Cheesy Tunes

Listening to the music that accompanied the athletes' entrance in the opening ceremony, it was obvious that the wry Australian sense of humor was working well. The entry of the smiling French was heralded by a selection from "Les Miserables"; the Swedish team got "The Winner Takes It All" from the ABBA-loving hosts, while the huge Aussie contingent marched along to half a dozen numbers including the classic "Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport."

At the all the venues there is a great selection of appropriately, or maybe inappropriately, chosen themes. Waiting for the start of competitions, audiences hear Robbie Williams inviting "Let Me Entertain You" or Jennifer Lopez's "Waiting for Tonight." As the elfin, prepubescent girl gymnasts march out, Shania Twain raunchily sings "Man, I feel like a woman." At softball and volleyball the loudspeakers welcome teams from the other side of the world with "We've come a long, long way together/Through the hard times and the good", from Fatboy Slim's "Praise You."

After men's track cycling medals are decided at the velodrome, the choice seems to fall between Thin Lizzy's "The Boys Are Back in Town" or the Box Tops' "Cry Like a Baby." As the swimmers climb out of the pool after a flat-out 200 meters, Tommy Roe singing "Dizzy, my head is spinning" booms around the hall. And especially for the crowds coming out of events, meandering down the Olympic Boulevard looking for the quickest route to the buses, the tune of choice is the old Diana Ross hit "Do You Know Where You're Going To?"