1/Minister proposes a redesign for the union flag
The culture minister, Margaret Hodge, has said she will consider a redesign of the union flag to incorporate the Welsh dragon. Her surprising commitment was made in the Commons during a debate on the frequency with which the union flag flies above public buildings.
The discussions on a new flag design bring a new dimension to Gordon Brown's debate about Britishness.
Hodge told MPs: "The Welsh dragon was not included on the union flag, as the principality of Wales was already united with England by 1606 when the first union flag was created. I can assure all MPs that the issue of the design of the union flag will be considered. As the current flag is formed by merging three heraldic crosses representing the three kingdoms of the UK, the original design was a challenge.
"Thinking of a new design that would meet everyone's aspiration would be an even greater challenge."
Hodge made the concession after complaints from Welsh MPs about constituents not feeling well represented.
Albert Owen, Labour MP, said in the debate: "We are all patriots -we are Welsh patriots and British patriots - but we in Wales do not feel part of the union flag because the dragon or the cross of St David is not on it."
The issue was initially raised by another Labour MP, who complained that the flag introduced in 1606 following the accession of James VI of Scotland to the English throne as James I combined the cross of St George and the saltire of St Andrew. This principle continued in 1801 when the St Patrick cross was incorporated following the Union with Ireland Act 1800. Lucas claimed the identity of Wales had been suppressed ever since the Act of Union between England and Wales in 1536.
"The three crosses making up today's union flag are the crosses of the patron saints of the three countries represented on the flag," he said. "We could add the cross of St David, but for me yellow and black would not be an ideal design. The recognised symbol of Wales is the Welsh dragon. I would like to see the incorporation of the Welsh dragon on to the union flag so that it would represent the four constituent nations of the UK."
2/Getting a piece of the construction pie
Taking into account the strict requirements of UEFA to hotels, stadiums and other facilities involved in hosting EURO 2012, Ukraine should see an unprecedented boom in the construction of large structures. From the preliminary comments it is clear that Ukrainians are ready to divide up this pie (i.e. construction works and profits). Over the next 2 years there are plans to renovate or build from scratch a great deal of property and infrastructure in compliance with world standards.
Representatives of developing companies said that they have already begun talks with the authorities of Lviv, Donetsk and Dnipropetrovsk on the construction of hotels in these cities.
Ivan Lun, a manager at the Recre-Action Ukraine developing company, believes that hotels of all categories from three stars and up will be in demand during Euro-2012.
However, investors should develop plans not just for Euro-2012 and the occupancy of new hotels should be guaranteed for a period longer that just the short-lived Euro-Cup games.
The beer issue deserves a separate discussion. Ukrainian brewers should be ready that the level of consumption of beer will leap much higher than the usual rise during the summer time.
The manufacturers of sportswear, as well as national Ukrainian attributes, will also have to put their efforts to the grindstone. To be sure, visitors during the games will be prepared to buy any product bearing the label Euro-2012. Taking into account the fact that in old Europe, people are ready to pay 100-200 euro for such trinkets, the profits of small businesses should be enormous. Investment will have to be made in the tens of billions of dollars into the development, construction and revamping of transport and tourism infrastructures.
Within the framework of preparations for Euro-2012, special attention must be paid to the tourism image of Ukraine, because the built facilities will have to be filled after the Euro Cup is over.
Representatives of the Euro-2008 Committee, who will meet in Austria and Switzerland, already stated that the Euro Cup will be held based on the "German example". Ukraine has 2 years to borrow the experience of leading world and European sports events.