Last Friday's bizarre and highly entertaining opening ceremony set the tone for what will hopefully prove be one of the most memorable Olympic Games of modern times.

This quadrennial festival of sport and athleticism always attracts huge interest, but with these Olympics taking place just a short distance away, in London, the attention we are paying them seems higher than ever before.

The Olympics is not without its controversies, and many column inches have rightly been devoted to the malignant influence of drug use in certain sports.

The Olympic creed states that the most important thing "is not to win but to take part," yet in some hyper-competitive disciplines that message can be lost.

Nevertheless, the games continue to show us the incredible heights of athleticism and skill which people are capable of reaching. The compulsion to watch and to root for that competitor from your country (or, in their absence, your next-favourite country) remains as strong as ever.

It is why we will be shouting encouragement at the screen when, for example, Mullingar native John Joe Nevin steps into the boxing ring today in the hope of moving one step closer to the dream of a gold medal.

That is the real draw of the Olympic Games, and long may it continue.