The Paris 2024 Olympics ended this Sunday afternoon (11), but there was still time for Globo to do one last cafe at Fantastico. While showing the event's medal table, the broadcaster made a huge mistake and placed the United Kingdom's flag in place of third-placed Japan.
The electronic magazine's sports anchor, Alex Escobar, was responsible for showing the final standings of the countries in France – and, presumably, had something to do with the team's stumble. The United States finished first with a total of 126 medals, 40 gold, 44 silver, and 42 bronze.
The runner-up went to China: 40 gold medals, 27 silver and 24 bronze, for a total of 91 podiums. Third place goes to Japan: 20 gold, 12 silver and 13 bronze — 45 in total.
And that's where Globo stumbled badly. Instead of Japan's flag — one of the world's best-known (and simplest) because it's a white rectangle with a red circle in the middle — the broadcaster used an image representing the United Kingdom — blue with a red and white Union Jack.
To make matters worse, the British were seventh – in other words, the territory commanded by King Charles had 14 gold, 22 silver and 29 bronze medals (65 medals in total). It was behind Australia, France and the Netherlands.
Brazil finished 20th with three gold, seven silver and ten bronze medals. Tokyo-2021 and Rio de Janeiro-2016 were underperforming with seven gold medals in each Olympics.
Globo's mistake becomes a joke
Netizens did not miss the opportunity to mock the broadcaster for the serious error. “Has the Japanese flag changed? I don't know… looks cool!”, joked Yana Albuquerque on social network X.
“Japan with the English flag in the Fantastico,” laughed Mary guiltily. “They put the English flag in place of the Japanese flag,” observed Evandro Silva — both confusing England with the United Kingdom.
“Japan with the flag of Great Britain? What is that?”, asked Leandro Calvao. “Passed with Japan's new flag,” joked anchor Arthur Byers from the Gazeta.
Henry Blackwell is a contributor at Mediarunsearch.co.uk, covering a wide range of topics including news, politics, business, technology, sport, entertainment, and lifestyle. He focuses on delivering clear, balanced reporting and useful information that helps readers stay informed about current events and emerging developments. His work highlights stories that matter to everyday audiences, with an emphasis on accuracy, relevance, and accessible journalism.