London Gets Ready For Olympics Games Opening Day

With one week to go until the Opening Ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games millions of people across the UK are preparing to join in a day of celebrations on Friday, July 27th. This will mark the final day of the London 2012 Olympic Torch Relay – presented by Coca-Cola, Lloyds TSB and Samsung. Already 10 million people have lined the route of the Torch Relay, and on the final day of its journey, the Relay will gather momentum at Hampton Court Palace where Torchbearers will carry the Flame around the grounds of the Palace and through the world’s oldest hedge maze.  The Flame will then be carried on board Gloriana, The Queen’s Rowbarge which was presented to and named by Her Majesty The Queen in a ceremony that took place earlier this year and will provide a lasting legacy to mark Her Majesty’s Diamond Jubilee. The Flame will light a ceremonial cauldron on board Gloriana and over the course of the morning seven Torchbearers will light a Torch from the cauldron and carry the Flame for about eight minutes each at selected areas that are viewable from the banks of the River.  Gloriana will be rowed by 16 oarsmen and women who will be drawn from a squad of 28 rowers on-board on the day. 

The squad is made up of former British Olympic crews dating back to the 1948 Games and ‘Olympians of the future’ from London Youth Rowing. Gloriana will be accompanied by a small number of craft designed to showcase London’s waterborne heritage as the Flame makes its way to Tower Bridge. 

The day will begin with bells ringing across the UK, as quickly and loudly as possible at 8.12 a.m. for three minutes. This is part of the London 2012 Festival commission 'All The Bells' by Turner Prize winning artist Martin Creed.  Anyone can take part by ringing any kind of bell for three minutes – from change ringing experts to enthusiastic children with hand bells, bicycle bells and door bells.    Over the course of the morning seven Torchbearers on board the Gloriana will light a Torch from the cauldron and carry the Flame for about eight minutes each. The finale to the public participation in the Torch Relay will see the last Torchbearer on the Gloriana carry the Flame to Tower Bridge at approximately 12.45pm. The Flame will then remain out of view until it appears at the Opening Ceremony that evening.  The worldwide broadcast of Danny Boyle's 'Isles of Wonder' Olympic Opening Ceremony will commence at 9pm to an estimated audience of 1 billion people around the world.

Olympic Rings Frenzy Comes To Surrey

With just over a week until the Olympic Games Cycling Road Race competition takes place in Box Hill, Surrey, a large set of Olympic Rings has been launched in the county. The Rings are set to provide a spectacular backdrop to the Road Race competition and Surrey’s London 2012 celebrations. The Rings have been installed on the side of the National Trust’s Box Hill. Made of aluminum they are approximately 15m wide by 7m high and will be an exciting feature in the county for the duration of the Olympic Games.  

The five rings are colored blue, yellow, black, green and red – representing the union of the five continents and the meeting of athletes from throughout the world at the Olympic Games. The Olympic Rings are one of the world’s most recognizable logos.

The Road Race competition will begin on July28th and 29^th, and spectators at Box Hill are set to get a fantastic view of the events. Labeled the most grueling stretch of the course - the men’s race will loop Box Hill nine times and the women’s twice.
Seb Coe, LOCOG Chair, said:

“The Olympic Rings are an iconic symbol, inspiring athletes and uniting people around the world. To athletes they represent the culmination of thousands of hours of training and reaching the highest level in sport. These Rings will excite and inspire local people and visitors to Box Hill,” said Helyn Clack, Surrey County Council’s Cabinet Member for Community Services and the 2012 Game.  “This proves the Games aren’t just about London, she said.

Surrey’s giant Olympic Rings will become one of the most memorable icons of the Games with television cameras sending pictures of it around the world. It will encourage people to visit our beautiful county not just now, but for years to come.”

Andy Wright, National Trust Countryside Manager for the Surrey Hills, added: ‘We’re so proud to showcase this special place to the world. For us the Rings are a symbol of what an amazing place Box Hill is, what an amazing journey it has been on over the past few years and what a fantastic legacy the Olympics will leave here, particularly for wildlife.’  Surrey is also hosting the Olympic Road Cycling Time Trial event on 1 August.   Giant sets of Olympic Rings are being installed at iconic sites across the United Kingdom to excite and inspire people ahead of the Games and to demonstrate that we are ready to welcome the world.

