2004 Olympic Games in Athens
Item Entered: Monday, August 30, 2004
On 29th August 2004 at 22:23 local time, the XXVIIIth Olympic Games in Athens were declared ended by IOC President Jaques Rogge. Gripping competitions, impressive sporting performances, dreams of medals fulfilled and dashed - Games full of incident that also represented a great challenge for Schenker.
Schenker's Olympic commitment already has a tradition. According to the firm's records, Schenker was first involved at the Olympic Games in Berlin in 1936. This commitment was continued in Munich in 1972. With the Summer Olympic Games in Sydney in 2000, sports logistics became a regular service for Schenker. In 2002 Schenker participated for the first time as an "official partner for haulage and customs processing" at the Winter Olympic Games.
For the Olympic Games in Athens in 2004 the local Greek company Schenker A.E. was the "official partner for haulage and customs processing". At the peak of activity there were about 200 Schenker employees from all over the world in the Olympic team available to customers.
For Schenker the 2004 Olympic Games had already started with the first trial events in 2003. So for instance in the summer of 2003 Schenker organized a convoy of lorries from the Olympic trial sailing event in Athens to the World Sailing Championship in Cadiz, Spain in 2003 for about 20 sailing teams.
A global torch run was made for the first time for the 2004 Olympic Games. About 10,000 people, even including a few Schenker employees, carried the torch through 34 cities in 27 countries on five continents in 35 days. The Schenker Global Sports Events (GSE) team played a major role in the logistics of this mammoth event. With such a tight timetable there was little time spare for complicated customs procedures. Whereas bureaucratic obstacles could be overcome without complications in Europe, countries such as Brazil, India and the Ukraine presented the organizers with the greatest challenges. In the end, though, it was possible to ignite the Olympic flame as planned.
During the 2004 Olympic Games, over 350 customers, including 50 national Olympic committees, relied on Schenker's services. Schenker Deutschland AG was once more a co-partner of the German Olympic team. Besides the delivery of the athletes' luggage and team equipment to the Olympic Village, among other things sailing boats were also transported.
Furthermore Schenker Deutschland AG was the official logistics service provider for the "German House" in Athens. Whether it was athletes, sponsors, media representatives or politicians, everyone met at this central point in the vicinity of the Athens Olympic Sports Complex. SCHENKERglobalsportsevents coordinated the transportation for the set-up of the German House and delivered among other things furniture, security equipment, copiers, Internet terminals, promotional materials and beer to Athens. Of course, Schenker's sports logistics staff also handled the subsequent dismantling and the return of the goods. The "official Olympic partners for Germany," adidas, Bitburger, Obi and Payback relied in just the same way on Schenker's services as the German Olympic team.
Schenker A.E. was there on site with its own office at all major Olympic installations such as for example the International Broadcasting Centre, the Olympic Village and the Olympic Sailing Harbor. After the end of the competitions, the dismantling and the return of the goods to all over the world was managed within just a few days. Without at the same time losing sight of the deliveries for the 2004 Paralympic Games. Because Schenker A.E. also distinguished itself at the Paralympic Games as the "official supplier for haulage and customs processing."
Dr. Klaus Steinbach, the President of the German National Olympic Committee, thanked Schenker Deutschland AG: "Athens 2004 required a great deal of effort, especially in the area of logistics, since in addition to the usual demands in the field of transportation of sports equipment and medical and other equipment, the ever-increasing burden of security measures required a high level of professional work. You have taken on board all our questions and problems in the area of transportation and performed this work to our complete satisfaction. Punctuality, reliability and friendly relations were the deciding factors here. You have made a major contribution to our Olympic team's successful performance in Athens with your support."
