Tokyo Olympics-Team GB to have male and female flag bearers
Team GB is set to have male and female flag bearers at the opening ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics for the first time in the country’s history at the Games.
The move, which has been encouraged by the International Olympic Committee as part of its plans for gender equality, has been embraced with enthusiasm by the British Olympic Association.
National teams can appoint a man and a woman as their flag bearers at the Games this year after the International Olympic Committee changed its protocols last year to send a message of gender parity.
Previous to this, countries taking part in the Olympics had to choose either a man or a woman to carry the national flag while walking ahead of its contingent as they entered the stadium during the opening and closing ceremonies.
Britain has had 26 flag bearers at the Summer Olympics since 1906, but only three of them have been women-the swimmer Anita Lonsbrough in Tokyo 1964, the equestrian rider Lucinda Green at the Los Angeles Games in 1984 and the judoka Kate Howey in Athens 2004.
The flagbearer is interesting because we want to celebrate the return of British athletes to Tokyo after 1964. “That team had some real hallmark legacy messages. That was a moment for women and I’m hopeful that the class of Tokyo 2020 will be able to leave a similar mark.”
England said it was too early to know who would be selected to carry the flags. “The nominees come from the athletes themselves but for the first time national Olympic committees are being encouraged to have two flag bearers,” England said. “I will have to see how many are in the village by that time. But one male and one female is the advice the NOCs have been given.”
The Games, which were pushed back by a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, are set to run from July 23-Aug 8.
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