Under the Communist regime in China, the Bible Society was able to hand out copies of the Good Book with the Olympic logo emblazoned on the front cover at the 2008 games. At London 2012, however, it has been ruled out.
“The idea was to give them out during the Olympics, as a Christian welcome to our country,” says the society’s spokesman, Rachel Rounds. “We had a special sports Bible prepared, with extra information in the front about what the Bible has to say about sport.”
The charity has now abandoned the idea because of Olympic rules regarding the use of the logo.
“The Olympic movement has always been clear that it should not be used to promote any religion,” says a source at the Games. “We have a multi-faith centre at the Olympic Park, where people can find Bibles. In Beijing, these Bibles appeared out of nowhere. They were not approved by the Chinese government.”
Rounds says: “It would have been nice to be a part of the Olympics, but, it seems, Christianity has less of a place than we first thought. During the Beijing Olympics, Amity printing press published Bibles with the official Olympic logo on them.”
A spokesman for the London Organizing Committee of the Olympic Games says the Bible Society has not made a “formal request” to use the Olympic logo. “The International Olympic Committee position on religion is that it accepts all religions, but does not promote particular religions,” adds the spokesman.
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