US Olympics host Katie Couric sorry for Dutch skating flub
The Dutch embassy in the United States invited American TV host Katie Couric to visit the Netherlands so that she can see "all the innovative ways the Dutch get around". This follows Couric saying that the Dutch are good at speed skating because they skate to work.
"It's probably not a news flash to tell you the Dutch are really, really good at speed skating... 'Why are they so good?' you may be asking yourself", Couric said during the Olympic Opening Ceremony as the Dutch athletes came in. "Because skating is an important mode of transportation in a city like Amsterdam." She explained: "As you all know, it has lots of canals that can freeze in the winters." And: "So, for as long as those canals have existed, the Dutch have skated on them to get form place to place, to race each other and also to have fun."
As can be imagined, these comments led to a flood of indignant social media responses from people in the Netherlands, as well as a number of memes - and an invitation from the Dutch embassy extended to Couric.
"Hi Katie Couric, please come visit the Netherlands. We'd love to show you all the innovative ways the Dutch get around, and are building the future of transportation", the embassy wrote, referring to the Netherlands' work in developing the hyperloop. "Of course, we can also visit our famous skating rinks. Let's break the ice!"
Couric replied with an apology, and congratulations for the medals the Netherlands won so far in the Winter Olympics:
Below see some of the responses Couric's skating comments got on Twitter:
