Archives for February 2010

The BBC  is hoping to bring the London Olympics to a young audience with a cartoon series featuring the 2012 mascot. The show is expected to begin on CBBC next year. Storylines featuring the character will educate children in the Olympic values of fair play. The identity of the Olympic mascot will be revealed by London 2012 chiefs, Locog, for maximum impact after the general election and before the football World Cup finals begin in June.

The 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver were hit at the very start by the tragic death of Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili and for a while the Games struggled to recover, as organisers were faced with problem after problem, from the unseasonably warm weather to transport snarl-ups to scoring problems.

Some even wondered if Vancouver would go on to be called the Worst Games Ever but no one is saying that now, with the action picking up to provide a series of electrifying and heart warming moments while the organisation has settled down.

In fact, Vancouver looks like it will set the bar pretty high for the next Summer Olympics in London in 2012. On Friday, Sebastian Coe, chair of the London 2012 Organising Committee, will be talking to Reuters from the Main Press Centre in Vancouver and will address questions including what London can learn from these Games.

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The chief executive of the Vancouver organising committee (VANOC) praised his London 2012 counterparts, led by chair Sebastian Coe and chief executive Paul Deighton, for sharing the same vision as the Canadian city's. Yet when asked by Press Association Sport to give one piece of advice to LOCOG based on his experience, the Irish-born Canadian said: "As difficult as it is, share. With everybody.

"Let everybody in, the stage is big enough."Furlong, speaking at a media briefing on Day 13 of the Vancouver Games, said including as many different organisations, corporate partners and members of the public could easily be overlooked in the rush to deliver an Olympic Games but was essential if the event was to prove a success.

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The poll by the Association of British Orchestras found 69% of people wanted a piece of classical music or music combining classical and another style of the 2,057 adults questioned, only 14% said they favoured a pop song.

London 2012 said it was looking to cater for all tastes in its music programmes and ceremonies.Luciano Pavarotti's performance of Nessun Dorma, the BBC's theme for the Italia 90 Football World Cup, was the top sports song according to 40% of those questioned by the ABO.About 25% of those quizzed said they preferred World in Union, the 1995 Rugby World Cup theme.

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Sebastian Coe has shocked the sporting establishment by announcing that, due a combination of climate change and the credit crunch, London 2012 will see the first ever combined Summer and Winter Olympics.

Many sports will be affected by the new icy track and field rules. Javelin Jumping will see competitors with skis launched off the end of a 70 metre ramp carrying a large spear, whilst Discus Dancing will see large, steroid-filled Eastern Europeans in sparkly leotards launch their discs at the end of a triple salchow with toe loop; spectators in rows A-M should wear appropriate headgear.

The BBC will be the host broadcaster of this sporting first, with lead commentator Stuart Hall excitedly proclaiming: ‘Haaaaa, haaaa, oooh, he’s mmmmwaaahaaaaa, spppppp, mnahhhh oh ho ho ho ho, mwaaaaahaahahaaaaa.’

As Vancouverites enjoy the wealth of new venues realized for the 2010 Olympic Winter Games, Londoners are beginning to see a host of sporting venues, transit links, and other facilities spring up for the 2012 Summer Games.

Unlike the halting, delayed construction that characterized Athens’s preparation for the 2004 event, London’s £8 billion Olympics building program is moving along at a humming pace.

“We are right on track and budget,” says Jerome Frost, head of design of the Olympic Development Authority (ODA), “and the skyline of east London is already changing.”

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The team will use the K2 leisure centre, which has an 50m swimming pool, running track and other facilities. Crawley Borough Council said the town's proximity to London had also helped attract the Barbados National Olympic squad to the venue.

West Sussex County Council leader Henry Smith said he believed their decision would boost the area's economy.Mr Smith said he hoped more teams would sign up to use the facilities on offer in the county and pledged that competitors would get "the right training, support and experience to qualify for the Games and to perform at their best in London".

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Vanoc’s integration of culture into the 2010 Olympic sports program has been singled out for praise by the man in charge of the Cultural Olympiad and ceremonies for the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. Bill Morris said Burke Taylor, executive producer of Vancouver’s 2010 Cultural Olympiad, and his team have integrated the cultural side of the Olympic Games with sports “so that it does not feel like a separate offshoot.

“It feels like it comes from the same DNA,” Morris said. “One thing I’ve observed that your team has done so brilliantly is that when you come to Vancouver to the games and the lead up to the games, you can’t miss it: you see the cultural program all over the place.

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Irish President Mary McAleese will see the site of the Olympics during a two day trip to London, it emerged. Ms McAleese will begin her official visit to the capital next Sunday by being the guest of honour when London Irish rugby team take on Harlequins in the Madejski Stadium, Reading. In the evening, the President will spend time at the Reading Irish Centre.

A taxi cab that runs on the latest hydrogen fuel cell technology is being developed with the aim of being ready for full road trials in time for the 2012 Olympics. The car looks and drives just like a standard London black cab – but underneath the bonnet is some cutting-edge technology by sports carmaker Lotus.

The fuel cell taxi can hit a top speed of 81mph, go from 0-60mph in 14 seconds and has a range of more than 250 miles on a full tank of hydrogen. Like electric vehicles, the new taxi does not produce any emissions from its tailpipe but, unlike battery-electric cars, it will only take a few minutes to fill up from empty.

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