Four decades since the Winter Olympics: A handful of fake smiles, while the facilities and Olympic venues from '84 couldn't be in worse condition

(Patria) - In recent days, there has been a handful of fake smiles around the City Hall and the National Theatre, and typically most on social media, to mark 40 years since the Olympic Games in Sarajevo.

There would be nothing fake or strange about that if those responsible for the state of what remains from the '84 Winter Olympics had not brought all the facilities to a state of complete devastation, posted on social media by the Deputy Chair of the Novo Sarajevo Municipal Council, Nedim Salihagić (NES).

Salihagić points out that, besides the substandard and unused Zetra, the devastated Skenderija, and the Koševo stadium which survives cosmetic corrections amid great tension among stakeholders, we can only imagine what would happen if a more serious reconstruction of our largest stadium were to begin.

"If we go outside the city, to the Olympic venues, for which our politicians have prepared a smile and false glitter, we will see that the situation is even more critical than in the city itself.

More precisely, we will be greeted by the ruins of the former bobsleigh track and ski jump at Malo Polje, while the dilapidated Olympic hotels resemble buildings from horror movies.

No words need be wasted on the wild and unplanned construction on Bjelašnica; everything there has long been told, but even that has some 'Olympic spirit', namely that the 'newly built' Bjelašnica now resembles some neighborhoods of our city (Mojmilo and Dobrinja), built precisely for the Olympic Games.

Ridiculous and sad, but as they say, let them just build and don't look at everything critically, but through rose-colored glasses with plenty of false glitter and laughter.

Actually, speaking of smiles, this is what our 'Surrealists' long ago coined in the phrase 'I laugh uproariously'. And indeed, they are laughing at us, because the people fall for outdated gimmicks with lots of Vučko, a bit more of Jure Franko, and the senseless repetition of slogans with burek.

They laugh uproariously because everything that reminds us of the Olympic Games, and that could create new conditions for hosting major competitions, is devastated.

The decadence of sports facilities provided to us by those responsible with plenty of laughter will never kill the true Olympic spirit of the city, which is far from the red carpet, the City Hall, and the National Theatre in Sarajevo.

The Olympic spirit lives far from the city streets and false glitter in the hearts of Sarajevans who remember better times, and those younger who see that the decadence of sports facilities has overpowered the fake smile being offered to us," stated Salihagić.