(ATR) A British member of the European Parliament says the highest reaches of British government helped sabotage the Madrid 2020 Olympic bid.
Graham Watson told the Gibraltar Broadcasting Corporation the British government was incensed over Spain’s border policies with Gibraltar. Gibraltar is on the Iberian Peninsula, but a British overseas territory, and remains a thorny diplomatic issue for both Britain and Spain.
Watson said, "I am told that PM Cameron actually said to the Spanish Prime Minister, 'If you carry on with these border queues, we will make sure you don’t get the Olympic Games.' And that, I believe, is what happened."
Madrid lost in the first round of the 2020 voting, finishing behind Istanbul and bid winner Tokyo.
A spokesperson for the British government was later quoted saying: "Sir Graham Watson was speaking as an MEP, not as a member of Her Majesty’s Government.
"As has always been the practice, the UK government did not favor any of the three finalists over others, and there was absolutely no UK attempt to influence any of the bids."
Written by Ed Hula III
20 Years at #1: Your best source of news about the Olympics is AroundTheRings.com, for subscribers only.
Últimas Noticias
Utah’s Olympic venues an integral part of the equation as Salt Lake City seeks a Winter Games encore
Utah Olympic Legacy Foundation chief of sport development Luke Bodensteiner says there is a “real urgency to make this happen in 2030”. He discusses the mission of the non-profit organization, the legacy from the 2002 Winter Games and future ambitions.
IOC president tells Olympic Movement “we will again have safe and secure Olympic Games” in Beijing
Thomas Bach, in an open letter on Friday, also thanked stakeholders for their “unprecedented” efforts to make Tokyo 2020 a success despite the pandemic.
Boxing’s place in the Olympics remains in peril as IOC still unhappy with the state of AIBA’s reform efforts
The IOC says issues concerning governance, finance, and refereeing and judging must be sorted out to its satisfaction. AIBA says it’s confident that will happen and the federation will be reinstated.
IOC president details Olympic community efforts to get Afghans out of danger after Taliban return to power
Thomas Bach says the Afghanistan NOC remains under IOC recognition, noting that the current leadership was democratically elected in 2019. But he says the IOC will be monitoring what happens in the future. The story had been revealed on August 31 in an article by Miguel Hernandez in Around the Rings
North Korea suspended by IOC for failing to participate in Tokyo though its athletes could still take part in Beijing 2022
Playbooks for Beijing 2022 will ”most likely” be released in October, according to IOC President Thomas Bach.
