Milan (Italy) (AFP) – The International Olympic Committee said on Saturday it hoped for “fair play” after US Vice President JD Vance was booed at the opening ceremony of the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics. There were audible boos at the San Siro stadium in Milan when Vance, who was attending Friday’s ceremony with his wife Usha, appeared on a big screen. The US team itself was loudly applauded.
“With the vice president, what I would say is that with the next Games coming up in Los Angeles we are super happy that the US administration is so engaged with the Games here and obviously going forward that’s a great thing for the Olympic movement,” IOC communications director Mark Adams told a news conference. “I was in the stadium last night and we’re largely a sports organisation and seeing the US team cheered as they were by the audience, fair play, that was fantastic,” he added. “In general, I would say at sporting events, we like to see fair play but in terms of having a good relationship with the administration, that is only good news for us.”
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IOC chief Kirsty Coventry, the former Zimbabwean swimmer and sports minister, met Vance for the first time before the ceremony to discuss preparations for the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles. Adams said the meeting “went incredibly well” and that they had “very good chemistry” but said he could give no further details of the content of their discussions.
Hundreds protested in Milan on Friday against Vance’s visit and the presence of some agents from the US immigration enforcement agency ICE who are in Italy to help protect the American delegation. The Israeli team also received a smattering of boos when it entered the stadium for the athletes’ parade.
Adams said: “Whatever background they’re from, I don’t think you want to see any booing there. If you want to get philosophical about it, one of the ideas is that the athletes shouldn’t be punished for whatever their country has done.”
© 2024 AFP
