The Birds Nest National Stadium, which I helped to conceive, is designed to embody the Olympic spirit of fair competition. It tells people that freedom is possible but needs fairness, courage and strength. – Ai Weiwei
Through the inspiration of Vaclavs words, the courage of his dissidence and the integrity of his leadership, Czechoslovakia successfully transitioned from an authoritarian state to a free democracy at the heart of Europe. – Michael D. Higgins
Everything that is new or uncommon raises a pleasure in the imagination, because it fills the soul with an agreeable surprise, gratifies its curiosity, and gives it an idea of which it was not before possessed. – Joseph Addison
