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Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Europe, that "great sporting nation"

The French EU Presidency is jumping on sport as a way to promote the EU.

Paris is organising a major public event for 5 October, during which the Champ de Mars will be transformed into a "European sports village."

According to PA:

The idea behind bringing together Europe's best athletes for a major public event is to celebrate Europe as a great sporting nation, and highlight the desire to place sport, in all its forms, at the heart of the European project.

Sport serves as a powerful vehicle for helping to promote a general sense of European belonging, particularly among young people.... As a vehicle for social, educational, cultural and environmental development, sport is undoubtedly called on to play a key role in forming a European identity and its shared values.


2 comments:

Tommy said...

"The idea behind bringing together Europe's best athletes for a major public event is to celebrate Europe as a great sporting nation,"
Correct me if I am wrong but isn't Europe a continent? Not a Nation?
Or did I blink and miss it?

Anonymous said...

There is not a straw they won't grasp at in order to promote the EU. They want the world to think that the British and every other European 'member states' althletes did so well in Beijing is because their country is part of the Empire.
Give us a referendum, and they will see they have grasped the short straw and the two parliament buildings are to be converted into office space and the unemployed MEP's can go back to selling the Big Issue.