Posted at 12:00 p.m., Tuesday, June 5, 2007
Epilepsy warning over London's 2012 Olympic logo
Associated Press
LONDON — An animated display of London's jigsaw-style 2012 Olympics logo, which has drawn an unfavorable public response, was removed from an official Web site today following concern it could trigger epileptic seizures.Epilepsy Action, a British health charity, said 10 people had complained about the animation and some had suffered seizures from watching images depicting a diver plunging into a pool.
The Olympic group said it has taken steps to remove the animation from the Web site and will now re-edit the film.
The design is made up of four jagged pieces that form the numbers 2012 in a variety of colors. It cost $796,000 and was targeted at young people. The logo was unveiled Monday and within hours an online petition was established asking for a new design.
London's Design Museum founder Stephen Bayley said the logo was "a puerile mess, an artistic flop and a commercial scandal."
Chief organizer Sebastian Coe claimed the graffiti-style design was created to draw the attention of young people. An official Web site shows flashing and moving images of the logo. In a departure from previous games, the logo has no visual imagery of the host city or country.
