On Monday the King opened the Olympic Games in the
Stadium at the Franco-British Exhibition. The Queen, the Prince and Princess of Wales, the Crown Prince and Princess of Greece, the Crown Prince and Princess of Sweden, the Duke and Duchess of Connaught, Princess Louise, and others were also present. The King was received by Lord Desborough, president of the British Olympic Council, M. Pierre de Coubertin, who is responsible for the revival of the Olympic Games, and other organisers of the games. The chief ceremony of the opening was a parade of the athletes. They first took up a position facing the Royal box in alpha- betical order, except that all the English-speaking competitors were in the middle. It was noticeable that by this arrange- ment the Frenchmen were next the Germans,—a happy juxta- position in the comradeship of sport which may be taken as expressing the most valuable meaning of these international games. The parade presented a remarkable mixture of nationalities and uniforms, and, indeed, of want of uniforms ; some of the nations turned out harmonious groups as care- fully dressed as a regiment, others marched in ordinary clothes. Each gitup was preceded by its entablature and national flag. It is impossible for us even to summarise the great number of competitions during the week. Perhaps the chief impression made on the spectator is that of the vast size of the Stadium, and the difficulty of following the various events which go on simultaneously.
