The spectators would have to realize that only the athletes were taken into consideration
in the organization and presentation of the competitions, no special attention being paid to the convenience of the visitors. They were asked, for example, to sit through pauses and competitions of long duration, which they did-most of them gladly. The fact was not forgotten, however, that the spectators are an extremely important factor in the Olympic festivities since they lend atmosphere and character to the Games. We were confronted with the problem of arranging the sporting competitions in such a manner that the spectators would detect in them the same festive spirit which was apparent in the other presentations.
Another vital question which was also decided during this meeting was that of the Olympic programme, this being governed by Articles 5 and 6 of the Olympic Statutes. The programme is without doubt extraordinarily extensive and many voices have been raised advocating a reduction in the number of competitions and presentations.
The organizers naturally always harbour the wish to extend the Games and to grant every authorized sport the opportunity of being represented. For this reason our first plan included sports such as football and tennis, although they had not been definitely decided upon. Tennis was later eliminated because the International Tennis Association could not agree regarding an Olympic tournament and the acceptance of the Olympic amateur regulations. Polo and basketball as well as canoeing were also absent from the original programme, the latter because it had not been recognized as an Olympic sport. There was no difficulty, however, in including these at a later date or in making several other changes which proved to be necessary. The handball and football tournaments were thus reduced by several days, the rowing competitions were confined to four instead of seven, gymnastics were crowded into three instead of four, and riding reduced from six to five days. Experience revealed, however, that in this latter case our original plan was more feasible. It was possible to hold the handball matches in six days and the football tournament in ten, the yachting regatta was completed in seven instead of twelve days as originally planned, and the modern pentathlon was advanced two days.
Date of the Games : August 1st — 16th
An extremely important decision was that relating to the commencement date, which the organizers were entitled to determine. Following a careful study of weather charts and investigation of other circumstances, we chose the period between August 1st and 16th for the presentation of the Eleventh Olympic Games. We were thus prepared to submit a printed memorandum dealing with the general programme, centres of competition and information on the accommodations for the athletes to the International Olympic Comittee at its convention in Vienna between June 7th and 10th, 1933, this meeting with its complete approval,
On the occasion of his conference with the German Chancellor, Dr. Lewald also had an opportunity of speaking with the Reich Minister for Propaganda, Dr. Goebbels, concerning the extent of the project and requested the support of the Propaganda Ministry. In a second conference on March 28th, Dr. Lewald and Dr. Diem submitted the publicity and transportation plans to Minister Goebbels and obtained his consent to form a special commission for dealing with this side of the organization.