British Leader Skipping Opening Ceremony

By Bryan Mitchell - Associated Press Writer | Chicago Tribune
April 10, 2008

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown will skip the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics.

He became the second major world leader after German Chancellor Angela Merkel to decide to stay away from the opening ceremonies, although Brown's office insisted Wednesday that he was not boycotting the Olympics and would attend the closing ceremony.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy said last month that he was debating not attending the opening ceremony.

Asked whether President Bush would go to the opening portion of the Olympics, White House press secretary Dana Perino demurred, citing the fluid nature of a foreign trip.

"It is extremely premature for me to say what the president's schedule is going to be" in August, she said.

Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton and others have urged Bush to consider staying away from the opening ceremony as a way to underscore U.S. concerns about the recent unrest in Tibet and questions about China's relationship with Sudan.

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