IOC Denies Olympic Status To Greenland & Faroe
The International Olympic Committee [IOC] has officially rejected a formal request from the Denmark to recognize Greenland and the Faroe Islands as independent National Olympic Committees, despite a request from the Danish Parliament.
The letter from the Danish parliament — which cited the fact that territories such as Bermuda are allowed to compete under their own flag — said, “The Presidium of the Danish Parliament respectfully addresses the International Olympic Committee to invite renewed consideration of the current framework governing the recognition of National Olympic Committees, with a view to enabling both the Faroe Islands and Greenland to be recognized as independent National Olympic Committees and to participate in the Olympic Games under their own flags.
“The Presidium fully recognizes that, since 1996, the International Olympic Committee has applied a practice under which admission has generally been limited to territories recognized by the international community, including the United Nations, as independent states. At the same time, it remains relevant that exceptions to this practice continue to exist, in that a number of territories – including Aruba, Bermuda and Puerto Rico – participate under their own flags on the basis of recognition granted before the policy was adopted in 1996. The Presidium notices that the Faroe Islands applied for admission in 1983, before the rules were amended in 1996.
“Both the Faroe Islands and Greenland possess distinct sporting, cultural and institutional identities and participate internationally in a number of relevant contexts under their own names and symbols. In the Presidium’s view, this provides a substantive basis for affording athletes from both the Faroe To the International Olympic Committee Recognition of the Faroe Islands and Greenland in the Olympic movement Islands and Greenland the opportunity to participate within the Olympic movement on equivalent terms and under their own flags.”
Athletes from territories that are not allowed to compete under their own flag will often compete under the flag of The Sovereign Nation that they are a territory of, For example other athletes from some British territories have competed for Britain. The two medals won by Bermuda are actually the only two Olympic medals won by any British overseas territories under our own flag out while some athletes on territories have one medals before they have won them under the flag of the United Kingdom.
Athletes from territories that are not permitted to compete under their own flag often represent the sovereign nation to which their territory is connected to. Bermuda’s two Olympic medals are actually the only Olympic medals won by a British Overseas Territory while competing under its own flag. Although athletes from other territories have also won Olympic medals — such as Zharnel Hughes and Keith Connor from Antigua - they did so while representing Great Britain.
The Faroe Islands are permitted to compete under their own flag at the Paralympic Games and have earned the distinction of being the smallest territory to win a Paralympic medal. Both Greenland and the Faroe Islands compete in the Island Games, which allows all islands and territories compete in their own right and under their own flags.
Bermuda was recognized by the IOC back in the 1930s, and has been able to compete under our own flag since that time.
