Team Bogdanowicz

Today’s Guardian offers a solution to why our Olympics contenders are called Team GB rather than Team UK (there are three from N.Ireland).

‘Mainly because it is considerably easier on the tongue than "the Great Britain Olympics Team", according to the woman behind the brand, Marzena Bogdanowicz. "I think I had the idea in 1996 or 1997," says the BOA's then director of marketing. "I went to the games in 1996 and the logo at the time was just the lion and the rings, but we weren't strong enough as a brand to just be a lion and the rings. So coming back I wanted to find something that was less of a mouthful, and also had that team feel. We looked at the options and came up with Team GB’.

I wonder if they did look at all the options. So there you have it: Team GB sounded good, it was decided by a woman who sounds, dare I say it, not frightfully British.

I’ll ask ‘Team GB’ if they can confirm this.