to think the Olympics have no right to ban the words "summer" and "London"?!!

[motherofallhangovers]

"Olympics organisers have warned businesses that during London 2012 their advertising should not include a list of banned words, including "gold", "silver" and "bronze", "summer", "sponsors" and "London"." source.

And they're actually going to police this!

"Almost 300 enforcement officers will be seen across the country checking firms to ensure they are not ... illegally associating themselves with the Games"

WTF?! I feel like I've just wandered onto the set of the satire "Twenty-twelve", it's so farcical.

But no, this is real!

Summer postdoctoral opportunity evaluating the properties of elements and metals such as gold, silver and bronze, sponsors the European Research Council, but based in London.

Its complete bollocks. The government want us all to support the (dare i say it) olympics yet when we try & show our support we are told that we cant coz we will be fined for it.

Yes Dita, for mail delivery services only. See also Cadbury purple, and Orange orange. Very strong brands.

Olympics = pile of wank. Shame for the athletes, like, but it is all wanky.

did you hear about the blardy fiasco with the woolsack [not allowed to add 2012] project? there was a lovely plan for british knitters to make cushions out of british wool to give to athletes travelling here for the games that shall not be names, but have variously been told that such cushions are not to be offered or given to any athletes cos of all the copyright guffins. it's all on their website. the sports event authority that cannot be named even seem to have been able to get an item covering this pulled from the today programme. which is your actual censorship and had me hopping round the kitchen with fury.

EightiesOlympiGolds Just for you...

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-479317/Daley-Thompson-banned-promoting-Little-Chefs-Olympic-Breakfast.html

Surely every taxpayer in the country could be said to be sponsoring the Olympics, though?

I think I shall get a T-shirt made up specially. It will have have a picture of the Purple People-Eater on it and the slogan:

Not a sponsor of London Olympics 2012 - just paying for it!

Or have one of these...

Ruthless that makes more sense - their small print wasn't quite so expansive, made me fear for my handbag

Frasersmummy
I think I'd have forwarded the letter to the DM, if I had been the brownie leader. With a pic of sad faced brownies

ItsAllGoingToBeFine Thanks for that! Bonkers.

"Advertisers risk prosecution and being sued if they use words such as 'summer', 'games' and '2012'.
However, a loophole means Little Chef can use the Olympic Breakfast brand as it was in use before the first Act came into effect. But using an Olympian for advertising it is banned."

Ex-Olympic athletes must be a bit miffed themselves that they can't make money out of their achievements because it's contractually and morally right that, er, McDonalds make money out of it instead.

I may have to try and order an Olympic breakfast during the next few weeks to show my support for those cheeky people who dared to use the term before London got awarded the Olympics!

Love the Spartacus idea!!!

How ridiculous. I thought the games were supposed to be all about bringing the people and the country together. Aparently it's all about corporate sponsorship and making money for big companies, all the while expecting taxpayer funding. Seems reasonable...

Pandemoniaa Wed 18-Jul-12 18:00:32
So how does it work? If the little old lady refused to take her knitted bear off sale would the purple people have had her arrested?

I think it must depend on how things are brought to their attention. Or not. Because over 20 of us wore the (almost certainly slightly iffy) items that I produced yesterday, for yesterday. So far the Olympic Police have not knocked on any doors.

Well if they do I'll back you up.

No, I'M Pandemoniaa

@ hugandroll

dundee thanks for Woolsack link. So even accredited Cultural Olympiad organisations are told not to step on the sponsors' toes? Absurd.

Do we know the monetary value of the sponsorship? Because with this level of arselicking protection it needs to be nine figures at least per brand!

Do jump on the "get sponsors to pay tax" bandwagon. Two have already given in.

Don't panic, they've probably hired G4S to police it anyway.

Oh I see now, there are a few olympic related businesses that have popped up in the area surrounding the actual arenas... and i noticed a cafe which was called Olympic Cafe has now removed the "O"... now it's the Lympic Cafe.

The Act was passed with the assent of both Houses of Parliament. It is a condition of getting the Games (as were the Olympic travel lanes). Its been known about since before we even bid for the Games, so I really don't see what the problem is with it.

Although I don't know the exact economics of the Olympics, given that pre-corporate sponsorship, we an Olympics that nearly bankrupted a developed nation (Montreal 1976) and one held by a communist state that was bankrupt in more ways than one (Moscow 1980) I should imagine that without corporate sponsorship the Games would either be the preserve of the super-rich states... which would leave probably China and Saudi Arabia alone who could afford to host them. Or we slim the Olympics down to just a few sports... what to drop? Athletics has its own World Championship, so that could go. Ditto Equestrian events, swimming, cycling, rowing. Greco-roman wrestling?

I hope everyone who is protesting about these Games is going to hold fast and true and not watch a single event :)

Oh yes WhatWillSantaBring. I won't be watching a single event. I can't think of anything more boring

I normally only watch the opening ceremony. I'll be giving that a miss this time round as well

Ah!

Now I know why Gap and Next have all brought out their Winter 2012 lines!
Summer 2012 has been banned, and THAT IS WHY THERE IS NO SUMMER!

Blardy Cameron & Co are responsible for this too!

The Act was passed in 2006, after the UK won the Games. Anyway, people are mostly unhappy about the enforcement of the Act, the lack of proportionality, as Liberty describes it.

The whole thing makes my blood boil! I live in London and there are no reduced price tickets for Londoners or fee entry to the Olympic park when we have to endure road closures/special lanes for poor icky fat cat olympic 'family' members to drive down because they are so rare and precious like kittens that the very thought of them having to wait in a minor traffic queue is too much to bare....

Does anyone remember The Sun newspaper flying a burger dangling from a miniature helicopter in front of the glass box that David Blaine had 'incarcerated' himself in? The comedian Marcus Brigstock says that that gesture made him the proudest he has ever been to be British!

What we need is the equivilant stunt at the Olympics to show the world why Britain is great - bring on the subvertive t-shirts and standing in the 'zil' lanes giving Olympic officials two fingers as they drive past while making a farting noise.

@ quenelle

You see I do understand the issues about "passing off". I work in an area where you have to be very alert to copyright theft. But equally, many of the restrictions that relate to the Swimmy Runny Jumpy Throwy Lifty Thing are aimed in entirely the wrong direction because I doubt they'll stop expert profiteers in the dark art of Passing Off.

Instead, the not for profit sector of the community is seeing the heavy hand of the legislation when all that's ever been intended is a cheerful celebration of the Olympics coming to London. Especially since we're all supposed to welcome it and are certainly going to be footing most of the bill.

Are visitors to the UK really going to confuse (to take a local example) a day of pub games that include those well known Olympic sports like three-legged races and pickled egg and spoon relays in a quiet street in a town 50 miles from the main event? Or a group of Brownies enjoying a sports day, for that matter.

WhatWillSantaBring, you really don't see what the problem is with primary schools and Brownie packs being sent cease-and-desist letters and told that they can't use the word "Olympic" in their own sporting activities? Really really?