With just a couple a days before the opening ceremonies of the 2012 London Olympic Games, the discussion started again whether or not Curacao will be able to participate at the Olympics under the National flag of Curacao or the Olympic Charter flag.
According to a post (which has been removed) on the official website of the Government of Curacao, athletes from Curacao are able to participate at the 2012 Olympic games. This was concluded after the Prime Minister of Curacao, Gerrit Schotte received an email from the embassy of the United Kingdom in the Netherlands, stating that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has decided to let athletes from Curacao participate at the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic games.
According to the government of Curacao, the email contained a formal invitation from Ambassador Paul Arkwright inviting the Prime Minister of Curacao to attend the opening ceremonies of the Olympic Games in London. Furthermore the email states, that the invitation to attend the opening ceremonies came late due to the fact that it’s a last minute decision of the IOC to authorize athletes from Curacao to participate at the Olympic and Paralympic games.
A spokesperson from the Government of the United Kingdom confirmed the following: “The Foreign Secretary, on behalf of the UK Government, has invited the Prime Minister of Curacao to the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games. This invitation implies no position on any ongoing issues between the Government of Curacao and the International Olympics Committee.”
In connection with the statehood changes of Curacao in 2010, it was decided by the IOC that Curacao cannot be recognized as a member of the IOC and with that the athletes from Curacao cannot represent Curacao under the National flag of Curacao. The athletes from Curacao got the choice to participate at the Olympic Games either under the flag of the Netherlands, the flag of Aruba or the Olympic flag.