Crawley, England. — It seems that British athletes will be going from the podium to the party, as Las Vegas has been revealed as the number one holiday destination for athletes following the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Official airline partner British Airways asked a number of Team GB and ParalympicsGB athletes about their holiday plans post September. Far from having a relaxing break, the results showed that many of the athletes will be seeking sun and fun on Las Vegas holidays, following weeks and months of gruelling schedules.

Nearly a third of athletes (28 per cent) are planning a trip to America, with Las Vegas and Orlando holidays among the top choices. In second place is Spain, with 13 per cent of athletes planning a break to the mainland and its islands, with Ibiza topping the list.

One of the many athletes planning a trip to Las Vegas is triathlete Helen Jenkins, who said: “My husband and I Iove Vegas and cannot wait to return. The weather is always great, and there’s always something going on. I’m not surprised it’s popular with the athletes as we’ve all trained so hard for so long – it provides the perfect antidote to get away from it all.”

In joint third place are Australia, Greece and Thailand, proving to be popular destinations due to the sunshine, beaches, sports activities, great food and culture they offer.

Some of the more unusual destinations included were Lithuania, Cuba and Scotland. The findings also revealed that there’s no rest for some athletes, with four per cent planning an active ski or snowboarding holiday.

The top destinations chosen by Team GB and ParalympicsGB athletes included America, Spain, Greece, Thailand, Australia, France, as well as holidays in the Maldives.

British Airways provides a wide range of holiday including short breaks in Barcelona, seven night holidays in Barbados and three night breaks in Las Vegas.

Richard Tams, British Airways Head of Sales and marketing for UK and Ireland, said: “We’ve seen a slight increase in late summer bookings this year, due to many holidaymakers staying at home to support our athletes during the London 2012 Games. The good news is that there are still lots of late bargains to be had.

“There are some great deals to Spain and Greece for those looking for a quick city break, to make it back in time for the Paralympic Games. For holidaymakers looking to go further a field, then Mexico is great this time of year, although the party atmosphere in Jamaica following their Olympic success may well be more appealing to those looking for a lively time.”

Throughout the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, British Airways is encouraging the nation to get behind the athletes and offer their support, using the hashtag #HomeAdvantage on Twitter.

British Airways is proud airline partner of Team GB and ParalympicsGB.

Image Courtesy of   LouLouPhotos / Shutterstock.com

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Los Angeles, U.S.A. — Luminys Systems Corp. proudly supported the 2012 U.S. Olympic Swimming Team Trials at CenturyLink Center in Omaha, Nebraska with the company’s proprietary SoftSun lights. Luminys provides the world’s most powerful and controllable single source lights for sporting venues, concert arenas, and film and television production, as well as other commercial and industrial applications.

JustLighting of LasVegas, Nevada, renowned event lighting designers, once again teamed up with Luminys for the Olympic Swimming Team Trials.

“With the use of just four 50K SoftSuns, JustLighting was able to deliver incomparable depth of field and stunningly brilliant color renderings to the NBC Sports HD national broadcast,” said Steve Heller of Attitude Specialty Lighting who worked with JustLighting as the exclusive Luminys agent in the Southeast. “The NBC production team was very impressed with the quality of light provided by the 50K’s for their slow motion replays,” Heller added.

Luminys previously supplied SoftSuns for JustLighting’s lighting design of Dolphin Stadium for Super Bowl XLI, among other events.

JustLighting installed four SoftSun 50,000 Watt models within the CenturyLink Center facility for the U.S. Olympic Swimming Team Trials. Viewers saw the amazing difference in the resulting picture quality in broadcast and photography taken during the Olympic Swimming trials.

“The superior color quality of the SoftSun lights delivered an enhanced high definition experience captured on camera,” said David Pringle, Chief Technology Officer of Luminys. “Being able to showcase these talented athletes in a highly anticipated and photographed event leading up to the 2012 Summer Olympic Games in London was a great opportunity to demonstrate the performance that SoftSun delivers.”

Image Courtesy of  US Olympic Team

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London, England — The Commission for a Sustainable London 2012, cautions against complacency when it comes to securing the lasting legacy of the London Games. Following a hugely successful Games for Team GB, it is important that the determination required for sporting success is deployed to ensure that London 2012 is remembered as one of the most ambitious and successful sustainable regeneration projects too.

Shaun McCarthy, Chair, Commission for a Sustainable London 2012, said: “I have always seen London 2012 as a sustainable regeneration project interrupted by a few weeks of sport! There is no doubt that East London has exploded on to the world stage as a place to visit, live and work. However, much is still to be done. It is important that the London Legacy Development Corporation works to ensure the positive momentum gathered from the Games is not lost.”

According to the Commission, the work done to build a community after the Games is a notable achievement. The Olympic Village is set to deliver 2,700 homes; the operations centre will become a school; and the athletes’ polyclinic will become a modern GP clinic. This represents a major contribution to London’s housing shortage.

