Campaigner delivers inspiring message of hope to Luxembourg

“I'm not an adventurer or an athlete. I'm about the most regular guy you'll find.”

This is how Lord Michael Bates introduced himself at the British Embassy residence in Luxembourg.

The British politician stopped over in Luxembourg on Tuesday to talk with sports minister Romain Schneider and representatives of the Luxembourg National Olympic Committee about initiatives for implementing the Olympic Truce, a message he is delivering on foot, as he hikes more than 3,000 miles from Greece to the UK.

He added: “Many people back at the Houses of Parliament were taking bets as to how far I would get because I'm known to have a good appetite for pizza and red wine and they all thought I would get as far as Athens and give up.”

Lord Bates has surprised his cynics, however. Since setting out from Olympia, Greece, on Good Friday this year he has walked 2,100 miles, meeting dignitaries and country leaders on the way in a bid to encourage countries to take concrete steps towards implementing the Olympic Truce.

Peaceful roots of the Games

The Truce itself was the founding principle of the ancient Olympic Games. Tired with ongoing civil war in ancient Greece, kings from the states of Elis, Pisa and Sparta asked the Delphi how to end the bloodshed. They were told to find a way for those fighting to show their strength in a peaceful manner. The result was the Olympic Games, a sporting event held every four years during which all war would be suspended. Today, the spirit of the Truce has not been completely forgotten and 193 UN member states have signed a Resolution to encourage peace each time the Olympic Games are held. However, as Lord Bates points out, no concrete steps have ever been taken to implement its principles, until now.

Positive steps

During the last eight months, Lord Bates has seen some positive steps emerge from his epic walk. In Luxembourg he found an open ear with sports minister Romain Schneider, who presented the politician with a replica Gold medal of the one won in 1952 by Josy Barthel, Luxembourg's only Olympic Gold medallist.

At the same time a number of suggestions have been mooted by other countries. “There have been some initiatives, for example in Albania I met the Prime Minister who pointed out that Nato built schools in Afghanistan for females so that girls could get an education. We discussed if it was difficult for girls to get an education in that culture, it was impossible for them to compete in sport. What he wanted to do was to build female only sports facilities. It's not a huge thing but it's an example,” explained the politician, adding: “And, while the walk might not attract a great deal of publicity, when you look at what it's achieving, I'm satisfied it's worth the effort.”

Optimism is key

To say that the Walk for Truce has been an “effort” is putting it lightly. The 50-year-old has already worn out one pair of hiking shoes, suffered countless blisters and ended up with a broken arm and dislocated shoulder when he fell down a ravine in Simplon, Switzerland, last October.

“Because it had been snowing I lost the footpath so I tried to slide down in the ravine to get to the bottom,” he said. “I slid and didn't think it was too bad until my food hit a tree trunk then my ruck sack lifted me up and I fell onto the rocks with my face down in water. I was in the middle of nowhere, but I'm an eternal optimist. As I was walking out of the gorge I thought there would be a little farm house waiting to give me a cup of tea. You need to be an optimist to do a walk like this.”

A powerful message

With just two months to go until he is due back in the UK, Lord Bates is mapping his final route home. With no thought for how the winter climate may treat him, he plans to make a trip to Paris before heading for Belgium and eventually, he hopes, walking the Channel Tunnel on foot.

He will return a fitter and better-travelled individual but he will also return knowing he has made something good happen. He explained that he spent a year trying to advance the issue of the Olympic Truce in Parliament with no success. It was not until he reached Tirana, Albania, 700 miles from the start, that British Prime Minister David Cameron spoke out in support of the cause.

When asked if there was one key lesson he learned from his mission, he did not hesitate. “We're not powerless,” he said, “We can do things if we believe in them.”