Paralympic Torch 24-hour Relay Launches Countdown To London Games

As the countdwon to the London 2012 Paralympic Games begins,  the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) has announced highlights from the Paralympic Torch 24-hour Relay route and 50 of the key sporting events that will feature during the Games.  The Paralympic Motto, “Spirit in Motion,” represents the strong will of every Paralympian and implies that the IPC is an organization on the move.  Seb Coe, LOCOG Chair, said: “With just 50 days to go these highlights serve as a great taster for the Paralympic Games. I’m looking forward to crowds coming out to line the streets and cheer on the inspirational teams of Torchbearers, and as the Paralympic Games get set to amaze us all I am delighted that we still have some great tickets to give everyone the chance to be there.”

Stoke Mandeville is today welcoming the Olympic Torch Relay, but in 50 days time Stoke Mandeville Stadium will be the venue for the official Paralympic Flame Lighting Ceremony on 28 August. Four flames from London, Belfast, Cardiff and Edinburgh will be united to form the Paralympic Flame which will be taken on a 24-hour overnight relay to the Paralympic Opening Ceremony at the Olympic Stadium on 29 August.

The 24-hour relay - presented by BT, Lloyds TSB and Sainsbury’s - will see the Paralympic Flame carried 87 miles by 580 inspirational Torchbearers, working in teams of five, from Stoke Mandeville  to London. It will travel through some of the communities of Buckinghamshire and Hertfordshire, before visiting all six host boroughs and a number of internationally recognizable London landmarks. From the iconic Abbey Road crossing in the north-west of the city to historic Greenwich in the south-east, the Flame will come right through the heart of London.

Passing down Regent Street from Oxford Circus to Piccadilly Circus, the Flame will go by Westminster Abbey and Downing Street as well as Trafalgar Square – where there will be live entertainment and sport screened throughout the Paralympic Games. The Flame will cross the Thames over some of London’s most famous bridges: Lambeth Bridge, Waterloo Bridge and Tower Bridge. Tower Bridge will have a spectacular Agitos on display – the symbol of the Paralympic Games.

London 2012 organizers are encouraging over 15,000 Local Leaders to help light the way to the Paralympic Games.

In addition to the sport, the London 2012 Festival will also continue throughout the Paralympic Games showcasing world leading artists in events across the UK. On Tuesday there will be a presentation of program highlights for “Unlimited: the Revelation starts here” at the Southbank Centre in London – an unprecedented celebration of arts and culture by deaf and disabled artists.

Olympics Security Guards Told To Check Their Attitudes This Summer

The London Olympics news feeds are buzzing, as preparation for the 2012 games moves into high gear.  Organizers have issued a warning to the firm in charge of training the private security guards manning venues at  for this summer's games, advising against exhibiting over-zealous behaviour that might alienate sports fans.
Opening day of a major event can be tense, as the start of the Olympic torch relay demonstrated this week when a police security team escorting the runners grabbed a spectator they thought was trying to reach the torchbearer and pushed him into a hedge.

Mark Hamilton, the man leading G4S's Olympic security team which will operate airport-style searches and screening at venues, said guards were being encouraged to engage with spectators.  "I think it is very relevant not to over-react to situations that arise on the first day - to make sure they are properly assessed and that the communications process is working in the way it should so that the decisions are made at the right time and people act in the right way," the managing director told reporters.

He said guards had to be thorough but it should not be an "onerous experience" for fans. He suggested guards may have acted over-the-top when stopping photographers taking pictures from a public path of a vehicle checking area in the Olympic Park.  "There's no doubt that's a lesson learnt, not to overly criticize the workforce and the guards involved because they are operating under a regime where hostile reconnaissance is something they have to be aware of," he said.

"How they handle that, and how they manage it and how they report it is obviously something we've learnt a lesson from."   G4S guards can also check vehicles, such as buses, travelling through the Olympic Park in east London.  More than 100,000 people applied for one of the 10,400 temporary jobs in what G4S describes as one of the biggest paid recruitment drives in Britain this century.  G4S will recruit, train and coordinate the guards, in addition to managing 3,300 students and 3,000 volunteers.

As well as screening at entry, guards will be responsible for crowd management and protecting the perimeters and equipment.  The London Olympic organising committee (LOCOG) was forced to renegotiate its contract with G4S at the end of last year after the committee more than doubled the number of people needed from an early estimate of 10,000 to 23,700.