Jobs are key to legacy. The Commission was impressed by the contribution of the Games during the construction phase as 7,438 jobs came from the five host boroughs. Whilst figures for LOCOG are less clear, it is estimated that 6,000 people have been recruited through their local job brokerage scheme. Nonetheless, the Commission believes that local jobs are important and it encourages the legacy company to actively focus on jobs as much as the ODA and LOCOG have.

The next legacy challenge is promoting healthier lifestyles based on sport. The Commission believes getting more people active takes investment at a community level and a clear plan. Currently no such plan currently exists outside London. Supporting community and school sport will also give a chance for budding young athletes to become the sporting stars of the future.

The Commission for a Sustainable London 2012: The aim of the Commission is to provide independent assurance and commentary to enable the sustainability objectives of the London 2012 programme to be achieved and to support a sustainable legacy. The Commission tracks all the recommendations made here: http://www.cslondon.org/recommendations

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Iran is forever in the news, whether for its bold statements on the West or its tête-à-tête with Israel. By courtesy of the Iranian Olympians, Iran is in the news for positive reasons right now. One should put aside the pre-Olympics hype over whether Iranian Olympians will face their arch rivals from Israel or not and focus on the contributions their athletes made to the spirit of the 2012 Olympics.

The country current ranks at 12th place in the Olympic table with a total of eight medals: four golds, three silvers, and one bronze. To celebrate their country’s accolades in Olympics, Iranians took to social networking sites to express their joy. One could argue that this Olympics has indeed exposed a rare side of Iran to the global audience.

Iran has participated in the Olympics since the 1948 London Games. This year, 45 men and eight women are participating from Iran in the London 2012 Olympics. However, this is the first time that Iran has won medals in athletic categories and their first-ever gold medal in Greco-Roman wrestling. Twenty-five-year-old Neda Shahsavari also made a history by becoming the first Iranian woman to qualify for women’s table tennis. Tuesday, August 7, was especially jubilant for Iranians as their Olympians won two gold and two silver medals.

Twenty-two-year-old Behdad Salimikordasiabi was bestowed with the title of strongest man after winning the gold medal on Tuesday in the 105kg weightlifting competition. Salimi said in a statement, “In Iran I know they’re all partying in the street already.” Salimikordasiabi’s final competitor was Russia’s European champion Ruslan Albegov, who lost by 1kg, allowing Salimikordasiabi’s lift of 455kg to become the champion. On his winning Salimikordasiabi told the media, “I’m very happy, I worked very hard for this and had a very hard schedule.”

Fellow Iranian 28-year-old Sajjad Anoushiravani took the bronze medal, with the silver going to Albegov. Anoushiravani said, “I’d have liked to be first but I’m happy with what I’ve got. God forbid if one day he is not able to compete, I will carry Iran’s flag for him. But the most important thing is that we both competed and both won a medal.”

In men’s athletics, Ehsan Hadadi won Iran’s first ever silver medal with a 68.18m discus throw on Tuesday with Kianoush Rostami winning Iran a bronze medal on August 3 in the men’s 85kg weightlifting.

Hamid Soryan, a 26-year-old wrestler from Tehran, won Iran’s first gold medal in 40 years in  the 55kg Greco-Roman wrestling on August 5 after defeating Azerbaijan’s Rovshan Bayramov 2-0 in the final. Another celebrated winner is defending world champion Omid Noroozi in men’s 60kg Greco-Roman wrestling, who defeated Georgia’s Revaz Lashkhi 1-0, 1-0 to give Iran its second gold medal.

Ghasem Rezai in men’s 96kg Greco-Roman wrestling gave Iran its third gold medal in many days by beating Russia’s Rustam Totrov 2-0, 1-0 on Tuesday. Rezai said in a statement, “I am very happy because I have made my people very proud. To see all the Iranians inside the stadium and back home, to bring smiles to their faces is the happiest moment of my life.”

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad congratulated the Iranian Olympians on Sunday, “I hereby congratulate the Iranian wrestlers, athletes and nation on Iran’s first gold medal at the London Olympics won by young and brave Greco-Roman wrestler Hamid Sourian. I pray to God for more victories by Iranian athletes in the London 2012 Olympic Games.”

Image Courtesy of  Boris Pamikov / Shutterstock.com

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London, England — A massive audience of 6.2 million Canadians watched the world’s fastest runner win gold in the men’s 100m final Sunday, powering Day 9 (August 5) to be the most-watched day yet for Canada’s Olympic Broadcast Media Consortium at London 2012.

With an average of nearly 5 million viewers watching from 4:52 – 5:03 p.m. ET on CTV alone, Usain Bolt’s winning race is in line with the record-setting Top 10 (non-hockey) events from Vancouver 2010. Day 9 (Sunday, August 5) becomes the most-watched yet at London 2012 with 2.5 million viewers watching on average over 22 hours of coverage.

