Chasing the flame

By Viva Goldner (China Daily)
Updated: 2007-07-25 09:28

Gregory Groggel has traveled in six cities that host Olympic Games such as Beijing (top, Tian'anmen Square) and Seoul (center, Peace Monument) to study the impact of the Games.
Courtesy of Gregory Groggel

Gregory Groggel has traveled in six cities that host Olympic Games such as Beijing (top, Tian'anmen Square) and Seoul (center, Peace Monument) to study the impact of the Games.[China Daily]

Soon after arriving in Beijing, American Gregory Groggel donned a false beard and mustache for his film debut, cast as the young Jesuit missionary, Matteo Ricci, who arrived in China in 1583 and later became the first Westerner granted access to the Forbidden City. Once shooting wrapped up, director Zhang Li told his young star the documentary was created for the Olympics, to promote China's history to a worldwide audience ahead of next year's Games.

"Just another instance that makes me wonder whether I am chasing the flame, or the flame is chasing me," 23-year-old Groggel later mused.

The Chinese capital is the last stop on Groggel's yearlong Olympic odyssey. Researching his independent project, Chasing the Flame, he has spent two months in each of six host cities - Mexico City, Munich, Sarajevo, Seoul, Sydney and now Beijing - exploring the social impact and lasting legacy of hosting the Games.

Groggel says 2008 is a platform for world appreciation of the Middle Kingdom's rich culture and history, beyond being lauded as an economic miracle. China's innovative venue designs bode well for its post-Games future, and, with proper planning by authorities, citizens could experience lasting benefit.

But Groggel also warns of a potential drastic "post-Olympic depression" and says how Beijing's Olympics are eventually remembered depends, to a large extent, on "luck".

"It's hard to tell what will be important from China's Olympic legacy 20 years down the road, and that's exciting," he told China Daily.

Groggel graduated from the University of Paget Sound in Washington last year, then set off for Mexico City in July 2006, having won a prestigious Thomas J Watson Fellowship of $25,000.

"Are the fundamental principles of the Olympic Charter achieved when a country plays host to the world? Is the host city forever enlightened, awash in its newly found peace and prosperity, or is it left shell-shocked, wading through debt and cultural exploitation?"

In pursuit of answers, Groggel has kayaked Sydney's artificial whitewater course, bribed guards for access to Mexico City's stadium, traversed landmines on Sarajevo's former bobsled track and visited a former concentration camp outside Munich.

Groggel's fascination with the concept of "Olympianism" grew after he worked at the Athens Summer Games in 2004, as a production assistant with the sports broadcaster, ESPN.