2 more incidents emerge of Hong Kong protest song mixed up with Chinese national anthem at rugby matches
- ‘March of the Volunteers’ was correctly played at Rugby World Cup event in Dubai earlier this month, but broadcast titled song ‘Glory to Hong Kong’ at bottom of screen
- Same incorrect graphic used in broadcast of match between Hong Kong and Tonga on July 23, city’s Rugby Union says
The Chinese national anthem was mixed up with a Hong Kong protest song at two more sporting events overseas, it emerged on Saturday, less than a week after a similar blunder in South Korea angered the city’s government and sparked a police investigation.
A video clip posted on a popular sports streaming site showed the city’s rugby team standing on the pitch in a Dubai stadium before a match with Portugal on November 6 as “March of the Volunteers” played, but the TV broadcaster carrying the game gave the title of the song at the bottom of the screen as “Glory to Hong Kong”. The song, often heard during the anti-government protests in 2019, was also labelled as Hong Kong’s national anthem.
Competition organiser World Rugby attributed the error to a “graphics operator” and apologised for the mistake, the Hong Kong Rugby Union on Saturday said.
The same incorrect graphic was also used by World Rugby’s broadcast production crew in its coverage of a match between Hong Kong and Tonga at the Sunshine Coast Stadium, north of Brisbane, on July 23, the union added.
