Coke, Israel Donations for Restoration in Olympia

(ATR) Donations from Coca Cola and the Israel Olympic Committee will help restore the trees in Ancient Olympia torched by wildfires in August. Coca-Cola announced this week a $2 million donation to the Hellenic Olympic Committee (HOK) to be used for restoration of the site of the ancient Games.

Last month, the Olympic Committee of Israel donated 10,000 trees to be planted in what is being called the Olympic Forest. The planting was supervised by Israeli experts who successfully replanted three million trees after bombings in northern Israel, an HOK spokesman tells ATR.

Hellenic Olympic Committee President Minos Kyriakou thanked Coke in a statement, saying “The restoration of the Sacred Site of Ancient Olympia, at a time allowing for its unparalleled beauty to grow again soon, constitutes a central priority, special desire and a decision already reached by all Greeks. The entire world’s interest for the wounds opened in such historic site encourages and honors us.”

“Being able to honor our commitment to [the Olympics] is important,” Coke spokesman Petro Kacur tells Around the Rings. “We have always supported initiatives that support Olympic ideals and the Olympic Movement.”

Trees in the Olympic Academy grove were damaged during the fires; so was grass on the slopes of the ancient amphitheatre where flame-lighting ceremonies are held every two years.

Restoration work at Olympia is supposed to be complete by March 24, when the flame ceremony for the Beijing Olympics will be held.

The actual ancient site and buildings at the nearby International Olympic Academy were spared from the fire, but some statues stored outside the Olympic Museum were damaged.

Scores of people died in the fires, which did an estimated $4 billion in damage across Greece.

With reporting by Laura Grundy, laura@aroundtherings.com.