Great Regulars: And so, on the basis of this highly

dodgy history, the modern Olympics embodies a political aspiration in the Olympic Truce--wars are supposed to be suspended for the period of the games--and a cultural celebration, the Cultural Olympiad.

The best thing about all the cultural events up to London 1948 was that, like the games, they awarded medals. Finland topped the cultural medal table in 1948, and gold-winners included the architect Adolf Hoch, the poet Aale Tynni, the author Giani Stuparich and the composer Zbigniew Turski. Never heard of them? Neither have I. In a desperate attempt to give us a bit of a laugh, I have been campaigning for a return of the cultural medals system, though without success.

"Artists," Mackenzie says, "do like winning medals, but they don't much like competing . . . or losing."

from Bryan Appleyard: from The Sunday Times: The Cultural Olympiad

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