Indonesian minister apologizes to people for surprising reason related to Olympic heroes

"We will take the delegation to the palace where the president will receive them at 8:30 a.m. (August 15) in the courtyard of the State Palace in Jakarta. We must use an open-top bus with a parade of athletes to show that the spirit and inspiration of the champions who have just made world history can spread to the whole society," said Indonesian Youth and Sports Minister Dito Ariotedjo.

Indonesia holds meeting to honor athletes competing in 2024 Olympics

According to CNN Indonesia , using open-top buses to carry the Olympic athletes, including gold medalists Veddriq Leonardo (mountain climbing) and Rizki Juniansyah (weightlifting), will pass through locations in Jakarta and end at the State Palace.

The minister added that there were many complaints from the public that the Olympic parade was held during working hours so they could not welcome and join in the fun. For this reason, the Minister of Youth and Sports had to apologize: "I apologize to the public for the many comments about why the parade was not held on Saturday and Sunday. The athletes had just returned from Paris two nights ago, we let them rest for one night. The President immediately approved the parade so that the athletes could immediately return to training and participate in other international competitions."

Indonesian President Joko Widodo (left) congratulates the athletes

Regarding the activities at the State Palace, the Indonesian Minister of Youth and Sports said that President Joko Widodo will award bonuses to all national athletes competing in the 2024 Olympics. According to CNN Indonesia , athletes who win gold medals will receive a bonus of IDR 2.75 billion (nearly VND 4.4 billion), IDR 675 million for athletes who win bronze medals, and IDR 250 million for athletes who do not win medals.

The Indonesian sports delegation closed this year's Olympics with 2 gold medals and 1 bronze medal, ranking 39th in the medal tally.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/bo-truong-indonesia-xin-loi-dan-vi-ly-do-bat-ngo-lien-quan-den-cac-nguoi-hung-olympic-185240815141716926.htm