Canada’s Olympic Broadcast Media Consortium confirms that audiences for London 2012 continue to out-run Beijing 2008, with viewing increasing by an impressive 87% during Days 7-9. An average of 2.3 millionviewers tuned in throughout the consortium’s 22 hours of daily coverage from Aug. 3-5, including an average audience of 2.9 million viewers in prime time.

Additionally, a whopping 3.6 million viewers tuned into OLYMPIC DAYTIME during Days 7-9, with 4.3 million viewers tuning in to Sunday’s daytime broadcast alone. On CTV, the tape-delayed prime time coverage averaged 2 million viewers, up 43% over CBC’s prime time live/tape-delayed coverage of Beijing 2008 (1.4 million) for the same time period.

From the start of the 2012 Games to date, an incredible 30.5 million Canadians – or 90.7% of the population – has watched some coverage on Consortium channels. Additionally, London 2012 continues to be a wide-reaching event with 92% of all women, 91% of all men and 87% of all children experiencing some part of the 2012 Games on television.

In addition to the men’s athletics 100m final, the top events of London 2012 on the Consortium networks all took place over the weekend. On Canada’s golden Saturday, an average of 2.1 million viewers tuned in as Rosie MacLennan won Canada’s first gold medal of the 2012 Games during the women’s trampoline final.

The men’s 1500m freestyle swimming final averaged 2.8 million viewers as Canada’s Ryan Cochranewon a silver medal, while the women’s team pursuit cycling averaged 2.2 million as Canada won bronze. Additionally, Michael Phelps’ last Olympic race, the men’s 4x100m medley relay, garnered an average audience of more than 2.9 million on Saturday.

Meanwhile, despite only two days of coverage, athletics (16.3 million) is now a close second to swimming (18.6 million) in terms of most-watched sports by unique viewers.

Additional Highlights for Days 7-9:

• Sunday’s men’s athletics 100m final is the top event on both CTV (4.9 million) and V (854,000) of the 2012 Games to date
• TSN achieved its highest audience of the 2012 Games to date on Friday with the Canada/Great Britain women’s soccer quarter-final averaging 841,000 viewers and reaching 2.7 million viewers
• Sportsnet achieved three of its Top 5 most-watched events of the 2012 Games on Days 7-9, led by the women’s athletics 100m semifinal on Saturday with 417,000 viewers
• RDS had four of its Top 5 events of the 2012 Games on Sunday including the women’s 3m springboard final (446,000) and men’s athletics 100m final (426,000)

As Canadians left work for the long weekend, they stayed with Consortium digital coverage of London2012 as Days 7-9 brought 4.3 million video views, 20% higher than the same three days during Vancouver2010. By the end of Day 9, total page views to CTVOlympics.ca, RDSolympiques.ca, and the CTV Olympics London 2012 and RDS olympiques pour Londres 2012 Apps reached 129 million views, pacing 17% higher than Vancouver 2010.

The mobile story continues, as Saturday and Sunday saw the highest days of mobile traffic to digital platforms with almost 70% of digital traffic coming through mobile devices.

Image Courtesy of  José Goulão

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Chicago, U.S.A. – United Airlines will launch its 2012 Team USA television advertising this evening, highlighting the airline’s role as the official airline of Team USA and marking the start of the London 2012 Olympic Games.

The commercials – under the direction of veteran commercial director Joe Pytka – are narrated by Academy Award-winning screenwriter and actor Matt Damon, and feature a stirring new arrangement of United’s signature theme, “Rhapsody in Blue,” by the London Symphony Orchestra:

• “Tunnel,” a 60-second commercial highlighting United’s role in flying Team USA to the London 2012 Olympic Games. The spot launches during NBC’s broadcast of the Opening Ceremony and will run, along with a 30-second version, throughout the network’s 17-day coverage of the Games.
• “Getting Ready,” a 30-second commercial highlighting United employees’ pride and coordination in flying Team USA. The spot will also run throughout NBC’s coverage of the Games.

The commercials are part of a larger United 2012 Team USA advertising campaign, “Before They Move Us, We Move Them,” which highlights the airline’s history in flying Team USA Olympic and Paralympic athletes to training events, competitions, Olympic Trials and Olympic Games for 32 years. The campaign includes print and outdoor advertising, a “17 Days/17 Flights to London” promotion that United conducted in the spring, social media and airport signage in United’s eight continental U.S. hubs.

“Our effort reflects the enormous pride United has in flying Team USA,” said Mark Bergsrud, United’s senior vice president of marketing. “We are thrilled to support the 2012 Team USA Olympic and Paralympic athletes as they ‘go for gold’ in London.”

United’s agency-of-record, McGarryBowen, developed the campaign with the airline.

About United

United Airlines and United Express operate an average of 5,605 flights a day to 375 airports on six continents from our hubs in Chicago, Cleveland, Denver, Guam, Houston, Los Angeles, New York/Newark, San Francisco, Tokyo and Washington, D.C. In 2011, United carried more traffic than any other airline in the world, and operated more than two million flights carrying 142 million passengers. United is upgrading its cabins with more flat-bed seats in first and business class and more extra-legroom economy-class seating than any other airline in North America.

United operates nearly 700 mainline aircraft and has orders for more than 270 new aircraft deliveries through 2022, including 50 Boeing 787 Dreamliners, 25 Airbus A350XWBs, and 100 Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft.

United was rated the world’s most admired airline on FORTUNE magazine’s 2012 airline-industry list of the World’s Most Admired Companies. Readers of Global Traveler magazine have voted United’s MileagePlus program the best frequent flyer program for eight consecutive years. United is a founding member of Star Alliance, which provides service to 193 countries via 27 member airlines. More than 85,000 United employees reside in every U.S. state and in countries around the world. For more information, visit united.com or follow United on Twitter and Facebook. The common stock of United’s parent, United Continental Holdings, Inc., is traded on the NYSE under the symbol UAL.

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Under The Twitter Rules, it is stated that “You may not publish or post other people’s private and confidential information, such as credit card numbers, street address or Social Security/National Identity numbers, without their express authorization and permission.”

The San Francisco-based microblogging service offered this reasoning to journalist Guy Adams for his account’s suspension on July 29. Adams, the Los Angeles correspondent for UK publication The Independent, had tweeted on July 27:

“The man responsible for NBC pretending the Olympics haven’t started yet is Gary Zenkel. Tell him what u think! Email: Gary.zenkel@nbcuni.com.”  The corporate email account belongs to Gary Zenkel, president of NBC Olympics for NBCUniversal (a Comcast Corporation subsidiary), the American broadcaster with exclusive US media rights to the airing of the London 2012 Olympics.

As part of his email to Twitter’s European public relations executive Rachel Bremer, Adams wrote, “I’m of course happy to abide by Twitter’s rules, now and forever,” it reads. “But I don’t see how I broke them in this case: I didn’t publish a private email address. Just a corporate one, which is widely available to anyone with access to Google, and is identical [in form] to one that all of the tens of thousands of NBC Universal employees share.”

Although Zenkel’s email is not readily available on NBCUniversal’s website, the email accounts of executives at American cable channel Bravo – which is owned by NBCUniversal – follow the same format. Since his suspension, Twitter users have been reposting Zenkel’s email in a show of solidarity. Regarding the dubious “non-public” status of the account, New York Magazine wrote, “If it was ever private, it’s not now.” The hashtags #NBCFail and #TwitterFail are also trending in relation to the incident.

In a twist that had Adams writing about “various ethical issues relevant to journalism in the online era,” NBC Sports issued a statement yesterday regarding its role in bringing the message to Twitter’s attention. Matthew Keys of Reuters tweeted part of the statement, “”We filed a complaint with Twitter because a user tweeted the personal information of one of our executives.”

The service entered into a partnership with NBC to tweet exclusive Olympic content through its website. According to the Wall Street Journal, the broadcaster will not be paying Twitter or sharing any advertising revenue.

Twitter has not responded publicly regarding the incident.

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Wearing their national uniform has always been a source of pride for athletes. However, this will not be the case for the Spanish athletes during the London 2012 Olympics Games. The reason for this is the style of their uniforms, which has created a lot of polemic between the athletes. One look at the uniform and you will understand why there has been so much talk about the style.

The people of Spain seem ashamed about the uniform, specially those who will be in London, competing for Spain in the Olympics. A lot of athletes have made their feelings known, specially through Twitter, where they have posted tweets criticizing the uniform, which, by the way, is not even designed by a Spanish brand, but by the Italian and Russian company Bosco.

“At home trying on the Olympic clothes. Best I don’t comment, I will leave it up to you…” canoeist Saul Craviotto posted on his Twitter account while posing with full kit including baseball, cap and backpack.

Other athletes have also mocked the uniform. Tennis player Anabel Medina joked, “With this uniform we are going to look like the Singapore Airline stewardesses.”

Famous handball goalkeeper, Jose Javier Hombrados also did not miss the chance to joke about this: “No one of us is gonna get lost in the Olympic Village with these clothes,” he wrote on Twitter.

“Looking forward to seeing Feliciano Lopez wearing the official Olympic uniform. He’ll never have worn anything so ugly in his life,” former tennis world number one Carlos Moya also wrote on Twitter.

Jose Luis Saez, the Spanish Basket Federation president, made a statement to a local newspaper where he said that the decision to choose this uniform was “terrible.”

The Spanish Olympic Committee president, Alejandro Blanco, has replied to the animosity with anger, especially towards Jose Luis Saez: “In any case a directing should criticize the national team uniform. This is something that I have not seen anyone ever, I believe these statements to be from a leader should left over.”

