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Sport is a mirror.
I've spent years watching the world from a wheelchair, and I've learned something: the human spirit doesn't care about limitations. It cares about movement — forward, upward, together. The Olympic Games, now unfolding across Milan, Cortina, Livigno, and Predazzo, remind me of this truth every time the flame is lit .
Tonight, as fans wave Italian flags at San Siro Stadium and snow-topped mountains frame the ceremonies in the Dolomites, I find myself thinking about what these Games really mean. Not the medals. Not the records. Something deeper.
Peace.
The Olympic ideals — tolerance, equality, fair play — are also the ideals of the United Nations. They're the ideals I carry with me as a European who wants peace in Ukraine now. They're the ideals I try to live by, even when my body doesn't cooperate.
The Commitment to Finding Peace
The Olympic Spirit, as I understand it, is the commitment to finding peace in our own hearts and in the world. That's not a slogan. That's a practice.
I know something about internal battles. Dystonia has shaped my body since childhood. Surgeries, setbacks, moments when giving up seemed reasonable. But here's what athletics teaches us: perseverance isn't about winning. It's about showing up.
When Erin Jackson carries the American flag tonight, she carries more than fabric. She carries her family, her teammates, her hometown. When Frank Del Duca marches as flag bearer, he carries his Italian grandfather's pride across generations These athletes don't just represent nations. They represent the stubborn human belief that we can do better.
A Fully Formed Citizen
The ancient Greeks understood something we've forgotten. The games embody the idea that a fully formed citizen develops character and skill that helps them interact with others in a way that makes for peace . Sport isn't separate from civic life. It is civic life.
Excellence. Respect. Friendship. These three Olympic values constitute the foundation on which the entire movement builds its activities . I've tried to build FreeAstroScience on similar principles — the belief that knowledge should unite us, not divide us.
During the Olympics, all things seem possible to humanity. I felt that watching the volunteers at San Siro lead fans in a dance routine, arms and legs moving together, strangers becoming neighbours for an evening. I felt it reading about the snow-topped mountains visible from the bus winding through hairpin turns toward Livigno, horses huddling during a snow shower, lights from picture-perfect houses illuminating valleys below .
Beauty exists. Connection exists. Hope exists.
Why This Matters Now
I support peace efforts and condemn all violence and extremism from all political sides. This isn't a political statement. It's a human one.
The Olympics has once again given me more hope for our world . Not naive hope. Not the hope that ignores suffering. The hope that says: we've done this before. We've gathered across borders, spoken different languages, competed fiercely — and still shaken hands at the finish line.
The Games are more than a display of athletic aptitude; they symbolize a global celebration and hope for unity . Tonight, flags from Italy, Croatia, Romania, Spain, Canada, France, and Egypt wave together in the same stadium. Tomorrow, athletes who trained in isolation will stand on the same ice, the same snow, the same starting line.
Never give up.
That's my philosophy. It's also the Olympic philosophy, whether they call it that or not.
Looking Forward
From my wheelchair in Emilia-Romagna, I watch the ceremonies unfold. The Basilica dei Santi Filippo e Giacomo in Cortina isn't the Eiffel Tower, but it serves as a beautiful backdrop. The DJ plays "Brimful of Asha" and "Pump Up the Jam" — songs from decades past, connecting generations.
Science teaches us that the universe is vast and indifferent. But sport teaches us something else: that humans, small and fragile as we are, can choose to be kind. Can choose to compete without hatred. Can choose peace.
The flame burns tonight in Italy. Let it burn in all of us.
Gerd Dani is the President of FreeAstroScience, a science and cultural group dedicated to making knowledge accessible to everyone. He writes from Tirana, Albania, and believes — stubbornly, persistently — in the power of hope.
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