London 2012 Clock up and ticking

London Mayor Boris Johnson on Tuesday started the countdown to the 2012 Olympics by unveiling a digital clock ticking down to the opening of a new showpiece gateway to the Games.

On a visit to rain-soaked east London, Johnson drew back the curtains on a clock counting down from 912 days and nine hours until the new Stratford City development is due to open.

The site is to be a major shopping and leisure development due to open in 2011, the gateway to a newly-built Olympic Park and major plank of the regeneration of one of London's most deprived areas.

"Whatever impression people get from these pictures it is not raining in London for 94 percent of the time, exactly the same as Paris or Prague or other comparable cities," Johnson quipped.

The mayor was visiting to review progress at the Stratford City site.

Johnson is keen for the Games to trigger the regeneration of Stratford and leave a lasting legacy both for the area and British sport.

He has voiced concern about how the "weird constellation of huge objects" being built for the Games, such as the Olympic village and velodrome, would be used afterwards.

"I don't think the people of London have fully realised that we are not going to have to wait until after 2012 to get this legacy," he said.

"We have got the most stunning investment going into Stratford, 18,000 jobs are being created even before the Olympics open."

The development should eventually lead to 25,000 jobs being created.

Johnson has insisted that the London Olympics will come in under budget.

The estimated cost of the Games has risen from 3.4 billion pounds when it won the bid in 2005, to 9.3 billion pounds. The Beijing Olympics cost between 40 and 45 billion dollars.

Britain's most successful Olympic team for 100 years scooped 47 medals, including 19 golds, at the Beijing Games last month, raising expectations for London 2012.

The Olympic flag was handed over to Johnson during the Beijing closing ceremony.

London's 8 Minute closing segment in Beijing Leaked - Details here

London 2012 officials have lost the element of surprise for their eight-minute show at the closing ceremony of the Beijing Olympics.

I understand that reports that David Beckham and Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page and pop star Leona Lewis will take part are correct.

Beckham will appear on the top of one of London's red double-decker buses and kick a football into the crowd when London gets a chance to tell the world what the next Games will be like.

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It's been rumoured for some time that Beckham - who in 2005 was in Singapore as part of the bid team when London won the 2012 vote - would take part but London 2012 are disappointed that the news has leaked out more than a week before the ceremony on Sunday August 24 (1300-1600 BST).

Olympic officials will also be concerned that it has not been possible to keep the ceremony secret.

In 2012, the International Olympic Committee will want London to keep more of their surprises for the opening ceremony under tighter guard.

The segment will also feature hundreds of dancers performing ballet and break-dancing routines.

The performers from London urban dance group Zoo Nation, the Royal Ballet and Candoco, a disabled dance company, are already in Beijing rehearsing.

In fact they are staying in my hotel and return back late at night looking pretty tired.
All of them had been told to talk to nobody about the plans for the ceremony, which will be shown in the UK on a network of big screens across the country.




One thing is certain. The London segment will be in stark contrast to the Chinese goodbye. It is also said to contain quite a lot of humour.

London 2012 are not laughing, however, about the fact the world already knows what's coming.

London 2012 Organizing Committee says they will be Better than Beijing

After watching the spectacular fireworks and dazzling choreography of the 2008 Beijing Olympics Opening Ceremony, many are wondering whether or not it will be possible for future Olympic committees to recreate an equivalently breathtaking show. But 2012 Olympic host London believes they are ready to take on the challenge.

In an interview with the British newspaper The Daily Telegraph released Saturday, chairman of the London Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games (LOCOG) Sebastian Coe said London is prepared to match the spectacle and charm of the Beijing Opening Ceremony.

Coe and fellow organizers "weren't cowed at all" after watching the Beijing ceremony, he insisted. At one point in the interview Coe even went as far to say that the London Games can "go further on so many fronts."

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But that does not mean the London committee was not duly awed in Beijing; they were impressed. Speaking for his colleagues Coe stressed, "They were more pumped up because it was so good. I think they were quite excited by the challenge." He continued, "But we can do something as good, set in a different context" -- a British one.

Coe kept mentioning two words -- creativity and fun. Both, he claimed, are representations of Britain's unique culture. Creativity, he insisted, is "Britishness in the very best sense of the word."

As far as the fun part goes, London knows how to throw a good party, and that is what they plan to do, Coe beamed. "We're actually quite good at partying," he said. "Let's turn it into a giant party."

Citing the famous string of British pop music and West End stars that are part of the planning team, Coe seemed quite certain that the organizing committee will be able to put on a great super-fun show.

Introduction

Welcome to the Home of the London 2012 Blog World
This Blog is currently in the Design Process.

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London England is the Host City for the 2012 Summer Olympic Games. This blog is about the games and the events leading up to them. Stay tuned for up to date information olympic games enthusiasts will need to know before during and after the olympics.




The 2008 Beijing Summer Games are currently being held in Beijing China. Vancouver Canada is next with the 2010 Winter Olympic games. Information on the Vancouver Games can be found at http://vancouver2010blog.blogspot.com.

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