Blanco has defended the decision to select this uniform by arguing that Spain will not pay anything for it, since Bosco trademark will produce it for free, and even pays for the sportsmen and women to wear it. Blanco said that “in other circumstances Spain would have to paid around € 1.7 millions, which would have been responsible in the actual financial situation.”

Image Courtesy of   Igor Marx / Shutterstock.com

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Amid the self-proclaimed comparisons to the 1992 “Dream Team”, a side that boasted eleven future NBA Hall of Famers, notably the likes of Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, and Magic Johnson, one vital fact seems to be consistently overlooked; the 2012 United States Men’s National Basketball Team is yet to play a competitive game. With the Olympic Games kicking off this weekend in London, Team USA looks to validate the hype and bring a record fourteenth gold medal back to the States.

This Olympic tournament however is likely to pose much more of a challenge to Team USA than their 1992 Dream Team counterparts encountered. Since those Olympic Games in Barcelona  twenty years ago, the global aptitude for basketball has increased exponentially due to the likes of international superstars Pau Gasol, Dirk Nowitzki, and Manu Ginobili making their marks in the National Basketball Association, the world’s elite basketball league.

Despite the increases in both quantity and quality of competition, the American fans expect nothing less then a gold medal from Team USA. When you consider the United States teams hold an all-time record of 122 wins and 5 losses at the Olympic games, it is easy to see why expectations are so high for this talented group of athletes.

Team USA will be sporting some of the NBA’s most prolific talent in its efforts to repeat their 2008 gold medal run. All-time greats and sure fire future hall of famers Kobe Bryant and Lebron James, arguably the two greatest players in the world today, will be joined by rookie phenom Anthony Davis and nine other perennial All-Stars; Carmelo Anthony, Tyson Chandler, Kevin Durant, James Harden, Andre Iguodala, Kevin Love, Chris Paul, Russell Westbrook, and Deron Williams. The United States talent isn’t limited to NBA championship rings and on court prowess; coach Mike Krzyzewski has won eight gold medals from the bench and boasts 927 career wins as a collegiate coach. With accolades like this, it is no wonder that Team USA is the odds on favorite to win gold in London.

Team USA begins their campaign on Sunday, July 29 against Group A rivals France. The Olympic tournament consists of twelve teams split into two groups of six, with the top four teams from each group advancing to the quarterfinals, where the remaining eight sides will compete to make to the semifinals and the opportunity to win a medal.

The two winning semifinal teams will then meet in the gold medal game on Sunday, August 11.  The number two rated team in the world behind the United States, Spain, lead by brothers Pau and Marc Gasol, anchors a bottom heavy Group B, potentially setting up a highly anticipated USA vs. Spain gold medal rematch from 2008. It’s worth noting that Team USA racked up a twenty-two point victory over the Spanish in their final exhibition tune-up on July 24.

Although the Olympics are a time for international harmony and patriotism, this 2012 campaign is all business for Team USA- it is gold medal or bust for these superstars. This team knows that if the court of public opinion is going to justify comparisons to the ’92 Dream Team, they are going to have to win, and win big. We’ve heard them talk the biggest game around, now it’s finally time for Team USA to back it up on the court in their effort to make history and bring the gold medal back across the Atlantic Ocean like their predecessors Jordan, Johnson and Bird did ten years ago.

Image Courtesy of    USA Basketball

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A triple jump Olympic athlete from Greece, Voula Papachristou, was withdrawn from the London Olympics on July 25 after she made an racist comment on her personal Twitter account that talked about African immigrants in Greece. She posted the tweet on July 22 and it said: “With so many Africans in Greece… the West Nile mosquitoes will at least eat homemade food!”

With this post, Papachristou was making a reference to a crisis in Greece caused by a virus from the Nile that has caused one death and at least five infections.

Papachristou’s tweet has caused so much controversy around, that the Greek Federation has not doubted about the reprisal made. The respond was not letting her defend the Greek colors during the Olympic Games.

Isidoros Kouvelos, who is in charge of the Greek delegation, showed his anger on Greek SKAI TV: “She showed no respect for a basic Olympic value and unfortunately she is out. She made a mistake and in life we pay for our mistakes.”

A decision that her coach, George Pomaski, has not understood, and assesses it as harsh, especially for someone that has apologized. “It’s too much, the penalty should not have been so strict,” he told Reuters.

The triple jump athlete showed her repentance on her personal Facebook page, but this has not helped her to achieve forgiveness and compete in London: “I am very sorry and ashamed for the negative responses I triggered, since I never wanted to offend anyone, or to encroach human rights.”

“My dream is connected to the Olympic Games and I could not possibly participate if I did not respect their values. Therefore, I could never believe in discrimination between human beings and races. I would like to apologize to all my friends and fellow athletes, who I may have insulted or shamed, the National Team, as well as the people and companies who support my athletic career. Finally, I would like to apologize to my coach and my family,” she wrote.

