ONE month before the Olympic torch arrived in London, the biggest concern of organisers was whether Arsenal footballer Theo Walcott would be jeered by any Spurs and Chelsea fans as he carried the flame.
Then dozens of people died in Tibet as China brutally suppressed an uprising, and the torch's ceremonial world tour became a legitimate focus of pro-democracy campaigners.
Now, to the anger of China's communist leaders, the run-up to this summer's
Beijing Games has sparked a growing chorus of dissent over the country's human rights record.
This encompasses not just the situation within China and in Tibet but extends to Darfur, where the five-year civil war has left 200,000 dead and two million displaced from their homes. China is accused of failing to use its economic influence to force the Sudanese government to bow to United Nations peace-keeping efforts.
Actress Mia Farrow said China was staging the "genocide Olympics" and her campaigning led Oscar-winning film director Steven Spielberg to withdraw as Beijing 2008 artistic director.
But that was nothing compared to the headlines that have followed the Olympic torch around the world this week. In London, thousands braved the unseasonal snow to line the route. Torch-bearers such as TV presenter Konnie Huq were jostled, disturbances broke out in Whitehall and the flame had to be carried by bus on several occasions. Observers described grim scenes of protesters spitting at the flame, and there was a stand-off between Chinese students and pro-Tibet campaigners. Police made 37 arrests.
This was repeated in Paris, where the flame was extinguished three times. Then, in San Francisco, it disappeared from view and was re-routed down empty streets to avoid clashes. It was arriving in Buenos Aires last night, with police on stand-by.
Yesterday, UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon became the latest world leader to avoid the opening ceremony in August. He blamed "scheduling issues" with his diary.
French president Nicolas Sarkozy has said he may not attend. German chancellor Angela Merkel will not travel. US presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama called on President George Bush to skip the event.
The European Parliament urged European Union leaders to boycott the ceremony unless China opened talks with the Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama.
Downing Street confirmed that Gordon Brown, the Prime Minister, will not attend the opening ceremony – though officials stressed that he would be at the closing ceremony as planned, when the Olympic flag will pass to London in advance of the 2012 Games.
The International Olympic Committee, the self-appointed body of former athletes and diplomats that oversees the Games, watched events unfold from Beijing, where it was holding a seminar. There, IOC president Jacques Rogge admitted the protests had caused a "crisis" but said the Olympics had weathered bigger storms. His spokeswoman pleaded for the torch to be allowed to continue its 20-nation journey with "more cheers and smiles".
Back in Britain, debate was intensifying over what it meant for the Olympics image – and the staging of the London Games.
Mike Lee, who as communications director for London 2012 masterminded the campaign to win the Games, said the torch relay "looked like an ongoing PR disaster, but that can be changed".
It was China's image, rather than the reputation of the Olympics, that had been damaged, as a result of human rights concerns. "This shouldn't apply to the build-up to a London Olympics," he said.
Now chief executive of Vero Communications, which advised Glasgow on its successful bid for the 2014 Commonwealth Games, Mr Lee added: "I think the ferocity of the protests has taken people a little by surprise. But if you start a torch relay in London, Paris and San Francisco, given the issues that are connected to hosting the Games in Beijing, then it's clear that there are bound to be protests.
"We all know the saying that there is no such thing as bad publicity, but there actually is.
"As for London, looking back to the bid we submitted, what London has always said is that its commitment is to a UK-wide torch relay. For it to go international would be a matter of discussion with the IOC once the Olympic flag had passed to London.
"The first global torch relay wasn't until Athens in 2004. It would come as no surprise if it didn't happen in 2012 but, in my view, there's no need to make a decision now. It would make sense to wait until after the Beijing Games.
"If the purpose of awarding the Games to Beijing was about political and economic engagement with the international community, then they have got to be prepared for scrutiny."
Hugh Robertson, the Tory Olympics spokesman at Westminster, said there was a need to scale back the Olympics to a sporting festival rather than one with global political ambitions.
"I don't think there is any need at all to send the torch half-way around the world," he said.
"It's traditional, when we have an Olympic Games, for sports people to say that it is about sport, not politics. But as soon as the IOC took the decision to award the 2008 Games to Beijing, I think politics was built into the DNA of the Games."
Sir Robin Wales, the Scots-born mayor of the east London borough of Newham, where the Olympic stadium is being built, sits on the board of the London 2012 organising committee.
"It seems to me there is a very positive thing that has come out of this," he said. "People have had the chance to protest about Tibet and human rights. China will get a sense of things that are coming out from the rest of the world."
