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Kazakh President Runs First Leg of Olympic Torch Relay
by
findingDulcinea Staff
The Central Asian country is counting on the relay as a source of positive publicity, but still can’t shed the “Borat” association.
30-Second Summary
On April 2 the Olympic torch made its first post-China stop in Almaty, Kazakhstan, the country’s economic hub and former capital.
Wearing a white track suit with a necktie, Nursultan Nazarbayev, president of the oil-rich former Soviet republic, jogged a few symbolic steps with the torch before passing it to Kazakh Olympic boxing champion Bakhityar Artayev.
Eighty national celebrities, including politicians and athletes, took turns with the torch at the event in Medeu, a ski resort town just south of Almaty.
Nazarbayev was quoted by state news agency Kazinform as saying, “I am confident that the Beijing Olympic Mission will clear the way to the global development of sports in the 21st century.”
Still, much of the event’s media coverage made mention of the 2006 Sasha Baron Cohen mockumentary “Borat: ‘Cultural Learnings Of America For Make Benefit Glorious Nation Of Kazakhstan.’”
Kazakhstan is eager to shake off its association with the comic character, who portrays the country as backward economically, culturally and socially.
The country’s oil wealth has revived Almaty, as international companies have moved in and Kazakhstan is no longer considered a hardship post by Western diplomats. Indeed nightlife in Almaty bears few parallels to the chicken-chasing games portrayed in “Borat,” with dancing in sky-high designer heels more the vibe.
Wearing a white track suit with a necktie, Nursultan Nazarbayev, president of the oil-rich former Soviet republic, jogged a few symbolic steps with the torch before passing it to Kazakh Olympic boxing champion Bakhityar Artayev.
Eighty national celebrities, including politicians and athletes, took turns with the torch at the event in Medeu, a ski resort town just south of Almaty.
Nazarbayev was quoted by state news agency Kazinform as saying, “I am confident that the Beijing Olympic Mission will clear the way to the global development of sports in the 21st century.”
Still, much of the event’s media coverage made mention of the 2006 Sasha Baron Cohen mockumentary “Borat: ‘Cultural Learnings Of America For Make Benefit Glorious Nation Of Kazakhstan.’”
Kazakhstan is eager to shake off its association with the comic character, who portrays the country as backward economically, culturally and socially.
The country’s oil wealth has revived Almaty, as international companies have moved in and Kazakhstan is no longer considered a hardship post by Western diplomats. Indeed nightlife in Almaty bears few parallels to the chicken-chasing games portrayed in “Borat,” with dancing in sky-high designer heels more the vibe.
Headline Links: ‘Olympic Torch Passed to Kazakhstan’
“The torch event was a welcome publicity coup for Kazakhstan, a sparsely populated country best known abroad as the target of comic insults in the spoof documentary ‘Borat: Cultural Learnings Of America For Make Benefit Glorious Nation Of Kazakhstan.’”
Source: IAfrica.com
In a reference to a fictional Kazakh tradition featured in the movie “Borat,” a post on British news site Anorak begins, “no, not the Running of the Jews.” It continues sarcastically, “Nazarbayev is 67 years old. There is little like seeing a politician in shorts and sweat to make him appear statesmanlike and noble…”
Source: Anorak News
Audio & Video: Bearing the torch
'Beijing Olympic Flame in Almaty'
The Olympic torch makes its way down the streets of Almaty in this 11-second YouTube clip.
Source: YouTube
‘Secrets of the Olympic Torch Trailblazers’
Mark Claussner said in an NPR audio clip that during his 3,000-mile trip around the United States, the three-foot flame was carried in the back of the official torch truck so that people could see it. If there was a “flame out,” the torch had to be relit using the original “mother flame” from Greece, which was carried in cauldrons. At night, each flame was kept with a security guard in a hotel room. Claussner described the experience of sleeping next to a burning flame as “something that I’m very proud of,” but something “I’m not looking forward to doing again because the room smelled, and I’m used to having a dark room.”
Source: NPR
Background: Kazakhstans, real and fictional
Flush with oil wealth, The New York Times calls Almaty a possible “Dubai of Central Asia.” An evening out in Kazakhstan’s economic and cultural center involves sipping overpriced lattes, drinking and dancing to the latest club hits. The streets are lined with boutiques in English-language signage for international brands such as Armani. Luxury hotel chains are setting up shop, such as the JW Marriott due to open this summer. Said Brooke Arnao, an online video director for financial publisher Money Media, who stayed in the city after a conference, “Almaty feels raw, sketchy, and that can be fascinating.”
Source: The New York Times (free registration may be required)
Kazakhstan was not impressed at first with its fictional portrayal in the “Borat” movie. Kazakhstan’s Foreign Ministry even threatened to sue Cohen.
Source: Back Stage
Reactions: ‘2008 Olympic Games in Beijing to boost global development of sports’
State news agency Kazinform quotes President Nazarbayev as saying at the torch ceremony, “For the whole planet sport is a symbol of peace that unites people and builds up bridges of mutual understanding between the nations, cultures and civilizations. I am confident that the Beijing Olympic Mission will clear the way to the global development of sports in the 21st century.”
Source: Kazinform
Historical Context: ‘If You Want To Know A Secret ...’
Newsweek was given access to the rehearsal for the opening of the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City and discovered how much work goes into keeping the opening ceremonies a secret, as well as pulling off such a complicated show. “Love them or hate them, the opening ceremonies are a carefully choreographed piece of political theater that sets the mood for the Games and serves as a global infomercial for the host country,” said the story, which quotes several of the show’s organizers about its planning, including recent presidential hopeful Mitt Romney.
Source: Newsweek
Key Players: Nursultan Nazarbayev (1940– )
Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev was born near Almaty, the son of a shepherd. He became a steel smelter after being rejected from the chemistry department of Kazakh State University. He joined the Communist Party in 1967 and was elected president of the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic in 1990, a post he has held ever since, but as the president of Kazakhstan since the country’s independence in 1991. The economy has grown 10 percent annually since 2001, aided in part by the country’s expansive oil reserves. Charges of dictatorship have marred his international image. He had the constitution changed to give him an unlimited number of terms in office and appears to be grooming his daughter Dariga to take over. Press freedoms in Kazakhstan have come under scrutiny as well.
Source: The BBC
Reference: The 2008 Olympic torch itinerary
The Web site of the 2008 torch relay has an interactive map with arrows showing the order of stops on the tour and vignettes of each city.
Source: The official Web site of the Olympic torch relay
Related Topics: ‘Tibet Adds to Challenges Facing Olympic Torch Bearer’
Relay organizers said prior to the torch’s leg in Tibet that the state of unrest there will not impede its journey from Greece to Beijing. But protests cast uncertainty over the 85,000-mile relay.
Source: findingDulcinea
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