The Indian Olympics Association has backed down from a proposed boycott of the 2012 Games over chemical company Dow’s sponsorship of the stadium’s wrap. The sponsorship deal, announced earlier this year, caused some consternation over whether it tallied with the environmental and ethical message the Olympics was striving to maintain. The 1984 Union Carbide chemical leak in Bhopal was one of the world’s worst industrial disasters and although the company was only later acquired by Dow, their very visible inclusion in the list of Olympic sponsors has provoked anger amongst campaigners and politicians alike. Dave Hill’s London Blog examines the questions being raised over the bidding process in more detail. The Dow deal will have been a bitter pill for Indian athletes and politicians alike to swallow; the Indian government says that more than 15,000 people have died as a result of the chemical leak and ground water in the region remains contaminated.
