A number of controversies and concerns associated with the 2012 Summer Olympics in London became the subject of public debate and media commentary.
Prior to the games IOC policy Brand protection Protection of the Olympic brand has been the subject of some criticism. The Olympic rings themselves are protected in the United Kingdom under the Olympic Symbol etc. (Protection) Act 1995, and under provisions set out by the London Olympic Games and Paralympic Games Act 2006, the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) are empowered to prevent the misuse of Olympic branding leading up to the 2012 Games. The acts aim to prevent unauthorised commercial association with the games by traders (such as using the Olympic rings in a shop window) and to prevent attempts at ambush marketing at games events, but the constraints detailed in the guidelines issued by LOCOG have been criticised by some commentators as a form of censorship.
The guidelines specify a range of trademarked logos and designs as well as certain "Listed Expressions" and protected words that advertisers may not use, which include the words "London" and "2012". Even if an advertiser does not mention the Olympics or use any of the listed words, any visual or audio representation of London and sports may be considered by a court to be an infringement of LOCOG's rights and subject to a fine of £20,000 or possible imprisonment. A number of individuals and businesses fell foul of the restrictions including a lingerie shop in Leicester, and a Plymouth café selling Olympic torch baguettes. An exception to these rules was successfully negotiated by the restaurant chain Little Chef, who have been permitted by LOCOG to continue to sell their fried "Olympic Breakfast" because the item has carried that name on their menu since 1994.
In an interview with BBC journalist Evan Davis, Lord Coe emphasised the need to protect the rights of official sponsors such as BMW and Adidas who had contributed large sums of money to the Games. His suggestion that visitors to the London games would not be admitted if they were wearing a Pepsi-branded T-shirt was later retracted by LOCOG, who stated that such rules would apply only to large groups of spectators wearing "visibly branded" clothing.
Criticism has also focused on the exclusive rights held by some sponsors to serve and advertise food at and near to Olympic venues; McDonald's held sole rights to sell chips throughout the games, preventing independent food outlets from serving chips with any meal, although an exception was negotiated with McDonald's to allow the sale of traditional British fish and chips. Food sellers also had to comply with food outlet specifications which require prominent display of Coca-Cola branding with limited space for their own products.
Eligibility of athletes suspended for doping The IOC amended the Olympic Charter in June 2008 in order to bar athletes suspended for at least six months for a doping offence from competing at the Olympic Games following the end of the suspension. This provision, known as the Osaka Rule or Rule 45, was challenged before the Court of Arbitration for Sport. In October 2011 the court found that the provision was not an eligibility rule, but a sanction not mandated by the World Anti-Doping Code and thus invalid. Several athletes were allowed to compete at the 2012 Summer Olympics as a result of the ruling, including defending Olympic champion LaShawn Merritt (who was suspended in 2010 for a year for taking over-the-counter male enhancement product, ExtenZe, which contains the banned steroid dehydroepiandrosterone) and Jessica Hardy, a 2012 Olympic gold medalist who also maintained her innocence, claiming the positive test had been caused by tainted supplements. In April 2012, the decision was reaffirmed, when the court found a similar rule for the British team invalid.
Women participants and the hijab After an initial dispute, the IOC and associated sports organizations allowed women to participate in the games as athletes or officials while wearing hijabs. According to the Associated Press, religious clerics and religious activists in some countries wanted more modest uniforms.
According to Sports Illustrated, critics charged that allowing the headgear violated IOC Rule 50 which prohibits religious displays in Olympic venues and that countries which required the headgear for their female representatives were practicing gender apartheid and claimed that this should require the same stand that the IOC took against South African apartheid by banning that country from the Olympics for 21 years. A group called London 2012: Justice for Women protested the IOC's allowance of the hijab by placing a copy of the Olympic charter into a coffin and then throwing it off Westminster Bridge, while a band played funeral music.
Sponsors Healthy eating There was criticism that companies that produce junk food or otherwise unhealthy foods and drinks were major sponsors of the Olympics, notably McDonald's, Coca-Cola, Cadbury and Heineken, which seemingly conflicts with the Olympian ideal of health and wellness. Critics included the Chief Medical Officer of Wales, Tony Jewell, and the head of sports science of the GB Team. The London Assembly passed a motion calling for a ban on junk food sponsors.
The sponsors were defended on the grounds that they provided a significant income for the event. Jacques Rogge, President of the IOC, acknowledged concerns but noted the importance of sponsorship money and said that the issue of obesity had been raised with such sponsors. McDonald's and Coca-Cola also defended their involvement, stating that healthy eating was the responsibility of the individual to make their own purchasing choices. LOCOG's policy for food provision stated a number of aims including diversity, hygiene, health and nutrition and sustainability.
