A gallimaufry of London 2012 bits

[baron-pierreIV]

I don't know where to ask this. Has London ever lost an Olympic bid?

Trick question if ever I saw one, Paul.

[Sir Rols]

I don't know where to ask this. Has London ever lost an Olympic bid?

Well, London lost a hosting (1944). And the UK lost bids with Birmingham and Manchester. But I always thought London's boast was that they'd never been awarded a games before 2012's through a bid - both 1908 and 1948 they picked up by default.

[adrianme17]

Well, London lost a hosting (1944). And the UK lost bids with Birmingham and Manchester. But I always thought London's boast was that they'd never been awarded a games before 2012's through a bid - both 1908 and 1948 they picked up by default.

I'm sure they were awarded 1944 - but of course ...

[oakydoky]

The £80m Cultural Olympiad was intended to celebrate 2012 across the UK, mainly through music and drama. But of the 1,174 approved projects, only seven are in Scotland.That works out at 0.6% of all events. Wales and Northern Ireland are also getting events in the single figures. Clearly, the allocation of events in no way, shape or form reflects the populations of the UK.

I am Scottish and a tax-paying citizen. I am paying for the 2012 games. So too are the people of Wales and Northern Ireland. Yet time and again, whenever one of us "celtic fringe nations" dare question any part of the 2012 Olympics, we are routinely attacked for doing so.

The London 2012 games will obviously reference London. But the benefits have to be for all of the UK since London is the elected city on behalf of the UK.If the games were staged in Cardiff, Belfast or Edinburgh, they too would have to share the spoils throughout the UK fairly. Currently, England is getting more than its fair share of benefits. The transformation of Stratford comes at a price -- a price ALL of the UK is paying but which is NOT benefitting the rest of the UK fairly.

I have been told many a time by English forum members here that the London 2012 games only have to benefit London and England. Anyone with a cursory understanding of the UK knows that the 'United Kingdom' is a kingdom made up of four nations : Scotland, Wales, N.Ireland and England. Thus, the benefits of any UK wide event have to bring benefits to all parts of the UK proportionately.It's this kind of ignorance which is sadly commonplace.

There's no "victim complex" here. Rather, just a desire to see fairness and equality for all.England makes up 82-84% of UK population but is getting approximately 98% of all events in the Cultural Olympiad. And almost all of the £9.4billion spent on the games (from the UK Taxpayer) brings benefits exclusively to England.The UK's Olympic stadium. costing the UK taxpayer £547million, is getting given to an English premiership football club after the games. The people of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have thus been forced to finance a football club. That's not fair. Those are all facts, not conjectures. Thus, the inevitable "stop moaning" insults I will receive are irrelevant in the face of truth.

In terms of construction, Scottish firms have received less than 1% success from their bids i.e 7 firms 'won' something out of 2806 Scottish bids. That's less than 1% success (0.2% actually).Welsh and Northern Irish firms have done even worse.London firms bidding had a 3271% success increase over Scottish firms and even more over Welsh and Northern Irish firms.

Here's a physical illustration to show where all the events in the Cultural Olympiad are taking place. Note in England that over 1,100 are being staged.

[oakydoky]

London 2012 - GB women book 2012 place

Great Britain's women's eight secured Olympic qualification by winning a bronze medal at the World Rowing Championships in Slovenia.

The crew of Alison Knowles, Jo Cook, Jess Eddie, Lindsey Maguire, Natasha Page, Louisa Reeve, Katie Solesbury and Vicky Thornley finished behind the USA and Canada but edged traditional powerhouses Romania off the podium.

http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/02092011/58/london-2012-gb-women-book-2012-place.html

[TrisL93]

I agree Oaky, I believe hardly any effort is being made to include the whole of the UK in the games, and yet they wonder why there's a substantial amount of the population 'not interested' in the games. I don't get why they constructed a brand new mountain biking course when there's a state-of-the-art course in Wales already. Aaaah well, nought to be done I suppose But hey, I'm Welsh so I would be biased anywayz

[DarJoLe]

Because it is a compact Games.

[Mr Tickle]

It would be great to see what areas applied for funding/events and who got them. Certain areas may be getting less cultural Olympiad money because they actually applied for less and submitted fewer applications.

Surely its a great thing that Wales has a great mountain bike facility, now theres a great one in Essex too. The more facilities the better as far as Im concerned so more people can benefit. A few years ago we struggled for velodromes in this country, now theres one in Manchester, one in London, one being built in Glasgow for the Commonwealth games.

[Rob2012]

Organisers of the London 2012 Olympic Games say they have reached their £700m ($1.1bn) domestic sponsorship target.

Westfield shopping centres has signed as the 44th commercial partner with the games' organisers Locog.

The deal will allow the firm's complex at Stratford, near the Olympic Park, to next month open the first TeamGB and ParalympicsGB merchandise shop.

Sponsorship is a major part of the core operating budget of £2bn for staging the London 2012 Games.

