Colonial Flag over the Champs Elysees

An Australian rider takes third place in the Tour de France, a notable achievement in itself. At the awards ceremony, before an international television audience of millions, the dominant Union Jack on our rather old-fashioned royal blue flag stands out as it flutters above the Champs Elysees. This is in sharp contrast to the two flags of Slovenia, home country of the first and second placed competitors. The Republic of Slovenia, a relatively new country, became independent when Yugoslavia was dissolved in 1991 and has its own distinctive flag bearing no sign of its origins.