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It was a small gesture, but a pointed one, and designed to underscore
the Queen's staunch support
for London's Olympic bid.
As members of the International Olympic Committee attended a banquet
last night, Buckingham Palace abandoned tradition to present each with a
menu card written not in French, but English.
For as long as anyone can remember menus at the Queen's official
banquets have been written in French, generally regarded as the
international language of cuisine.
But, as three generations of the Royal Family and the Prime Minister
joined sporting stars and dignitaries in the State Dining Room alongside
the IOC's Evaluation Commission, there, in plain English, were the menus.
With Paris one of four cities vying for the 2012 games alongside
London, there were no doubts as to where the Queen's sentiments lay. She
even banned French wines from the menu, replacing pre-prandial champagne with
Nyetimber 1995, an English sparkling wine, and choosing Commonwealth wines
from Australia and New Zealand to accompany the meal.
"It probably is the first time menus for such an occasion have not been
in French," admitted one Palace aide. "It is very unusual. But, it is the
British Olympic bid, and we wanted to showcase Britain, not France."
Footmen each wore lapel pins bearing the London 2012 logo.
The IOC guests were driven in a fleet of taxis to the Palace, which had
been floodlit for the
occasion, and through the Grand Entrance lit by burning torches.
They were greeted by the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh in the White
Drawing Room after being presented by the Princess Royal, who was a member
of the British equestrian team at the Montreal Games in 1976 and has been
a member of the IOC since 1988. Her daughter, Zara Phillips, who was
shortlisted for the 2004 Olympics but ruled out when her horse was
injured, was also present.
The dinner, attended by 46, was the highlight of London's presentation
to the IOC delegates, who arrived on Tuesday and now head off to assess
Paris's chances.
(Agencies) |
尽管只是一个小小的举动，却具有明显的针对性——它充分体现了英国女王对伦敦申奥的坚定支持。
昨晚（2月18日），国际奥委会的成员们在英国白金汉宫参加了一场晚宴。在宴会上，白金汉宫的主人摒弃传统，为每位客人提供的菜单全部改为英文书写，而不是法文。
在人们的记忆中，英国女王举办的正式宴会的菜单一直都是用法文书写的，因为法语通常被视为烹饪领域的国际语言。
然而，当英国皇室三代成员、国家首相与体育明星、社会名流们同聚一堂，在国宴厅宴请国际奥委会考察评估小组时，菜单上出现的却是简朴的英文。
巴黎是和伦敦一起竞争2012年奥运会主办权的四座城市之一，而女王支持的对象自然不言而喻。她甚至把法国葡萄酒排除在菜单之外，代之以本国Nyetimber酒庄1995年产的餐前香槟（一种英国汽酒），还选择了来自英联邦国家澳大利亚和新西兰的配餐酒。
白金汉宫的一位助手承认说：“这种场合的菜单不用法文也许是头一次。这很不寻常，但这毕竟是英国的申奥活动呀，我们想展示我们英国的风采，而不是法国的。”
每位男侍者的衣领上都别着2012年伦敦申奥的徽章。
来自国际奥委会的客人们被出租车队送进了白金汉宫。为了这次盛宴，白金汉宫被装点得灯火辉煌。宫殿入口处的整个前厅都被熊熊燃烧的火炬照亮。
客人们由长公主安妮引进白金汉宫的白色会客厅，女王和爱丁堡公爵在那里迎接他们。安妮公主作为英国马术队的成员参加了1976年加拿大蒙特利尔奥运会，而且从1988年起成为国际奥委会成员。出席宴会的还有她的女儿扎拉·菲丽普斯。小公主菲丽普斯曾被列入2004年奥运会的马术运动员候选名单，但终因她的马受伤而未能参加奥运会。
这场晚宴共有46人参加，是伦敦向国际奥委会代表进行申奥陈述的亮点。国际奥委会代表团成员于上周二抵达英国，现在他们已经前往法国，对巴黎进行评估。
（中国日报网站译） |
Updated: 2005-02-22 10:23
