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Iran to threatens to boycott over 2012 Olympic logo

By Andrew MacLeod Brydges
February 28, 2011 - 6:13 pm
Iranian National Olympic Committee threatens to boycott 2012 Olympic Games in London because logo resembles word 'Zion.'

The Secretary General of the Iranian National Olympic Committee, Bahram Afsharzadeh, has submitted a letter to International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge threatening to boycott the 2012 Olympic Games in London because the logo looks like the word "Zion," according to ESPN.

The word Zion is used to refer to the city of Jerusalem in the Bible, and Afsharzadeh is urging other Muslim countries to follow Iran's lead by also protesting the "racist logo."

Iran has had recent problems with Israel in the past, as Iranian President has called for the end of the Isreali regime as well as questioning historical accounts of the Holocaust. Iranian athletes have also refused to compete against Israelis.

The IOC, along with the London 2012 committee, has refused the request of the Iranians, saying that the logo says 2012 and nothing else.

Organizers are surprised that the complaint is coming now, especially after the logo was initially released in 2007.

Photo by Nigel Chadwick

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