Payment services Electronic payment services for Olympic ticketing and in Olympic venues were provided exclusively by Visa under the terms of their global sponsorship deal with the IOC. This led to criticism during ticket sales before the Games and to complaints of unreliability of payment systems and a shortage of cash points (particularly for cardholders of cards other than those provided by Visa) to obtain cash at Olympic venues during the Games.
Security
Air defence sites The decision by the Ministry of Defence to station soldiers armed with Starstreak surface-to-air missiles on top of the Lexington building, a residential apartment block in Bow, was challenged in court on 10 July by residents of Fred Wigg Tower, another tower in Leytonstone, east London, where missiles were to be sited, under Article 8 and Article 1 of Protocol 1 of the European Convention on Human Rights, over concerns the missiles made them a terrorist target. The judgement from Mr Justice Haddon-Cave was in favour of the siting of the missiles on Fred Wigg Tower. He stated in his judgment:
David Enright, the solicitor representing the residents said after the judgement:
Security guard shortage In July 2012 the private security firm G4S, which had been contracted to supply security personnel for the Olympics, revealed that it had failed to recruit and train enough staff for the Games. The shortfall was made up by deploying 3,500 troops of the British Armed Forces. Reports in the media claimed some recruits were not able to speak adequate English. An inquiry was held by the United Kingdom Parliament into the issue and a report issued said that G4S "must bear the cost of its Olympic failure".
Nationality issues Falkland Islands dispute
On 2 May 2012, on the 30th anniversary of the sinking of the Argentine cruiser ARA General Belgrano, an advertising film depicting the captain of Argentina's hockey team, Fernando Zylberberg, training in Stanley, Falkland Islands, was broadcast in Argentina under the slogan "To compete on British soil, we train on Argentine soil." While it was claimed by several major Argentine newspapers that the film had not been commissioned by the Argentine government, with it being produced by the local office of the Young & Rubicam advertising agency, the rights to it were purchased by the Office of the President for national broadcast. An IOC statement said "the games should not be part of a political platform", while Argentine Olympic Committee President Gerardo Werthein stated that "the Olympic Games cannot be used to make political gestures". Zylberberg stated that he had been unaware that the film would be used as a political advert. He subsequently was not selected for the Argentine hockey squad.
Regent Street flags display
As part of the buildup to the Games, the flags of all competing nations were suspended over streets in a display around the West End of London by the Regent Street Association (RSA). Included in this was the Flag of the Republic of China, the official name of Taiwan. Since 1981, the Republic of China (ROC) has not been permitted to compete at the Olympics under its own name, instead using the name "Chinese Taipei", together with the flag of the Chinese Taipei Olympic Committee, which is not Taiwan's national flag. In all official Olympic events and publications, the name and symbols of Chinese Taipei must be used. As the flag display was not connected to LOCOG, it was not subject to Olympic branding rules. However, officials from the People's Republic of China made a complaint to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) about the display of the ROC flag, following which the FCO advised the RSA to replace the ROC flag with the Chinese Taipei Olympic flag. The removal of the national flag led to an official complaint from the Republic of China, with the Senior Representative, Shen Lyu-shun, writing to the RSA stating the view that "the nomenclature regarding Taiwan's participation in the Olympics shall not be applied to the display of the flags in the street", and that matters like this fall "within the scope of freedom of speech" and "shall not be subject to interference by a third party".
Competitors' birthplaces in biographies A complaint by the Foreign Ministry of Ukraine was made about the biographies of Russian Olympic team members posted on the official London 2012 Games' website. The biographies referred to the athletes' Ukrainian birthplaces as being located in Russia. Thirty athletes that were identified as not being born in Russia had incorrect birthplace references. Georgia's Olympic Committee had also complained and asked for corrections to be made. Examples included wrestler Besik Kudukhov's birthplace in Tskhilon, South Ossetia, Boxer David Ayrapetyan born in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, and weightlifter Alexandr Ivanov from Rustavi in Georgia. Izabella Siemicks, a LOCOG spokesperson, claimed the original biographical information had been provided by the National Olympic Committees. LOCOG also apologised for an error in the official match programme for Great Britain's first game in the men's football tournament, mistakenly describing Welsh team member Joe Allen as being English.
Female athletes from all NOCs After the 2008 Summer Olympics, Brunei, Qatar and Saudi Arabia were the only three NOCs that had never sent a female participant. They were put under pressure to include female athletes in their teams. All three NOCs sent female athletes to the 2012 Summer Olympics, with both Brunei and Qatar selecting female flag bearers at the Opening Ceremony. Saudi Arabia was the last NOC to select a female competitor. On 3 August 2012, the Bruneian athlete Maziah Mahusin took part in the Women's 400 metres heats and ensured that all current NOCs had at least one female participant at the Olympics.
Opening ceremony Munich memorial