Munich to be remembered at JCC Games opening

The widow of one of the Munich victims is to stage a memorial silence at the opening ceremony of an international sporting competition this weekend. Not the London Olympics, as was so publicly refused by the International Olympic Committee, but at the start of the 2012 JCC Maccabi Games.

This year's contest is taking place at the Jewish Community Centre in Rockland, in New York State. It is thanks to the efforts of that centre that the issue of whether the IOC would commemorate the deaths of 11 Israeli Olympians at the 1972 Games gained global publicity, as they teamed up with widow Ankie Spitzer to launch a petition calling for a minute's silence.

Although the IOC refused to bow to the call by more than 100,000 people, the organisers of the Maccabi Games have decided to stage their own tribute.

Mrs Spitzer will lead a minute of silence at Sunday's opening, with proceedings screened on the internet.