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July 27, 2012
The London 2012 Olympic Games
The London 2012 Olympic Games have officially started today and the city is teeming with spirit and excitement. To kick off, or shall I say to tee off celebrations, two heavy weight golfers, Sergio Garcia and Dustin Johnson joined in the celebrations and teed off a floating platform in an attempt to hit a hole in one on a floating target in the River Thames in London.
Golfing Heavyweights
The golfer’s difficult swing was in celebration of golf being included for the first time in 100 years, in the 2016 Olympic Games to be held in Rio de Janeiro. The famous golfing pair just added to the excitement that is running through the city due to the London Olympic Games and many spectators, golfing enthusiasts and people enjoying a party boat on the River Thames, cheered the golfers on. The successful golfers just finished participating in the Open tournament and tried out their sea legs and golfing skills on the iconic River Thames. Both of the golfers found the shot relatively hard with Garcia saying, ‘Courses usually don’t move this much, but it’s definitely going to be fun.’ Johnson didn’t find it all that much fun though, as he watched a number of shots bounce of the platform and into the river.
A Celebration
Although all of the logistical elements regarding golf being included in the 2016 Olympic Games are still under way, the golfing community as well as Sergio Garcia and Dustin Johnson are very happy about the decision. Apart from all of the other exciting happenings around London that have been entertaining Londoners and tourists alike, this was a unique way to not only get festivities under way but also a way to celebrate golf being included in the 2016 Olympic Games in Brazil with many people on the Tower Bridge as well on wedding boats joining in celebrations.
June 19, 2012
2012 has been crazy year in London and continues in the same vein for a while to come. The new Thames Cable Car being another exciting addition to the London landscape.
It’s hard to count all the events that have taken place over the last several months but the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee has been a constant focus and most recently the Thames Pageant. Now, with the Olympic flame just around the corner and fast approaching, there are many projects that people are eager to finish in time for the opening ceremony. The Thames Cable Car is one such development and construction workers will no doubt be kitted out in their combat trousers while they tackle the project.
The cable car is set to travel along its line, offering patrons panoramic views of the city and the Thames. Thorough safety tests have been carried out over the last couple of weeks and the Department of Transport are set to give their consent shortly. Authorities are near certain that the project will be completed in time for the Olympic Opening Ceremony on July 27, but there is speculation as to whether the cable car will be in full operation or not.
The airborne travel vehicle will consist of 34 gondolas and carry a total of 2,500 passengers per hour. The cable cars will traverse the river between Greenwich Peninsula and Royal Docks in 5 minutes and at its peak each car will be suspended by the cable at 160 feet above river level. You may even find some excessively cautious visitors wearing their waterproof trousers for the trip.
With the London Eye being such a successful attraction, especially for tourists, the City will no doubt do its best to have the cable car system up and running as soon as possible. Hosting an Olympic Games guarantees the most diverse groups of foreigners to the City and no matter the prices visitors will definitely be chomping at the bit to grab a ride.
June 12, 2012
The Olympic water courses for the London 2012 games have been certified as being fit for the various competitions in terms of water safety levels, according to Europe’s environmental watchdog. Apart from the designated Olympic water courses, a large majority of UK bathing waters were classified as ‘good and sufficient’ and ‘excellent’ making Great Britain an excellent destination for swimming and other water sports.
In an annual survey of bathing waters conducted by the European Environmental Agency, the UK Olympic water courses for the summer games, which include the Serpentine in London’s centre, have been classed as good and sufficient and fell just short of being excellent. This is particularly true for the Serpentine, which is supplied with water from the River Thames, which receives much traffic from public transport to party boat cruisers. The Serpentine London Olympic water course will host the triathlon and marathon swimming events. For the past five years it has passed the European Environmental Agency standards and experts say that only a freak storm or similar turbulent weather could tarnish its clean bill of health. According to the executive director of the agency, all of the sailing Olympic water courses are also looking healthy for the games.
The European Environmental also checks for higher levels of water health that is above that required by regulations, and are termed ‘excellent’ for bathing. In the United Kingdom, 504 out of 605 coastal bathing sites were awarded into this category. Only 16 coastal bathing sites were shown to be of poor quality; several of these were in the Irish Sea. Overall, around 97.4% of UK coastal bathing waters met standards, despite being used for activities as vast as wedding boats to general transport. The results mean that British waters are not only excellent as Olympic water courses, but for general swimming and recreation water activities too.
May 16, 2012
Hosting the Olympic games is a major undertaking, but we already knew that. An often-underestimated part of the contract is actually dealing with the Olympic aftermath. What to do with the giant water-polo section or the warm up tracks and security zones that make the Olympic park so disposable? What to do now that the city’s lost all of its silver, gold and bronze?
The first major phase of the Olympic Park reconstruction is set to happen one year after the 2012 London Olympic games takes place. Workers will have to get their combat trousers out to tackle such a major task. The plans for this transformation have just been released and the proposed completion will no doubt be a great addition to the area.
Construction on the new Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park Stratford is set to start in October 2012, announced the London Legacy Development Corporation just the other day. It is predicted that there will be 18 months worth of development thereafter.
The Park will be split into a more rural river valley north of the stadium and an urban estate in the South. The development will not completely wipeout every inch of the Olympic Park and scores of painters trousers will be donned as the construction strives to preserve its legacy by keeping the stadium and a few other satellite sporting venues for further use, such as the Hockey Turfs, set to Host the European Championships in 2015. Much of the work will take place around existing developments, for example the aquatics centre, to create the South Plaza that lies on the other side of the North Park, which is more eco-centric, with a large greenbelt/playground.
Temporary transport infrastructure will be redeveloped with intention to practically connect roads, bridges and foot and cycle paths between the Olympic Park and surrounding areas.
May 14, 2012
The organisers of the London 2012 Olympic Games have completed a series of test events in preparation of the Summer Games. Around 75,000 Olympic Games fans faced bitterly cold weather to attend the first public opening of the main stadium at the Olympic Park. The stadium hosted a student sports competition that included water polo, wheelchair tennis, field hockey and track and field events. Olympic Games organisers stated that around 40,000 spectators were present at the official opening of the Olympic Stadium on Saturday evening, which has a maximum capacity of 80,000.
Various venues and procedures were tested, including security, audio visual installation services and ticketing. The British military were also involved and flew fighter jet planes and helicopters over the city of London and other Olympic Game venues to test security. Another important aspect of the Olympic Games test events was the movement of fans. Over 140,000 people attended test events in a period of six days; the organisers had to asses these movements of the fans and anticipate any future issues. According to Sebastian Coe, head of the local organising committee for the Olympic Games, the test events were largely successful although there was still much work to do before the Olympic Games opening ceremony.
The Olympic Games test events was completed just eighty days before the actual competition begins. Over 10,500 athletes from 204 countries will grace the stage at the different Olympic Game arenas and will move into the Olympic Village in a mere two weeks. It’s the sporting world’s most prestigious event and organisers are making sure that everything from security to audio conferencing runs smoothly for spectators and athletes alike.
The rivalry between Olympic sponsors Adidas and Nike is fiercer than that between the actual athletes, according to a stream of reports regarding their much publicised sponsorship clash. The two sportswear giants are in a heated disagreement about their sponsored athletes wearing their competitor’s sportswear or shoes at the London Olympic Games. Normally an understanding is met but this year neither of them are backing down, which may result in sport shoes being left on the boot shapers UK has.