India threatens to boycott London 2012 over chemical firm sponsorship
India has warned its athletes may boycott the London 2012 Olympics after it emerged that the chemical plant where 15,000 people were sponsoring the event.
Dow Chemicals are manufacturing a £7m ‘curtain’ to wrap around the Games stadium in a bid to boost their image, tarnished after they purchased the controversial plant – scene of one of the worst industrial accidents in history.
Some 15,000 people were killed in the incident and thousands more maimed, when poisonous gas leaked from the Union carbide factory in Bhopal in 1984.
Dow merged with Union Carbide in 1999.
In a statement the International Olympic Committee said it recognised Bhopal as a “very tragic event” but added: “The IOC understands that Dow never owned or operated the facility in Bhopal, and that the State Government of Madhya Pradesh owns and controls the former plant site.”
The Indian Olympic Association will vote on December 5 as to whether to proceed with their threat.