Fury over massive Olympic sign plans for Edinburgh Castle
How the Olympic Rings might look on Edinburgh Castle
EDINBURGH Castle will become a giant advert for London 2012 – if a bid to mount the Olympic logo on its ramparts gets the go-ahead.
Games organisers have lodged plans to attach the Olympic insignia to the north face of the Castle as part of a vision to promote the event as “inclusive and UK-wide”.
But the proposals have come under fire from city politicians who questioned the wisdom of promoting a major sports event that would lure visitors to a rival city, while heritage watchdogs insist that Olympic chiefs would never have been allowed to deface Windsor Castle with the emblem and have suggested finding alternative locations such as the Forth Bridge or North Bridge.
A large aluminium-cast model of the five Olympic rings – as well as the Paralympic Agitos symbol – would be fixed to the castle walls and visible from Princes Street and the north of the city.
The planning permission covers a period of four months around the events.
The Olympic symbol has already been erected at St Pancras Station in London, with Tower Bridge also being considered as a site.
Edinburgh is the first city outside London to be invited to display the emblem though Belfast and Cardiff are also expected to be approached.
A spokesperson for London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games, chaired by Lord Sebastian Coe, said Edinburgh Castle had been identified as the “right place” to erect the Olympic emblem following talks with the Scottish Government, Historic Scotland and the council.
He added that the cost of fabrication and installation would be met by the Government Olympic Executive.
“We are committed to this being a UK-wide games,” he said. “The London 2012 festival takes place across the UK and its a really strong programme of cultural celebration alongside the games in Scotland. With that, the torch relay and football being hosted at Hampden Park it’s part of delivering on our promise to genuinely make this a UK-wide games.”
But Edinburgh Central MSP Marco Biagi poured cold water over the plans.
He said: “It’s galling to be asked to advertise an event that will draw tourists and visitors to a different city. I’m sure there will be a lot of strong objections from people in Edinburgh, and I certainly have substantial reservations about the idea.”
Director of the Cockburn Association, Marion Williams, said: “I can’t see them being allowed to put it up on Windsor Castle. They could have put it on the Forth Bridge or maybe North Bridge.”
Lothians MSP Margo MacDonald said: “Do you think London would put up a big sign saying the Commonwealth Games is being held in Glasgow? I don’t think so.”
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Comments
There are 117 comments to this article
Page 1 of 8
deliverus
Tuesday, November 22, 2011 at 07:25 PMI wonder what Lord Foulkes has to say about this?
grapesofratho
Friday, November 18, 2011 at 03:12 PMI suggest a compromise- why can't the giant rings be suspended in between the columns of the national monument on Calton Hill? The rings would be visible from all over the city, including Ratho and maybe even as far afield as Fife. It may even be possible to organise charity events whereby folk could kick footballs through the "continents" for good causes
charlie b
Thursday, November 17, 2011 at 07:19 PMThe Olympics decrees that THERE WILL BE NO ESCAPE. Inclusivity is just a way of saying that there will be nowhere you can go and nothing you can do to escape the Olympic marketing machine. And there is no such thing as "too tacky". . And by the way we are getting NO 'benefits' from the Olympics down here in London, everything you're told about it is a lie.
Zuerich
Thursday, November 17, 2011 at 06:15 AMHave you seen how the BBC are reporting this on their website? One comment that's *for* this vandalism. More bias reporting from them that you mugs are all paying for...
Mr Flubbleghast
Thursday, November 17, 2011 at 12:41 AMThis is a monumentaly stupid proposal, I shudder at the thought of such an erection splattered over Edinburgh Castle.
It's All Clear If You Look At It Right
Wednesday, November 16, 2011 at 11:17 PMThere is no proposal to attach Olympic rings to Edinburgh Castle. If there were, it would have been cleared with me before it was announced, WHICH IT WAS NOT.
North Enclosure ER
Wednesday, November 16, 2011 at 10:52 PMIt is London's Games nothing to do with the rest of us. I live in Berkshire and we will see no benefit either. As for the graffiti on the castle (Olympic Rings) say NO Edinburgh - they would not put them on Windsor Castle don't let them put them on Edinburgh's famous building. Not on any landmark in Scotland - Forth Rail Bridge ? No way !
noodle doodle
Wednesday, November 16, 2011 at 10:50 PMIt is indeed daft to advertise an event that would draw people AWAY from edinburgh. Would you get hearts advertise "go and see hibs" on the back of their stands? I'd be suprised even if Glasgow 2014 was marketed in Edinburgh. Ps ~108 I know you try and shoehorn a bit of anti-english bile into all your posts, but this is nothing to do with the english. The olympics are hosted by a city, not a country.
Brit-free
Wednesday, November 16, 2011 at 10:37 PMThe people who have proposed this simply do not understand the way people in Scotland view our castle.........................................no sh** Sherlock ! English people failing to understand the sensitivities of their last Colony .....and this is news to you , is it ?
Brit-free
Wednesday, November 16, 2011 at 10:30 PMOlympics ....thats the one where Scotland doesnt compete , isnt it ? i never watch a single minute of it that isnt shoved down my throat by English based media outlets ...i used to call it team Grubby Bolleux ...but now i dont really care what the brit-state gets up to ....i dislike it worse than dirt ...cant wait for the chance to consign it to the dustbin of history
0131ijjy
Wednesday, November 16, 2011 at 09:49 PMAlong with thousands, if not millions, of UK citizens who applied for Olympic tickets, we were all disappointed to hear that virtually all the tickets going on sale were going to those resident in the London area. Accordingly, it is the London Olympics and not the UK Olympics so I have to agree Seb Coe and his Committee can go take ' a running jump' if they want to de-face our Castle ! I do hope our Council take note of all the complaints and do not 'stupidly' agree to this request.
jerrygreg
Wednesday, November 16, 2011 at 09:28 PMNo political message, no anti-English sentiment. They just shouldn't do this to our castle, it's tacky and offensive.
tanaquil
Wednesday, November 16, 2011 at 09:14 PMThe people who have proposed this simply do not understand the way people in Scotland view our castle. The equivalent building in London would be the Tower of London. Are the organisers of the Olympics going to stick giant rings on that? No, I thought not. Edinburgh Castle is not an advertising hoarding either.
all politicians are the s*me
Wednesday, November 16, 2011 at 09:11 PMNo apologies for reposting this. Will the chip on both shoulders brigade have a look at themself. No we should not put this symbol up there as it is tacky. I do not think the Castle is the correct place to display this, although the grass below the ramparts with a tasteful flower olympic ring display may look good. I am however saddened at the little "Scottisher" attitude of many posters. The Olympics have been awarded to the only city in the UK big enough to cope with them. It is not as if London was in competition with other Uk cities. We are not the US where NY, LA, Chicago etc could all host games. If we wanted a GB games then it was always going to be London. The vast majority of Scots wil be right behind team GB (especially the youngsters) and shout on there heroes and heroines be they Jessica Ennis from Sheffield or Sir Chris Hoy from Edinburgh. Frankly the anti Olympic attitude of sme Scots does our country no favours.
Templar75
Wednesday, November 16, 2011 at 09:01 PMIt would be better hanging Sebastian Coe from the Ramparts, this is the cheek of the English government not a penny would come to Scotland. Edinburgh Castle is one of our most prized monuments, tourists would not want to see the sign hanging over the walls and neither do I. As said in some of the blogs hang it somewhere else in England, the money earned from the Olympics is going in to the London Pot to regenerate it. If our Councillors and SMP's pass it I will never vote again in my life, I have a feeling that Scotland is being tested by being asked to do this.
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