The athlete’s comment has caused a lot of controversy on social media, specially in Twitter. Two groups have been made: those that support her and those that agree she should have been expelled from the Olympics.

With the social media being so present in everyone’s life, some coaches, such as Spain soccer national team coach, are advising their athletes to not use social media during competitions in order to avoid these type of problems.

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Britons are packing their bags and travelling abroad during the Olympics to be better off, according to a recent survey. Findings by M&S Money revealed that a beach break overseas is more financially viable than staying in London during the first week of the 2012 Games.

The study of 2,000 adults showed that a foreign beach vacation will leave a Briton around 25% wealthier than residing in the capital. A trip to a seaside destination overseas cost on average GBP1,298 from 28th July- 4th August in comparison to GBP1,631 for the same week in London including spends.

The report claims that London is coming out as costly due to the fact that a large amount of spending money is required with almost GBP600 needed per week. Bridgeton in Barbados and Daytona Beach in Florida were the only hotspots that were cheaper than the UK’s capital.

Further findings reveal that the lowest priced destination was Alicante in Spain at GBP927 as well as Bodrum in Turkey at GBP1,102. A massive 46% of those surveyed plan to take a holiday abroad this summer and 28% intend to have a beach trip.

Hotel Sis Pins is without doubt one of the most charming hotels in Pollensa, Spain and is a well-kept secret of timeless elegance and sophistication with warmth and welcome; beautifully located on the very edge of the sparkling Mediterranean Sea.

Visitors return time and time again to stay in the traditional Mallorquin beach hotel which is full of character and charm; all other beach hotels, cottages and apartments will fail in comparison with the perfect location to the beach, marina and shops. It is the ideal holiday destination in Majorca, so if you are considering a beach holiday to escape the London 2012 Olympics look no further than Hotel Sis Pins.

Image Courtesy of  pcruciatti / Shutterstock.com

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Edinburgh, United Kingdom — Olympic soccer games in the men’s and women’s tournaments will feature teams such as France and the USA and take place at Scotland’s national soccer stadium, Hampden Park from 25 July to 3 August. Scotland’s Olympic showpiece will also see Men’s World and European Champions, Spain play Japan on 26 July.

Beyond soccer fever, this exciting and creative city has many surprises in store for those looking for an Olympic city break that combines culture and style with the sporting event of the summer. 2012 is the Year of Creative Scotland and Glasgow, a UNESCO City of Music, is the perfect place to visit with its internationally-acclaimed museums and galleries, stunning architecture, fabulous shopping and wonderful dining.

On July 18th, Glasgow celebrated welcoming the games to the city with American piper Megan Canning and French Drummer Iona Sicard-Cras from Piping Live! Glasgow International Piping Festival and The World Pipe Band Championships. Supporting their respective countries, who will be playing each other at the first game at Hampden, Iona and Megan are two of the 8000 musicians who will be playing as part of the world’s biggest week of piping in Glasgow from 6-12 August as the two events take place. Like the Olympics, the events bring thousands of musicians and competitors from across the globe to Glasgow, and are enjoyed by audiences in excess of 30,000.

Piping Live! will see over 150 events take place in Glasgow over the week and showcases the experimental energy of today’s newest talent such as Niteworks and Rura, as well as the accomplishment of established musicians from around the world. This year the festival will host performances from bands and musicians from 10 European countries including, Rotoro (Estonia), Lyra (Bulgaria), Dram (Sweden) and Franco Calanca (Italy). The event programme also includes everything from workshops to masterclasses, ceilidhs to concerts and street performances, there are almost 150 free and ticketed events taking place morning, noon and night.

The World Pipe Band Championships or ‘The Worlds’ have been held in Glasgow for almost 70 years and is known as ‘The Olympics of the piping world’ as pipe bands from across the globe compete for the coveted title of Champion on 11th August at Glasgow Green.

Glasgow, itself, has a great pedigree of sporting links, from hosting the UEFA Champions League Final in 2002 and the UEFA Cup Final in 2007, while the city will also host the 2014 Commonwealth Games.

Scott Taylor, Chief Executive of Glasgow City Marketing Bureau, said:

“The Olympic Games is the biggest sporting event on the planet and, as the host of 8 Olympic football matches, Glasgow is set to make the most of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity in front of a global audience. It will be incredible for Glasgow to showcase the best young football stars of tomorrow and the buzz surrounding the Olympic presence in the city is sure to contribute to the excitement building for the 2014 Commonwealth Games.

“In addition to being internationally renowned as one of the top 10 sporting cities in the world, Glasgow is also firmly established as one of Europe’s most exciting destinations. The city has so much to offer tourists and locals alike, from its wealth of cultural attractions and year-round programme of events and festivals, to its world-class architecture and fantastic shopping.”

