Executive in
Bucharest to cut budget expenses. Trade union leader Dorin Modure said that
among the claims there are also those on maintaining the employees’ incomes as
well as a proper statute. He said there were several abortive attempts at
negotiating with the government and does not rule out the idea of an all-out
strike unless the protesters’ claims are met.

ATHENS At the informal
meeting staged in Athens by the Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, on
the bloc’s enlargement towards the Western Balkans, Prime Minister Marcel
Ciolacu has presented Romania’s support for Ukraine, as well as the challenges
the Romanian farmers are facing against the background of the situation caused
by the Ukrainian grain exports and has proposed the setting up of a European
mechanism to manage these exports. He has also briefed the European Commission
president Ursula von der Leyen on the situation at Romania’s borders, adding
that the country needs additional financial support in order to step up the
process of streamlining its infrastructure. Ciolacu has also requested the
European official to step up joint efforts for Romania’s accession to Schengen.
In Athens, the Romanian official also held talks with his Greek counterpart as
well as with president Zelenski to whom he has given assurances that Romania
supports Ukraine until its final victory and after that for the country’s
reconstruction.

WIN The
Romanian women’s national volleyball side defeated Bosnia-Herzegovina 3-2 in
Turin on Monday night in a match counting towards the European Championship’s
Group B. This has been the second win of the national side at the 2023 edition
of the European Championship in a group led by the en-titre European champion
Italy, which boasts 9 points. Italy is followed by Bulgaria, Romania and
Switzerland, each with 6 points, Bosnia-Herzegovina with 5 points and Croatia
with only one. Romania is today playing a decisive match against Bulgaria as
the first four sides will qualify for the round of 16. The European Women’s
Volleyball Championships takes place until September 3rd in Belgium,
Italy, Estonia and Germany. We recall that at the previous edition in 2021, the
Romanians occupied the last but one position, ranking 23rd.
Romania’s best result in a suchlike competition was in 1963, when the national
side obtained the bronze medal.

ART The famous
sculpture The Kiss of the great Romanian sculptor Constantin Brancusi has
arrived in Bucharest, where it stays for ten days. The work, which is part of
the collection of the Art Museum in Craiova, southern Romania, is on display at
the Art Safari Love exhibition in downtown Bucharest where it could be admired
until August 30th. This masterpiece was made in 1907 and was
presented to the public in 1910 during the Young Artists’ exhibition in
Bucharest. The Kiss is an internationally important masterpiece being
considered the first modern sculpture of the 20th century. The
sculpture is the first in a series the artist worked on for more than 40 years.

(bill)

22 August 2023
August 21, 2023

Meeting – The Romanian Prime Minister,
Marcel Ciolacu, is today participating, in Athens, in a working meeting of the
heads of state and government from South-Eastern Europe and the Western
Balkans, organized by the Greek Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis. According
to a Government communiqué, the talks will focus on the development of regional
cooperation in South-Eastern Europe, as well as on the challenges posed by the
developments of the conflict in Ukraine on the states participating in the
Athens dialogue. The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen,
and the president of the European Council, Charles Michel, are attending the
meeting, along with heads of state and government from the region.

Ukraine-The Ukrainian President Volodymyr
Zelensky says he hopes other countries will join Denmark and the Netherlands, countries
which have decided to supply Kyiv with F-16 fighter jets. The Ukrainian leader
made the statements at a military air base in Denmark, where he met with the
Danish Prime Minister, Mette Frederiksen. Denmark and the Netherlands will send
Ukraine 61 F-16s. It was agreed that the planes would be transferred to the
Ukrainian Air Force in close cooperation with the US and other partners, when
the conditions for such a transfer are met. Conditions include, but are not
limited to, successfully selected, tested and trained Ukrainian F-16 personnel
as well as the necessary authorizations, infrastructure and logistics.
Ukrainian pilot training will take place in several NATO countries, including
Romania.

Athletics-The Romanian athlete Alina
Rotaru-Kottmann won the bronze medal in the long jump event at the World
Athletics Championships in Budapest, with 6.88 meters, in the final held on
Sunday. This is the best performance in her sports career so far. Alina
Rotaru-Kottmann had already met the entry standards for athletics events at next
year’s Paris Olympics. Also on Sunday, Andrea Miklos qualified for the
semi-finals of the 400 m event. The semi-finals take place today. Romania is
participating with 16 athletes, nine women and seven men, in the World
Athletics Championships in Budapest. For
this competition the Romanian Athletics Federation has set the goal of
qualifying in three finals.

