The organisers of the Athens Olympics have vainly tried to remove the Greek edition of Playboy from the newspaper stands for offending the Games with a section on the Olympian traditions of sex, the magazine said on Friday.
”The court turned down Athoc’s [the Athens Olympic Committee’s] request for a restraining order against the circulation of the issue,” said Greek Playboy‘s legal counsellor, Stelios Michalopoulos.
”Athoc considered that by our text and pictures we had offended the symbols of the Olympic Games, the Games themselves as an institution and the organisers,” Michalopoulos said.
”Harder, deeper, longer,” was how the magazine paraphrased the Olympic motto ”faster, higher, stronger” in an Olympics special featuring photos of naked models throwing the discus, distance running or holding up Olympic symbols such as the five rings and the torch.
The request from the organisers was submitted, and immediately turned down, on Thursday — 20 days after the issue was on sale at the newspaper stands.
”It came as a complete surprise. Nobody had complained. I was called back from holidays over the affair,” Michalopoulos said.
”2004 seconds of pleasure” was the title of a four-page ”erotic tale of Olympic fantasy” featured in the special, and prompted an indignant protest from the organisers.
”’2004′ is a dominant part of our name and trademark and is inextricably linked with our company and the Olympic Games,” organisers said in their written request, reprinted in the daily Apoyevmatini.
”Win gold in the sexathlon,” the magazine urged readers, adding: ”Contrary to the Olympic Games, at sex one doesn’t wait every four years to prove one’s value, and it’s performance, not just participation, that counts.”
”According to the request submitted to court, Playboy‘s special represents a rude offence to the Games,” an Athoc source said.
”Some bureaucratic minds probably thought they absolutely had to do something about it,” Michalopoulos said.
About 40 000 copies of Greek Playboy‘s August edition were distributed throughout Greece. On Friday morning, one day after the court decision, the issue was sold out in central Athens.
”They [Athoc] did very good negative advertising for us… now we’re sure that even the last remaining copies of the August issue will be sold,” Michalopoulos said. — Sapa-AFP
Special Report: Olympics 2004