Mike Cantlay, VisitScotland Chairman, added:

“This is an excellent opportunity to showcase Glasgow and Scotland to a massive global audience and will undoubtedly create a buzz and raise the excitement of what is to come during the Glasgow Commonwealth Games.

“We’re in a great position to change the face of tourism with a plethora of events all highlighting Scotland. The Olympics, The Ryder Cup, Disney Pixar’s Brave and the Glasgow Commonwealth Games will provide an ideal platform to bring economic growth and to grow the tourism industry, these really are the Winning Years.”

Image Courtesy of  Maxisport / Shutterstock.com

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Kyiv, Ukraine – Ukraine will be the only emerging market in the top ten best performing countries at the upcoming 2012 Summer Olympics in London, according to the study compiled by American bank Goldman Sachs. The authors of the research The Olympics and Economics 2012 expect Ukrainian athletes to win 9 gold medals (and 27 total) at the high profile sports event.

Explaining the methodic used to produce The Olympics and Economics 2012, the author states: “Ultimately, it appears that gold does go where growth and the overall growth environment are best.” The report quotes Tim Hollingsworth, the Chief Executive of the British Paralympic Association: “When you create a world class environment you are far more likely to create world class athletes.”

The indicator used by Goldman Sachs experts to assess the probability of a country winning a certain amount of medals was the Growth Environment Score. The analysts used income, as well as political conditions, macroeconomic stability, macroeconomic conditions, human capital, technology and the microeconomic environment as reference points.

Ukraine took the tenth position in the Goldman Sachs rating with other countries in the top ten being the USA, China, the UK, Russia, Australia, France, Germany, South Korea, and Italy. In 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing Ukraine scored 11th position on the medal table. Ukrainian athletes won 7 gold medals, 5 silver, and 15 bronze then.

Interestingly, the authors of The Olympics and Economics 2012 singled out the sports, most affected by the economic variables. They are cycling, judo, rowing, and swimming. Though Ukrainian judoka Roman Gontiuk and cycler Lesya Kalitovska did win bronze in Beijing, Ukraine won gold in shooting, archery, fencing, athletics, canoeing, and boxing.

The Games of the XXX Olympiad will host more than 10,000 athletes representing 204 nations. Ukrainian 2012 Olympic team features 245 athletes. The 2008 Olympic champions Artur Ayvazyan (shooting), Natalya Dobrynska (athletics), Olga Harlan (fencing), Vasyl Lomachenko (boxing), Inna Osypenko-Radomska (canoeing), and Viktor Ruban (archery) will perform in London.

Ukraine doesn’t just aim to rank high in the competition, the country plans to place 2022 Winter Olympics hosting bid in 2014, according to Ukrainian Infrastructure Minister Borys Kolesnikov.

The full text of the Goldman Sachs report can be found here.

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For the first time ever Saudi Arabia has announced that Saudi women will be allowed to compete in the Olympics. Saudi Arabia is one of three countries the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has been pressuring to allow female competitors. The other two countries, Qatar and Brunei, have also announced that they will be sending athletes this year. Qatar will be sending three women: a shooter, a swimmer, and a runner; and Brunei will send a woman for the hurdling title.

The Saudi Embassy in London issued a statement announcing the decision which stated, “The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia wishes to reaffirm its support the sublime meanings reflected by Olympic Games and the cherished values of excellence, friendship, and respect that they represent.”

The IOC has been working for several months with the Saudi government and issued a positive statement on March 19 that read, “the IOC is confident that Saudi Arabia is working to include women athletes and officials at the Olympic Games in London in accordance with the International Federations’ rules.”

Minky Worden, the director of Global Initiatives at Human Rights Watch said, “It is only right that the Saudi government should play by the Olympic rules. But an 11th-hour change of course to avoid a ban does not alter the dismal and unequal conditions of women and girls in Saudi Arabia.” Worden did admit that the announcement “pins them down to finding a woman. The Saudis should be on a bit of a desperate search” right now.

The Saudis have already allowed one woman, Dalma Rushdi Malhas, to compete in the equestrian competition at the Singapore Youth Olympics. After hearing the announcement that women will now be allowed to compete in the Olympics Malhas said it was “a dream come true. This just opens so many doors for women.”

Unfortunately, due to an injury her horse has suffered, Malhas missed the June 17 qualification and will not be prepared for this Olympic competition. She is still hoping that she will be able to attend the next equestrian competition at the Olympics.

Earlier this year the Human Rights Watch advocacy group said that the reason why women were not allowed to compete in sports came form a “predominant conservative view that opening sports to women and girls will lead to immorality: ‘steps of the devil’ as one prominent religious scholar put it.”

In Saudi Arabia women cannot drive, vote or hold public office, although some of these restrictions may change in 2015. Women are also not allowed to marry, leave the country, open bank accounts, or go to school unless they have the permission of a male guardian such as a father, husband, or brother.