Baccalaureate – In Romania, the baccalaureate exam
continues, today, with the written exam in the mother tongue language and
literature for the national minorities. The first results will be announced on
August 25, and appeals can be submitted on the same day. The results will be
published on August 29. 34,000 candidates registered for the autumn session, of
whom 22,600 finished high school this summer.

ARC – The ARC Camps Program,
initiated by the Department for Romanians Everywhere and intended for Romanian
students and young people everywhere, continues until August 28, in 6 leisure
centers in Romania. Students and young people from Romania and another 24
countries of the world participate, including Albania, Austria, the United Arab
Emirates, Germany, Greece, Italy, Israel, Kazakhstan, the Republic of Moldova,
Serbia, Spain, Ukraine. ‘We build bridges, build connections and embrace our
cultural diversity’ this is the message that the Department sends to the
children and teachers on summer vacation this year in the ARC camps. The camps
are meant to show Romanian children outside the borders what authentic Romania
is like. The project aims at facilitating interaction and dialogue between
young people from historical communities and young people from the Diaspora,
including through workshops to deepen knowledge of culture, history, geography
and arts.

Festival – The George Enescu Festival, the largest classical music
festival in Romania and one of the most important of its kind in Europe, is
coming to Timișoara, the European capital of culture in 2023. Great ensembles
of the world such as Ensemble Intercontemporain, Fine Arts Quartet, Camerata
Bern, Manchester Camerata and the Romanian Chamber Orchestra will give
exceptional concerts between September 3 and 20. The first edition of the
festival was held in 1958. (LS)

21 August 2023
August 20, 2023 UPDATE

Working meeting – The heads of state and government from South-Eastern Europe and the Western Balkans, including the Prime Minister of Romania, Marcel Ciolacu, will participate tomorrow, in Athens, in a working meeting organized at the initiative of Greece. The head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and the president of the European Council, Charles Michel, will participate in the discussions. The Romanian government says that the discussions will focus on the development of regional cooperation in South-Eastern Europe, as well as on the challenges raised by the developments of the conflict in Ukraine on the states participating in the dialogue in Athens.

Cooperation – One of Romanias objectives in the coming period is to re-conquer the traditional markets with Asian countries, such as Singapore, Vietnam and Japan – says the Economy Minister, Radu Oprea. In a press conference, Radu Oprea emphasized that the Romanian economy must take advantage of the markets and trade agreements signed by the European Union with Asian countries. The Economy Minister added that in October a joint committee meeting with South Korea will be held, and in November – the one with Vietnam, two countries with very high collaboration potential, both by attracting technology through investments in Romania, and by exporting, in the case Romanian companies.

Inflation – Last month Romania registered one of the highest annual inflation rates in the European Union, 9.4%, show official data of the EU statistics. According to EUROSTAT, Romania ranked fifth, although the index was measured with a single digit. On first place is Hungary, with an inflation rate of 17.5%, followed by Slovakia, Poland and the Czech Republic, all with over 10%. The lowest annual inflation rate was in Belgium, 1.7%. Compared to June, EUROSTAT also shows, the annual inflation rate decreased in 19 member countries of the European Union, including Romania.

Festival – The Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, known throughout the world for its New Years concert, is coming to Bucharest, at the “George Enescu” Festival. The Viennese orchestra will perform two concerts at Sala Palatului – the Palace Hall in Bucharest, on September 10 and 11, according to the official program of the event. The festival will start in two weeks time, on August 27, with a recital by the “George Enescu” Philharmonic, with Cristian Măcelaru as conductor. The Royal Orchestra “Concertgebouw” from Amsterdam, the Netherlands, the National Orchestra of France and the London Symphony Orchestra will also come to Bucharest.

Ukraine – The High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, said in an interview given to the Spanish newspaper “El Pais” that he does not believe that giving up military aid to Ukraine will lead to peace. Josep Borrell added that Europe was doing everything possible to achieve peace negotiations that should recognize that “there is an aggressor and a victim.” The European official noted, on the other hand, that were it not for the conflict in Ukraine, it would take years for Kyiv to join the EU and he emphasized that this conflict pushed Ukraine towards the EU, where Russia did not want to see it.

