More Olympic Flame WTF

[illmonkey]

I heard on some news channel that 1/3 of the people holding the torch would be Americans.

Isn't the point the best from GB carry it, not some fking yanks?

[Hooli]

illmonkey said:

I heard on some news channel that 1/3 of the people holding the torch would be Americans.

Isn't the point the best from GB carry it, not some fking yanks?

Maybe they think the best of GB left on the Mayflower?

[Hackney]

Eric Mc said:

Tat always annoys me. If I were from Northern Ireland I'd not be happy.

The official team name is Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Not according to the website

http://www.teamgb.com/

[Randy Winkman]

Hackney said:

Eric Mc said:

Tat always annoys me. If I were from Northern Ireland I'd not be happy.

The official team name is Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Not according to the website

http://www.teamgb.com/

That's just branding. Nice comment from David Mitchell at the end of this.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Team_GB

[Eric Mc]

Spot on Mr Mitchell.

It's a travesty that the team that represents the UK doesn't contain "UK" in its title. "Great Britain" does NOT include Northern Ireland and never did, so the team name is not-representative of those who are eligible to represent the UK in the olympics.

[Randy Winkman]

The quote near the end about why they cant be Team UK confuses me. Any ideas?

[Eric Mc]

Not clear to me either.

Does the IOC not recognise the UK as a legitimate country?

[Randy Winkman]

Eric Mc said:

Not clear to me either.

Does the IOC not recognise the UK as a legitimate country?

It's strange - in European Union terms, we are the "UK". I thought that was the name of our nation.

Edited to add - when you go to the IOC website, we are "Great Britain".

http://www.olympic.org/great-britain

I suppose the British Olympic Committee will claim it's absolutely impossible for that to be changed.

Edited by Randy Winkman on Sunday 10th June 22:01

[Eric Mc]

I think "Ireland" is the problem.

Back at the dawn of the olympic movement in 1896, although Ireland was part of the UK (and I mean the whole of Ireland), the IOC accepted a national entry from Great Britain and a separate national entry from Ireland.

After 1921, the "Irish" entry was just in respect of "Eire" or "The Irish Free State" (later the Republic of Ireland). That left Northern Ireland (still part of the UK) out on a limb somewhat so the "new" British entry became "Great Britain AND Northern Ireland". - effectively the UK. Why the modern IOC seem uinable to accept a bona fide "UK" entry is beyond me.