ITALY: OLYMPIC GAMES - Residents reclaim their village of Sestriere as athletes leave

Record ID: 331821

  • Title: ITALY: OLYMPIC GAMES - Residents reclaim their village of Sestriere as athletes leave
  • Date: 26th February 2006
  • Summary: SESTRIERE, ITALY (FEBRUARY 26, 2006) (REUTERS) WIDE OVER SESTRIERE OLYMPIC VILLAGE (4 SHOTS) VARIOUS OF ATHLETES PACKING UP THEIR BELONGINGS AND LEAVING (3 SHOTS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) UNITED KINGDOM ATHLETE NICOLA MINOCELLO SAYING: "We're just on our way down to Torino. We're going down there for the closing ceremony. It's the end of a chapter for now. It was great. It was a fantastic experience and we're looking forward to getting home to a bit of normality. It was a good experience." MINOCELLO WALKING AWAY WITH TROLLEY FULL OF LUGGAGE MEMBER OF SENEGALESE DELEGATION PREPARING GO LEAVE (SOUNDBITE) (English) SENEGALESE DELEGATION MEMBER ABADOU SECK SAYING: "We are on our way back home and it was a very great moment for us and now it's over. We have to go back home and we are a little sad." SNOWBOARDERS WALKING IN STREET (SOUNDBITE) (English) JAPANESE SKIER NAOKI YUASA WHO CAME SEVENTH IN MEN'S SLALOM EVENT, SAYING: "This Olympics is very, very nice because I am first time in this Olympics and I was seventh place yesterday and it was very, very happy." VARIOUS OF PEOPLE DISMANTLING STRUCTURES WORKERS PLACING STEEL PIPES INTO TRUCK SESTRIERE RESIDENTS WALKING IN VILLAGE SQUARE WOMAN WALKING HER DOG DOG (SOUNDBITE) (Italian) SESTRIERE RESIDENT SAYING: "It's sad, yes, it was really beautiful. The town is always so quiet and now it busy so now I feel some melancholy." SESTRIERE FAMILY IN SQUARE CHILDREN PEOPLE IN SQUARE MAN CARVING WOOD VARIOUS OF WOOD CARVING WIDE OF SQUARE (SOUNDBITE) (Italian) SESTRIERE RESIDENT SAYING: "In the beginning I didn't expect it to be so good, but in fact it was very nice. I really enjoyed it and I think it's a pity that now it's all finished. But now we have to start again from the beginning. As of tomorrow we will reopen the ski facilities to the public. We hope that lots of people will come and visit us. There is a lot of snow and we are here for everyone." WOMAN WALKING AWAY VARIOUS VIEWS OVER FLAGS IN STREET IN SESTRIERE VILLAGE (3 SHOTS)
  • Embargoed: 13th March 2006 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Italy
  • Country: Italy
  • Topics: Sports
  • Reuters ID: LVA9FUMLB3Z5LHG4IHEOKDTHWAS7
  • Story Text: Residents of the Italian Alps village of Sestriere began to reclaim their town on Sunday morning (February 26) as athletes of the XX Winter Olympics began to pack up and head home.
    On the final day of races Sestriere began reverting to its old self with villagers walking their dogs and families browsing the local shops.
    Some structures were dismantled, but most will remain in tact for the upcoming ParaOlympics due to begin in early March in the mountain venue.
    But after one month of participation in the Games, athletes were sad to leave.
    "We are on our way back home and it was a very great moment for us and now it's over. We have to go back home and we are a little sad," a member of the Senegalese delegation told Reuters Television.
    "We're just on our way down to Torino. We're going down there for the closing ceremony. It's the end of a chapter for now. It was great. It was a fantastic experience and we're looking forward to getting home to a bit of normality. It was a good experience," said Nicola, an athlete from Great Britain.
    Japan's Naoki Yuasa, who finished seventh in Saturday's (February 25) slalom event, said it had been a unique experience for him.
    "This Olympics is very, very nice because I am first time in this Olympics and I was seventh place yesterday and it was very, very happy," Yuasa told Reuters.
    But as athletes regretted leaving, Sestriere's residents looked forward to reclaiming their town's slopes and opening the ski facilities up to tourists instead of athletes.
    "In the beginning I didn't expect it to be so good, but in fact it was very nice. I really enjoyed it and I think it's a pity that now it's all finished. But now we have to start again from the beginning. As of tomorrow we will reopen the ski facilities to the public. We hope that lots of people will come and visit us. There is a lot of snow and we are here for everyone," one resident said.
    But most residents of Sestriere will remember the Games fondly and will miss the hustle and bustle which accompanied the Olympics and which briefly awoke this sleepy mountain town.
    "It's sad, yes, it was really beautiful. The town is always so quiet and now it busy so now I feel some melancholy," a villager said.
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