But he added: "It's quite right to protest but some of the demonstrations have been disgraceful. Assaulting the torch- bearers was wrong."
Anne Holmes, acting director of the Free Tibet Campaign, said the spread of the protests had been "enormously helpful".
She said: "This was a rare opportunity to capture the world's attention because people were somewhat belatedly looking at the question of whether a country with China's human rights record was an appropriate host for the Olympics."
Ms Holmes was among the protesters outside Downing Street on Sunday. She said more people were becoming aware of the situation in Tibet.
"On a day-to-day basis, their ability to protect their religion has been severely curtailed. The ability to speak their own language has become increasingly difficult as the Chinese government increases pan-Chinese migration. It's now the case if you don't read or write Chinese fluently, you have no hope of any gainful employment.
"Parents are put in this horrible position that if they send their children to the Tibetan primary school, they will be at a disadvantage when it comes to middle school, where you have to be educated in Chinese. It's Hobson's choice: It's China's way or the highway. Many choose the highway and send their children over the Himalayas."
She added: "The 2008 Olympics became politicised the moment the IOC awarded them to Beijing and said they would take a bet that human rights would improve as a result of China being awarded the Olympics: For the IOC now – when they have done nothing in the intervening years to force China to keep its promises – to say we shouldn't mix sport and politics is, frankly, rather disingenuous."
OLYMPIC TORCH
The flame is lit from the sun's rays at the original site of the Games at Olympia in Greece. The first torch relay was for the 1936 Berlin Games.
INTERNATIONAL OLYMPIC COMMITTEE
Its 115 members choose the host cities and protect the Games' image rights.
TIBET
A south-western neighbour of China in central Asia, it is the highest region on Earth. It proclaimed its independence from China in 1911, but was invaded by China in 1950, a year after the Chinese revolution.
GENOCIDE OLYMPICS
The term used by actress and activist Mia Farrow to describe the Beijing Games. Her criticism was sparked by China's refusal to place pressure on Sudan to stop the civil war and humanitarian catastrophe in Darfur.
Relay puts China before eyes of the world
DON FOSTER
LIBERAL DEMOCRAT OLYMPICS SPOKESMANTHE protests following the global Olympic torch relay have raised concerns that the Olympic Games in Beijing this summer will be dominated by protests against China's domestic and foreign policy rather than celebrating sporting excellence.
There are even those who have criticised human rights protesters for attempting to conflate politics with sport.
While I am a passionate believer in the intrinsic value of the Olympics, I also believe in the right to peaceful protest. In reality, it's not as easy to separate politics from sport as some would have us believe.
From the Berlin Olympics in 1936 to the Argentina World Cup in 1978, totalitarian regimes have often used international sporting events to validate themselves in the eyes of the world.
When China was named as the host of the 2008 Olympics it made commitments on human rights and media freedom. Unfortunately the government has now backtracked. I attended the torch relay protests in London to show China that the eyes of the world were upon them.
It is for this reason we called on the Prime Minister to boycott the Beijing opening ceremony. We cannot turn a blind eye to actions of the Chinese authorities for the sake of sporting expediency.
The Olympic torch has shone a light on events in China, and that in many ways is the real power of the Olympic movement.
'It is right peaceful protests take place'
LORD MOYNIHAN
CHAIRMAN, BRITISH OLYMPIC ASSOCIATION THIS week has been dominated by two events: the meeting between the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the 205 national committees in Beijing; and the Olympic torch relay.
In launching the relay in Wembley, I said that it marked the start of the road to Beijing for the 300 sportsmen and women who will be members of Team GB – a step towards the pinnacle of their sporting achievement.
However, I also recognise widespread concerns over China's human rights record. The Olympic flame is the most powerful sporting symbol in the world. It throws a light deep into the recesses of a host nation. It will do so again on Great Britain as we approach 2012. As a consequence it is a magnet for legitimate concerns and I believe it is right for peaceful protests to take place.
The Beijing bid committee pledged that hosting the 2008 Olympic Games would "help the development of human rights".
Jacques Rogge, the president of the IOC, has consistently spoken of the moral obligation on China to fulfil this pledge.
"Tibet is a great concern to the IOC," he said. "Violence for whatever reason is contrary to the Olympic values and spirit."
I left Beijing confident that, despite the attacks on the torch relay (the consequences of which must be considered for London), the Olympic movement remains united for successive generations of athletes and the future of the Olympic Games.