Ukraine – Ukraine will receive 42 F-16 fighter jets from the Netherlands and Denmark, the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on Sunday. The US, which produces the devices, has agreed to their transfer to the Ukrainian army. The Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen said that one of the conditions for the delivery of the aircraft is the successful completion of the military training and the testing of the Ukrainian personnel who will operate them. He also said that training will begin soon and will last at least six months. On Sunday, Zelenski visited the Eindhoven military base in the Netherlands, in the south of the country, to discuss the delivery of F-16 aircraft with the Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte.

Volleyball – Romania lost to Switzerland, 3-2, on Saturday evening, in Monza (Italy), in a Group B match of the European Womens Volleyball Championship – CEV EuroVolley 2023. The Romanian national team was coming after a 3 -1 victory against Croatia and a defeat by Italy, score 0-3. Romania will play against Bosnia-Herzegovina on Monday and against Bulgaria on Tuesday. The first four ranked teams in the group qualify for the round of 16 of the European Championship. CEV EuroVolley 2023 takes place between August 15 and September 3 in four countries, Belgium, Italy, Estonia and Germany. Romanias best result at a European Womens Championship was recorded in 1963, when the Romanian volleyball players won bronze on home ground.

Academician – PhD Professor Constantin Bălăceanu-Stolnici, honorary member of the Romanian Academy, has passed away. On July 6, he had turned 100 years old. A neurologist by profession, a pioneer in the field of neuro-cybernetics, Bălăceanu-Stolnici wrote over 25 books and published hundreds of scientific works. After 1989, he supported the development of private education in Romania, he was among the founders of the Ecological University of Bucharest, where he taught courses in neuropsychology and the anatomy of the nervous system. Constantin Bălăceanu-Stolnici was considered the last authentic member of the old aristocracy in Romania, the last descendant of the Bălăceni family. In 2007, the National Council for the Study of the Securitate (Political Police) Archives decided that Bălăceanu-Stolnici was a collaborator of the communist political police, and the academician admitted that he had signed informative notes for the Securitate.

Borders – The number of people who entered Romania through the Isaccea border crossing point, located on the eastern border with Ukraine, doubled, after Russia began the attack on the Ukrainian ports on the Danube, on July 24. In the last month, about 41,000 people entered Romania through Isaccea cross-border point, compared to almost 26,000 in the same period last year. The Romanian Coast Guard reported that these figures are mainly caused by the doubling of ferry transport capacity across the Danube. According to it, if in 2022 ferry rides from one country to another took place every three hours, in this period the rides are at an interval of one and a half hours. At the same time, freight transport through Isaccea increased significantly compared to the same period last year. (LS)

20 August 2023
March 3, 2023

Visit. Next week, the head of the Romanian state, Klaus Iohannis, will pay a formal visit to Japan and also a state visit to the Republic of Singapore, the Presidential Administration announced today. Romanias president will visit Japan between March 6 and 8 and will have meetings with Emperor Naruhito, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, as well as other officials. The main goal and the main event of this visit is to raise the bilateral relationship to the level of Strategic Partnership, through the signing by the President of Romania and the Prime Minister of Japan of the Joint Declaration establishing the Strategic Partnership between the two countries. The Japanese state is the largest Asian investor in Romania. The state visit of the Romanian head of state to Singapore will take place between March 9 and 10, being the by a Romanian president in the last 20 years. Klaus Iohannis will hold official talks with his counterpart Halimah Yacob and with Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. The visit is aimed at boosting bilateral relations, especially in economic and investment-related terms.

Protest. On Thursday, in Iași, in the east of Romania, a series of protests by education trade unionists began, against the governments salary policies. Similar actions will take place, in the next period, throughout the country. The trade unionists are dissatisfied with low salaries, lack of bonuses and the problems related to the payment of overtime. The Minister of Education, Ligia Deca, says that the complaints concern the current legislation and promises that in the future law, which is currently being worked on, salaries will be progressive, starting from the average salary at national level.

Bystroye. Romanian and Ukrainian experts are discussing today, the works done by Ukraine on the Bystroye Canal in the Danube. The technical consultations take place in the context in which recently theres been unconfirmed information that the Ukrainian side carried out works to deepen this navigable canal. Bucharest has voiced its disagreement with the works, arguing that they could affect the balance of the ecosystem in the Danube Delta. However, Kyiv claims it only carried out the regular canal dredging works and that the Romania side had been informed beforehand.

