Brown gets a laugh at the expense of 2012 Olympics logo

by KIRSTY WALKER

Last updated at 18:41 10 June 2007


Gordon Brown

Gordon Brown has become the latest senior politician to express his doubts about the controversial 2012 Olympic logo.



The Prime Minister-in-waiting openly mocked the £400,000 pink and orange design at a reception for sports journalists in Number 11 Downing Street.

Mr Brown joked that the reason his guests were standing on a wooden floor rather than a carpet was because "all the money has gone on the Olympic logo".

The Chancellor's comments are a further blow to Olympic chiefs who have been inundated with calls to scrap the design, which has been likened to a "broken swastika" or "toileting monkey".

Mr Brown is understood to share the reservations expressed by many about the design.

Olympic chiefs were forced to pull animated footage of the flashing logo after it was revealed that at least 22 people had suffered seizures while watching it.

An online petition calling for it to be axed gathered nearly 50,000 signatures in just two days before its organisers conceded that the logo was "here to stay".

Tory MP Philip Davies and Labour MP Stephen Pound have also tabled separate Commons' motions demanding that it be dropped in favour of a more popular image.

Mr Davies' Early Day Motion, which has been backed by five MPs, describes the logo as a "childish, ridiculous and pathetic attempt to appear trendy" and says it has been "a spectacular waste of money".

Scroll down for more ...

2012 Olympics logo

Mr Pound's motion calls on the Government to put pressure on the Olympic Delivery Authority to reconsider its choice.

It has emerged that the organisers of the Olympics hired the firm that designed the image without seeing any of its designs.

The selection committee, chaired by Seb Coe, made its decision after a 13-week selection process without asking to see the proposed designs.

Despite the hostile reaction to the logo, the organisers have pledged to press ahead with a huge merchandising campaign. One of the first ranges of products to hit the shelves will be curtains, wallpaper, duvets and kitchen equipment.

Wolff Olins is understood to be delighted at the high levels of "brand recognition" caused by the negative publicity over the design.

The chunky blocks forming the date 2012 will now be used a "blank canvas" which over the next five years will be "infilled" with different images, photographs and sponsorship messages.

Industry insiders expressed their surprise that contenders were not asked to submit ideas before the valuable Olympics contract was awarded.

Paul Owen, creative director of Heavenly brand agency, said: "It surprises me that on a brief this big the contenders were not asked to render their ideas before the contract was awarded.

"The way the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games (LOCOG) have run the competition is not standard practice."

Don Foster, Liberal Democrat MP for the Olympics, said: "It is very odd that Locog seems to have expected so little of the contenders.

"When you are spending around half a million pounds you would expect to have more than reputation to go on when making your decision."

Most watched News videos