HALF a million people dressed in the Olympic colours gathered in Madrid on Sunday carrying balloons and displaying banners, stickers and T-shirts. Chanting, “we deserve it,” the massive crowds in the Plaza de Cibeles clamoured for their city to host the 2016 games. Tourists, entire families, and fans of singer David Bisbal who had travelled to the capital for his concert were present. They created a human mosaic in the shape of the Olympic hand, which was joined by Bisbal himself at the centre. He then sang live at 20.30hrs, more than nine hours after the first Olympic campaigners had started to gather on the roundabout around the fountain and statue of the Greek goddess. The meeting was organised by 900 people, mostly over the internet. A helicopter flew over the Plaza and took photos of the massive mosaic. Now, people from Madrid – and, in fact, from all over Spain – are waiting with bated breath for the decision to be made by the Olympic committee in four days’ time.