Moldova. The bill on the replacement of the phrase “Moldovan language” with “Romanian language” in all laws of the Republic of Moldova (ex-Soviet, predominantly Romanian-speaking), including the Constitution, was voted on Thursday, in the first reading, in the Chisinau Parliament. The document was passed on the very day that 31 years had passed since the outbreak of the Dniester War, as a result of which the Russian-speaking Transnistrian region separated from the Republic of Moldova. According to Radio Chisinau, the communist and socialist deputies vehemently protested the bill. According to the text of the document, after its adoption in final reading, the Legal Information Resources Agency will ensure in the state register of legal documents the operation of changes in all the legislation of the Republic of Moldova, including the Constitution.

Anniversary. In Romania, the Special Operations Forces have celebrated their 20th anniversary. The event was marked in Târgu Mures (center) with an impressive ceremony, attended by over 400 soldiers and more than 30 pieces of equipment, including military planes and helicopters. The Prime Minister of Romania, the Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies and the Ministers of the Interior and National Defense participated in the event. “The Special Forces are special not because the men who are in it are special, but because their selection, organization and equipment are special, their training and will to train and fight are special, their power to sacrifice for their comrade and together for the country is special and all this makes the members of the Special Forces normal people. This is the definition of normality for us, the Commander of the Special Operations Forces, General Dacian Tiberiu Şerban said.

Cards. 350,000 Romanians will receive energy cards in the next few days, after the Ministry of Investments and European Projects clarified the situations of those who were not included on the lists from the beginning. For cases where it was not possible to determine how many people lived in the same house, people submitted affidavits stating that the conditions to receive the respective financial support were met. So far, 1.7 million people have already received the cards, but almost 600,000 notices have been issued regarding failure to meet the conditions to receive the aid, i.e. exceeding the threshold of 2,000 lei (about 400 euros). According to the ministry, since February 20, over 225,000 payments have been made in a total amount of over 71 million lei (over 14 million euros). The aid is granted in two installments, of 700 lei each (about 140 euros) and can be used for payments for electricity, gas, thermal energy in a centralized heating system, firewood, fuel oil, pellets and other types of materials used for heating.

Mission. A detachment of approximately 100 soldiers and four F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft belonging to the Romanian Air Force will participate in the enhanced air policing mission in the Baltic States, between April and July. According to the Romanian Defense Ministry, the main goal of the mission carried out in the airspace of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia is to prevent the violation of allied airspace and to provide assistance to military and civilian aircraft in emergency situations arising during the flight. The Baltic Air Policing mission is carried out on the basis of a system of rotation of tasks carried out by the allied countries since 2004.

Accident. Strikes and demonstrations continue to affect Greece on the third day of national mourning decreed throughout the country after Tuesdays railway accident between a freight train and a high-speed train. About 2,000 people gathered in Thessaloniki, northern Greece, on Thursday night to protest the errors that led to the train disaster, as police announced a new toll of 57 dead and at least 56 missing, FP reports. About 700 other people, according to the police, gathered in front of the headquarters of the Greek railway company Hellenic Train in Athens on Thursday evening. The demonstrators held a minute of silence in memory of the victims, most of them students. In the meantime, the Minister of Transport resigned, and the head of the Larisa station (center), near which the accident occurred, was arrested. (MI)

3 March 2023
European solidarity against wildfires

Presently affected by a severe heatwave and prolonged drought, France is fighting extensive forest fires in the southwestern region of Gironde. Fires this time spread faster than in July, when the entire region was devastated and thousands of people had to be evacuated.

Firefighters from many countries have joined their French counterparts in the latters efforts to contain the wildfires in the region. Their gesture has been described by President Emmanuel Macron as an example of European solidarity. Italy, Greece and Sweden are among the countries which sent firefighting aircraft while 77 firefighters from Romania are working shoulder to shoulder with their French counterparts in an attempt to contain wildfires in the region.

In response to a request made by the French government, authorities in Bucharest have also decided to dispatch equipment to the affected areas in France through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism. According to the Head of the Department for Emergency Situations, Raed Arafat, it is for the first time Romania is doing such an ample air rescue operation:

Raed Arafat: “From our point of view this is a first as we are flying technical equipment and big fire engines to a foreign country; some of these engines have a capacity of 4 thousand liters. Military planes have been made available to us and we are using them under the EU Civil Protection Mechanism. We proposed this mission, it got the greenlight, and now our intervention teams are ready and able to help their French colleagues because they are not tired after traveling thousands of kilometers by road.”

