Organizers apologize for Brazilian supplier's mistake, seek new banners
Botched Chinese national flags were still in use at Monday's award ceremonies at the Rio Olympic Games, as the organizing committee said the flags' Brazilian supplier would make new ones following complaints by Chinese authorities and Net users. [Special coverage]
Spokesperson for the Rio Olympic Committee Mário Andrada told China Central Television (CCTV) on Monday morning that the committee is investigating whether the flawed Chinese national flag is a "production error" and will speak with the supplier to see whether it "did something different from what was approved by the Chinese."
But Chinese viewers noted that another incorrect flag was raised during the weightlifting medal ceremony on Monday, when Long Qingquan claimed China's third gold medal in Rio, according to a report by People's Daily.
Some Chinese Net users first pointed out that botched Chinese flags were being raised at Olympic award ceremonies over the weekend: The four smaller stars on the flags were parallel to each other, instead of being rotated to point toward the center of the larger star.
Rio Games organizers "deeply apologized" for raising the "flawed" flags after the Chinese consulate-general in Rio complained, the consulate said in a post on its official Sina Weibo account on Monday.
A representative of the Chinese Olympic delegation said Sunday that the Chinese team had also contacted organizers to voice dissatisfaction with the Chinese national flags used in the award ceremonies.
"The mistake could have been avoided if the Rio committee had learned about the standard flag from the Chinese committee or embassy and made the flags strictly in accordance with the standard pattern," Zhao Dongming, who was in charge of medal ceremonies at the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008, told the Global Times on Monday.
"The organizing committee of the host country usually gets information about national flags and anthems from the International Olympic Committee and then confirms them with the respective national committees," Zhao explained.
The flag makers, government departments and Olympic officials that are responsible for preparing the national flags should be held accountable for the mistake, said Zhao.
In his interview with CCTV, Andrada noted that all the flawed flags were made in Brazil. He said the Rio committee was surprised to learn that the flags were incorrect because the flag pattern had been approved by the Chinese delegation and Chinese authorities in Brazil.
Andrada said the organizing committee is looking into getting different flags in time to meet Chinese athletes' needs in the following days.
Several media reports previously claimed that the flawed flags used in the Rio Games were made by Zhejiang-based Jinyu Home Textile Industrial Co. However, the head of the company, surnamed Jin, confirmed with the Global Times on Sunday that the company only makes souvenir products for Rio spectators.
