Mark Magnier writes in The Los Angeles Times that this summer’s Olympics may end up being so restrictive that they won’t just lack the “traditional Olympic spirit,” they’ll be no fun at all:
Fearful of political protests or terrorist attacks, Beijing feels increasingly battened down as the Aug. 8 opening ceremony approaches, leading some wags to predict a “fun-free” or “kill-joy” games. Many of the best things about Beijing, the little corners, the characters, the outdoor cafe tables are being nibbled away by omnipresent police and neighborhood snoops in security overdrive.
Every Olympics host city has its own style, but the atmospherics at the last two Games have set a high standard to match. Revelers attending the 2004 Athens Games partied till dawn at street and beach venues replete with big bonfires, flowing ouzo and impromptu concerts. Organizers of the Sydney 2000 Games hired street musicians and jugglers to perform outside venues, and invited those without tickets to picnic beside huge outdoor Olympic viewing screens.
In China, however, tight visa policies have discouraged international visitors and pushed some longtime foreign residents out of the country, even as the government has banned most outdoor gatherings and told bar owners to close early. It A plan by the 2012 host city London to throw a party in a downtown park was nixed. It has even forbidden picnic umbrellas in some districts, apparently fearful that terrorists or unruly protesters might lurk beneath the prosaic folds.