“Romania is solidary with France, our partner and traditional friend, which is these days fighting massive wildfires. Just like in the case of Greece, when Romania had a main contribution to putting out fires there, we can prove our capability of being a reliable partner for the allies” Romanias Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca said in a message.

Only several days ago, Romanian firefighters completed their mission in Greece, where they responded to a request by the Greek authorities through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism. 56 Romanian firefighters put out fires around capital Athens in two consecutive rounds before being subsequently replaced by colleagues from other European countries contributing to the operation.

Since the beginning of this summer season, Greece has been affected by hundreds of wildfires against the backdrop of the extremely hot weather with temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius. Rescue operations this year have been marked by a helicopter crash close to the island of Samos, where two people lost their lives.

(bill)

12 August 2022
European solidarity against wildfires

Presently affected by a severe heatwave and prolonged drought, France is fighting extensive forest fires in the southwestern region of Gironde. Fires this time spread faster than in July, when the entire region was devastated and thousands of people had to be evacuated.

Firefighters from many countries have joined their French counterparts in the latters efforts to contain the wildfires in the region. Their gesture has been described by President Emmanuel Macron as an example of European solidarity. Italy, Greece and Sweden are among the countries which sent firefighting aircraft while 77 firefighters from Romania are working shoulder to shoulder with their French counterparts in an attempt to contain wildfires in the region.

In response to a request made by the French government, authorities in Bucharest have also decided to dispatch equipment to the affected areas in France through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism. According to the Head of the Department for Emergency Situations, Raed Arafat, it is for the first time Romania is doing such an ample air rescue operation:

Raed Arafat: “From our point of view this is a first as we are flying technical equipment and big fire engines to a foreign country; some of these engines have a capacity of 4 thousand liters. Military planes have been made available to us and we are using them under the EU Civil Protection Mechanism. We proposed this mission, it got the greenlight, and now our intervention teams are ready and able to help their French colleagues because they are not tired after traveling thousands of kilometers by road.”

“Romania is solidary with France, our partner and traditional friend, which is these days fighting massive wildfires. Just like in the case of Greece, when Romania had a main contribution to putting out fires there, we can prove our capability of being a reliable partner for the allies” Romanias Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca said in a message.

Only several days ago, Romanian firefighters completed their mission in Greece, where they responded to a request by the Greek authorities through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism. 56 Romanian firefighters put out fires around capital Athens in two consecutive rounds before being subsequently replaced by colleagues from other European countries contributing to the operation.

Since the beginning of this summer season, Greece has been affected by hundreds of wildfires against the backdrop of the extremely hot weather with temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius. Rescue operations this year have been marked by a helicopter crash close to the island of Samos, where two people lost their lives.

(bill)

12 August 2022
RRI Sports Club

Today we look at the first modern edition of the Olympic Games held Athens 124 years ago, more precisely in April 1896. The opening ceremony took place on Sunday April 5, when both the Catholic and Orthodox Christians were celebrating Easter. The number of spectators attending the ceremony was estimated at 80 thousand.

Competitions started on April 6 on the Olympic Stadium which was built from scratch by the Greek authorities on the location of an ancient arena. 241 athletes from 14 countries took part in the Olympic Games. This was the largest international participation in a sports event up to that moment.

In the spirit of the ancient Greek Olympic tradition and especially at the insistence of the French baron Pierre de Coubertin, the participation of women in the Olympic Games was forbidden. It was only in Paris, in 1900, that women were allowed to compete in the Olympic Games.

The first sports event held at the Athens Olympics was the 100 meters race and the first Olympic medalist was the American Francis Lane who ended the race in 12.20 seconds. Besides athletics, the Olympic Games in Athens also included cycling, fencing, gymnastics, shooting, swimming, tennis, weightlifting and wrestling.

The marathon race took place on April 10 on the same route, which the Athenian soldier Philippides had covered more than 2,300 years before, to deliver news of the victory of the battle of Marathon over Persia. The winner of the marathon race was the Greek athlete Spiros Louis who thus became a national hero.

The competition ended on April 15. The first place in the nations’ ranking was held by the US with 11 gold medals out of a total of 20 medals won at the Olympic Games. Greece obtained 46 medals, of which 10 gold. (translation by L. Simion)

8 April 2020