By Barry Speker OBE
Memories of the Paris Olympics 2024 will generally be positive, with the French capital providing a visually impressive setting. After coping with rain on the Seine the extravaganza progressed to a mighty, if over-long finale, unashamedly patriotic and criticised by some as over-religious and therefore not inclusive.
The Olympic ideal of ‘faster, higher, stronger’ was generally observed with some notable exceptions. One of course was the women’s boxing where gold and silver medals were won respectively by Moroccan Imane Khelif and Taiwanese Lin Yu-ting. Both had been disqualified from the 2023 World Boxing Championships after failing gender eligibility tests which revealed that they possessed the XY chromosomes typical of males. Neither appealed.
However for Paris, the International Olympic Committee allowed athletes to compete in the category ‘which best aligns with their self-determined gender identity’. Whether this will be allowed in Los Angeles in the face of protests by women’s rights campaigners as well as Elon Musk and JK Rowling remains to be seen.
Congratulations to Gateshead born Kieran Reilly on his magnificent silver medal in the BMX freestyle event – and if you think this struggles to fit in with the traditional Olympic ideal, how about skateboarding and breakdancing?
The forthcoming Last Night of the Proms may retain its traditional celebration of the music whilst allowing some unashamed British pride. It is to be hoped that attempts to hijack the event as an occasion for self-flagellation about colonial history and slavery will be avoided. Singing ‘Land of Hope and Glory’ amongst a sea of Union Jacks is part of our culture. There are always indications of the diversity of our nation on display amongst the audience and performers.
The organisers of the BBC event at the Royal Albert Hall have notified ticket holders for the September 18 Last Night concert that ‘some flags will not be allowed in the auditorium, including those from proscribed groups (and) flags related to protest, hatred or advertising’. Any such flags will be confiscated and destroyed.
Organisers are believed to be aiming at preventing Palestinian flags. The Premier League made similar changes about flags in the weeks after the attack on Israel by Hamas on October 7th last year.
As the new Government’s honeymoon period expires, Sir Keir has even cancelled his holidays. There is realisation that election promises and assurances are not so easy to fulfil in the cold light of the real world.
The decision to settle the train drivers’ pay claim without any concession on reform of working practices, while scrapping winter fuel payments for all but the poorest of pensioners, sends a clear message; namely that sacrifices will not be equally shared. It is clear that Labour will mollify its Union paymasters at the expense of ordinary taxpayers.
Next up RMT want similar settlement of its claims and there is the independent pay review recommendation that 6 million public sector workers receive rises of between 6% and 7%. All this following the junior doctors’ pay settlement with further demands to follow.
Before the election Rachel Reeves stressed her commitment to ensuring that everything would be costed. It is time for the Chancellor to find that money tree! However, with such a large majority and five years until the next election, Labour may calculate that such political ‘hits’ are manageable.
My recommendation for late summer reading is The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese which is an epic tale of three generations over 70 years across southern India. It is unputdownable and well worth getting through the 753 pages to the totally unpredictable conclusion.
barryspeker@hotmail.com