Results tagged “2012”

Olympics organisers must be open about how many seats will be available for paying customers in 2012 if they want to avoid the wrath of disgruntled Londoners.

That was the warning from the former chief executive of the Manchester Commonwealth Games who appeared at the London Assembly to give advice on ticket distribution.

By John Biggs

The Winter Olympics in Vancouver have held a special interest as we look to lessons we can learn for our Olympics.

We've seen the enthusiasm and pride of the city but we've also seen press reports that Vancouver's public transport system couldn't cope.

Sad but true - the gaffes and calamities of the winter Olympics in Canada will serve our own event well.

Without the money of the Chinese, managing expectations was always going to be tough but the Vancouver setbacks provide a more circumspect measure against which to place the London Games.

He's an Olympic legend but for Sir Steve Redgrave it's Britain's future, not its past, that's important.

For Sir Steve, who won five gold medals at successive Olympics between 1984 and 2000, the 2012 Games in London should be the springboard for sporting success for years to come.

Sir Steve Redgrave was back on familiar territory when he dropped into Canary Wharf this afternoon.

The five time Olympic rowing champion spent many hours training in the nearby Royal Docks in the early days of his career and even has a bridge named after him there.

The organisers of the London Olympics have confirmed today they will not be building a £40million temporary venue next to The O2 for the Games.

Instead the two sports which would have been housed there, badminton and rhythmic gymnastics, will be held at Wembley Arena in 2012.

Ambling past the tables of his recently-opened restaurant, fourth generation salmon smoker Lance Forman gazes out of his window at the Olympic stadium heaving up across the river.

"We've got the best view in town of the stadium", he said. "We're as close as it gets. There will be no better place to watch the fireworks on opening night."

By John Biggs

Last week I was taken around the Olympic Park to view progress. In simple terms, from a pile of mud and rubble it has now been transformed into an emerging park with venues rising on it.

The stadium has taken shape, and the curvy swimming complex, while still a pile of steel and trestles, is shaping up too - it will without doubt be the iconic building of the games.

Mo Farah has a date with destiny later this month when he tries to break a record that has stood since before he was born.

The Newham and Essex Beagles runner will be attempting to break the British best for the 5,000m when he runs at the Aviva Grand Prix at Crystal Palace on July 24.

Is your spare room stuffed with old boxes, extractor fans and broken TVs? Why not make some money and fill it with a person instead?

It's an idea that's occurring to an increasing number of people in Docklands, especially with the Olympics just around the corner.

The House of Lords has urged the Government to step up its anti-terror plans for the 2012 Olympics.

A report by the house's EU Committee suggests the UK should make immediate contact with the union's emergency task force to reduce the potential impact of any attack during the games.

The cost of security for the London 2012 Olympics will not go over £600million, according to the Government.

Although full security plans will be kept secret, Home Secretary Jacqui Smith revealed the policing costs would not be exceeded and added the Government was unlikely to tap into a £238m contingency fund.

"People tend to believe major projects in the UK don't always go as well as they should, but when you look at the track record in the last 10 years the majority have gone very well."

John Armitt, chairman of the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA), is confident the Games are a golden opportunity to show off the best of British.

She's a little lady with a big voice and singer Heather Small is proud of the impact her most famous song has made on the public.

The former M People vocalist had her hit track Proud adopted as an anthem by the organisers of the London Olympics back in 2005 and since then it has taken on a life of its own.

DAME Kelly Holmes is adamant London's Olympic Stadium should be kept for athletics after 2012.

The debate over the stadium's legacy use has intensified over recent weeks, with calls from some quarters for it to be converted to be used full-time by a football club.

With London set to take become the Olympic host city this Sunday, August 24, celebrations across the capital are being planned.

And Greenwich's own Olympic venue, The O2, is taking part when it hosts a handover party on Sunday afternoon.

LONDON will still have an Olympic Torch relay in 2012 despite the trouble surrounding the flame’s visit to the capital at the weekend.

The London Organising Committee (LOCOG), based in Churchill Place, has confirmed the build-up to the 2012 Games will include a relay around the UK, although an international route looks doubtful.

A LOCOG spokeswoman said: “Our focus at the moment is on the handover at the end of the Beijing Games. But our plans for a torch relay are that we are committed to a domestic relay.