"As you know, I summarized my idea of the Olympic Games in Munich under the term "Joyous Games". With that term we initially provoked a flood of irony and more or less intended misunderstandings.

But then in August 1972 when Munich started with its festive decorations and when the heart-moving opening ceremony as an overture to the Games made our ideas evident, it was suddenly there: that joyous feeling from deep down, the Olympic festival in which fun was on an equal footing with top performance and results. There had never been anything similar before.

Festivities naturally need visitors, their feelings and their fairness. And that is how that incomparable atmosphere arose in the sports complex. In the year after the Olympic Games, the Munich public and its guests were described by the IOC as being the fairest in the world and they were honoured with the highest Olympic award, the Cup Olympique. With regard to the cultural programme we had the idea of making a request to all the people of the world to get them to present themselves with artistic contributions too in the framework of a world festival. The idea was to exalt the character of the hard struggle in the stadiums, the struggle being indeed essential. Nations that were not up to or not yet up to the highest level of international sport achievements but that had something culturally significant to display were to be given more prestige in this way. This idea was more or less put into practice and it brought us many friends. Artistic groups and young people compete everywhere to present their country by presenting significant musical performances by very famous orchesters and solists or performances by world-famous theatres, or by showing folklore or jazz festivals or playing experimental music or by participating on the entertainment path in the Olympia Park with its street theatres, audio-visual activities and discussions.

Fortunately, the tradition that was thus created is still alive today in the Olympic Park, in particular in the Theatron. The cultural programme calmed the medal fever, at least unconsciously, and underlined the character of a festival to unite nations".