Other sources of revenue include merchandising and licensing, ticket sales, and a proportion of the revenue raised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) through selling global television broadcast rights, and global sponsorship.

"We have a fantastic group of world class sponsors on board, now joined by Westfield, working with us to stage spectacular games next summer," said Locog chief executive Paul Deighton.

Locog's newly released annual report also shows that in the period to 31 March 2011, it had signed deals for licensed merchandise sales which will generate a minimum guaranteed sum of £44m, "with total income expected to be in the region of £86m"

In addition, by April the organisers had also secured £266m of hospitality ticketing income and group ticket sales.

This figure does not include income from public ticket sales for the Olympic Games which was received after the end of the financial year.

Meanwhile the report showed that Mr Deighton received a salary of £479,873. He also received a bonus of £220,000 which, as in 2010, he is giving to charity.

Locog chairman Seb Coe's salary during the year was £357,000 with no bonus.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-14818995

http://uk.westfield.com/stratfordcityleasing/

[gotosy]

Former Olympic venue Herne Hill velodrome reopens after £500k makeover

The track cycling venue used at the 1948 London Olympics has reopened after a £500,000 refurbishment.

The Herne Hill Velodrome in south London is the only remaining finals venue from the '48 Games still in active use.

The venue, which had been in a state of disrepair, has been fitted with a new state-of-the-art track as part of a project funded mainly by British Cycling.

The velodrome was officially reopened on Wednesday by Olympics Minister Hugh Robertson. He said: 'It is fitting that the year before London 2012, we are able to celebrate the refurbishment of the track at one of the key venues from the 1948 Games.'

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/olympics/article-2034692/Herne-Hill-velodrome-reopens-500k-makeover.html#ixzz1XIg6S3Qz

[Mr Tickle]

Is it me or has it been rather quiet on the London 2012 front of late, I want big announcements and I want them now!!!!!!

[gotosy]

Europe's biggest shopping centre opens in London

LONDON — Europe's biggest urban shopping centre opened on Tuesday in a deprived area of east London where it will act as the gateway to the 2012 Olympics.

Westfield Stratford City, which has risen from derelict wasteland in one of the poorest areas in Britain, houses more than 300 shops, 70 restaurants, a 14-screen cinema, three hotels and Britain's largest casino.

Hundreds of people queued outside the £1.45 billion mall before the doors even opened on and 100,000 people were expected to turn up on the first day.

...

The giant Stratford site is a cornerstone of the Olympic Park and spectators arriving for next year's Games will have to walk through the shopping centre to reach the sports venues.

A high-speed train will bring 25,000 Olympics spectators an hour to Stratford International station where they will be greeted by a row of shops and restaurants.

Crucially for an area with unemployment levels far above the national average, the centre has created 10,000 new jobs.

...

But the site's proximity to the Olympic park has required additional security precautions.

The London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games (LOCOG) said it will be operating checks on vehicles entering the public car park at the shopping centre until the Games end in September 2012.

Paul Deighton, LOCOG chief executive, said: "With Westfield so close to the Olympic Park and with vehicle access to it directly accessed from the park, it is an obvious and important part of our security plans.

"We will make the checks as quick and unobtrusive as possible -- we are confident that shoppers will recognise the need for us to be vigilant and carry out these checks."

AFP

[Sir Rols]

Anyone wanna be a bona fide Olympian?

I remember Oz had to do similar to get a handball team together for 2000:

Fancy a crack at the Olympics? Try out for the GB handball team (even if you've never played before)

If you are still smarting at missing out on a ticket for next year’s Olympic Games, read on.

There may still be a way for you to get close to the action ... by competing for Britain at handball.

Applicants needn’t have played the game before and don’t even have to be British born and bred to join the team.

Less than a year before the Games start, organisers are advertising for women to join its squad as Britain prepares to compete in Olympics handball for the first time.

If selected, applicants will be able to join in the opening parade, wear Team GB’s national colours and compete in a £44million stadium.

As part of a £3million scheme to create, from scratch, a British Olympics squad for handball, women from Scandinavia, Italy and Switzerland have joined up.

Foreign-born players can qualify whether by dint of British parents, grandparents or by becoming naturalised British citizens and being given a British passport.

But on its website, the British Handball Association is still actively recruiting more women. Under the heading ‘talent search’, it inquires: ‘Do you have an Olympic Dream? – London 2012, Rio 2016 and beyond...

‘We are searching for athletic potential from committed and motivated female athletes who have the ability to develop as handball players. Think you have what it takes? Then simply complete the form below and our coaching staff will be in touch.’

Questions include whether you have played handball before, if so at what level, and what other sports you play.

Daniela Sposi, 31, is one of the most ‘foreign’ of the squad. She was born and brought up in Italy and played handball at international level for its national junior and senior teams. She moved to Britain in 2007 and qualifies as a naturalised British citizen.

