This is ludicrous: the Olympic committee is banning all officials and athletes from running blogs, (and I suppose posting to existing blogs...). You can't even wear a brand that is not one of the official global sponsors! When I was there 10 days ago, I saw a guard strip the label on a water bottle from an English girl just after the metal detectors, because it was not the official brand ! The brands of fire extinguishers and clocks present in the stadiums were covered with black tape!!! Ridiculous.
And you can't even link to their websites unless you're authorised (check the comment on my post here)!
Update on 24/8/04: the IOC is even forcing internet radio streams to shut down...
Update2: aha! athletes are refusing to become Epsilon citizens ! They have started to blog nevertheless!
On the positive side, the trip to Athens was well worth it. I saw fencing (sabre & sword), swimming, beach volley, volleyball, men and women gymnastics. It was like a big party, with people cheering their country, or someone else's country (whatever), just to have fun and spend a good time together. We ended wondering if they were parties organized every night so that the Olympic spirit could last 24/7... Still time for you to go for a couple of days, you won't regret it. Still second thoughts ? Check some of my pictures here.