She said: ‘I probably sound and look Italian but this country is my home. I have been lucky to have become a British citizen but I hope through my handball I have tried to give something back.’

Frazer Snowdon, of the British Handball Association, said: ‘The situation is that there is little in the way of British born and bred players who are good enough to play for the Olympic team and none of the existing squad is stopping British girls from taking a place.’

Handball involves two teams of seven players passing a ball by hand with the aim of throwing it into the goal of the other team.

Daily Mail

[DarJoLe]

London 2012 Paralympics: medal designs unveiled at British Museum

The London 2012 Paralympic Games medal designs have been unveiled at the British Museum.

With one week to go until the ticket application for the Games closes, the public have the chance to get their first look at the medals which will be hotly contested next summer. The medals have been designed by Lin Cheung, a Jewellery artist and senior lecturer in Jewellery Design at Central Saint Martins College of Arts and Design, London. London 2012 chairman Sebastian Coe, said: "I’m sure that the design of the medals will be a source of inspiration for the thousands of Paralympic athletes around the world who are counting down the days before they compete in what will be an amazing festival of elite sport." More than 2,100 Paralympic medals will be presented in 502 Paralympic victory ceremonies in more than 19 venues over 11 days of competition.

Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson DBE, winner of 16 Paralympic Games medals, said: "Winning a Paralympic medal is the pinnacle of an athlete’s career and the reward for years of dedication. With less than a year to go I'm sure that seeing these beautiful medals will make Paralympic hopefuls around the world train that little bit harder to ensure they're in the best possible shape to win one."

The front of the medal represents ‘Spirit in motion’, and has an outstretched wing of the Greek Goddess of Victory.

The back of the medal represents ‘The heart of victory’ and has an image of the area close to the Greek Goddess of Victory's heart which is used to symbolise the togetherness of the Games.

[adrianme17]

they're ok - again a real low key announcement by locog!

[oakydoky]

I prefer the paralympic medals to the Olympic ones which I feel are too 'cluttered'. These medals have a nice feel about them -- the textural quality is really nice.

[kevzz]

I also prefer the paralympic medal. There's a raw ore quality to it which is quite endearing, almost like it's taken right from the mine without doing much work to it.

[Victor Mata]

WOW! The symbolism is so classical I find it quite hard to link it to the "cutting edge-ness" all around London 2012 stuff. Very suitable to an Athens or Centennial Games though.

Good surprise.

[gotosy]

Very nice, but the still prefer the Olympic medals ;-)

^ I mean : still prefer the classic design of the olympic medals

[Sir Rols]

I was about to post the medal pics, then saw them here in this thread.

Yeah, gotta say, I like these more than the actual Games medals too.

[baron-pierreIV]

London 2012 Paralympics: medal designs unveiled at British Museum

The London 2012 Paralympic Games medal designs have been unveiled at the British Museum.

With one week to go until the ticket application for the Games closes, the public have the chance to get their first look at the medals which will be hotly contested next summer. The medals have been designed by Lin Cheung, a Jewellery artist and senior lecturer in Jewellery Design at Central Saint Martins College of Arts and Design, London. London 2012 chairman Sebastian Coe, said: "I’m sure that the design of the medals will be a source of inspiration for the thousands of Paralympic athletes around the world who are counting down the days before they compete in what will be an amazing festival of elite sport." More than 2,100 Paralympic medals will be presented in 502 Paralympic victory ceremonies in more than 19 venues over 11 days of competition.

Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson DBE, winner of 16 Paralympic Games medals, said: "Winning a Paralympic medal is the pinnacle of an athlete’s career and the reward for years of dedication. With less than a year to go I'm sure that seeing these beautiful medals will make Paralympic hopefuls around the world train that little bit harder to ensure they're in the best possible shape to win one."

The front of the medal represents ‘Spirit in motion’, and has an outstretched wing of the Greek Goddess of Victory.

The back of the medal represents ‘The heart of victory’ and has an image of the area close to the Greek Goddess of Victory's heart which is used to symbolise the togetherness of the Games.

I like the wing-feather tips. It's so very Wim Wenders!!

Now, the obverse is good for a medal in Mining but nothing else. The Braille inscription is great. You can always tell a non-Braille-reading person a grander stature about the medal and your victory than it really is.

[Citizen-Seth]

These look amazing! Probably my favourite medal from any summer Games (Paralympic or not) ever.

[Rob2012]

---

[oakydoky]

Found this:

LONDON 2012 BOOKLET:'Brown to Green'.Booklet for Atkins Global to highlight and display their involvement on the London 2012 Olympic Park.

Here is a design for a temporary information pavillion at London 2012, situated in Trafalgar square. The design is from

DCPP arquitectos.

[Mr Tickle]

That Atkins brocure/box is lovely. I think that pavillion is probably one of the concepts for an architecture competition. It was always pure concept, the winner and runners up are posted somewhere in the forum