In 2009 and 2010 Saudi Arabia closed its private gyms for women. The only exception for this restriction is the Jeddah United basketball section which is a private sports company.

Previously, female athletes were banned from the Olympics because the crowd includes both men and women who would be watching these women.

King Abdullah came to the throne in 2005 and has tried to do some modern reforms. However, the king has faced large opposition from religious conservatives on every policy that would ease restrictions against women.

One area that King Abdullah has tried to ease restrictions on is driving, but he has heard opposition on this as well.

Manal al Sharif, a Saudi female activist, was arrested and jailed after posting a video on YouTube of her driving. Sharif is helping to organize- and is participating in- the second annual driving protest. Sharif said about the Olympic decision that it “isn’t one of those things we’re crying out for” because they are more interested in their “basic rights.”

Image Courtesy of  Foxtongue

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Uganda’s track event athletes have failed to qualify for the 2012 London Summer Olympics. The athletes arrived at Namboole Stadium, a national stadium in Uganda, and were informed that there had been a double-booking with a religious rally.

The Ugandan athletes blame their failure to qualify on the poor quality of the track they had to use, as opposed to using the national track for their time trials. The athletes used the track at Makerere University, which is uneven and has no time precision measurements. Many of the athletes are disappointed, since they will not have another chance to qualify.

The Ugandan Athletics Federation claimed that at least five of the athletes at the time trials qualification would have passed if they had used the other stadium. One of the sprinters statet means we have to wait for another four years.” Another athlete, Okiror Anthony, a 400 meter runner said, “I feel bad because I would have qualified as I was close to the time.”

Namboole Stadium was being used for a religious rally by Japanese Happy Science. According to the BBC there is an assumption within Uganda that the Happy Science group’s money got them the stadium over the potential Olympic athletes.

Brian Rycroft, a spokesman for the religious group, claimed that they booked the stadium through a third party and had no idea that there was even a conflict. The BBC also reported that several evangelical pastors in Kampala have called the religious group a cult. Rycroft took offense to the cult accusations and stated, “People are welcome to join us from whatever background, race, or religion. And they’re free to leave anytime too if they don’t want to stay in Happy Science.”

The Happy Science rally was the first major rally held in Africa, and thousands attended the event. Happy Science claims to be one of the largest and fastest-growing religions in Japan. It was founded in the 1980s by Ryuho Okawa and has grown substantially since then.

Happy Science, a polytheistic religion, has only recently begun its efforts in Africa and has offices in Kampala, Uganda; Durban, South Africa; Lagos State, Nigeria; and Ghana. According to their website, Happy Science “is a religion established by Master Ryuho Okawa – a living Buddha and Savior of the 21st Century. It is a religion which unites all people and, through its unique and powerful teachings, aims to bring happiness to every individual to create a utopia on earth.”

Some of the Ugandan athletes will get another chance to qualify in Benin at the African Athletics Championships.

Image Courtesy of  Uganda Athletics Federation

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Mississauga, Canada – Samsung Electronics Canada, a leader in consumer electronics, today unveiled the seven inspirational Canadians chosen to participate in the London 2012 Olympic Torch Relay. As part of a campaign in which Samsung Canada encourages Canadians to “Pursue your Passions,” Samsung Canada selected the winners based on their Passion for the Olympic spirit and their contributions to the community through philanthropic activities.

“At Samsung Canada we want to help enable Canadians to better pursue their passions.It is a core tenant for our company, as Samsung products empower Canadians to do the things they love in life,” said Andrew Barrett, Vice President, Marketing, Samsung Electronics Canada. “After a cross-country search for deserving Canadians, we are excited to announce Samsung Canada’s Torchbearers who have made tremendous contributions to the community and are truly passionate about the Olympic spirit.”

As a part of ‘Everyone’s Olympic Games ,’ the London 2012 Olympic Torch Relay will offer new and memorable experiences to Canadians across the country. Samsung’s Olympic Torchbearers were selected to experience a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity based on their passion to help others. Each Torchbearer has an inspiring story about how they helped others better pursue their passions, such as:

• Dr. Lynn Wilson – is passionate about improving healthcare and juggles a variety of volunteer positions including Chair of the Department of Family and Community Medicine at the University of Toronto and Co-Director of Bridges in support of innovative models of healthcare system integration to advance healthcare in Canada.
• Michael Joseph Bruni is a self-proclaimed sports enthusiast and leverages his position as the Volunteer Chair on the Board of Directors for Hockey Canada to inspire others to support Canada’s beloved national pastime.
• Jamie Piekarz is dedicated to improving the welfare of women and children in third world countries and supports a number of not-for profits with similar missions including Globe Aware and Peace Matunda.
• Kunaal Jagtianey is passionate about helping others and uses his work with the Saints, a senior citizens assistance agency, to inspire others to lend a helping hand.

Also running on behalf of Samsung Canada is President and CEO, Haktae (H.T.) Kim. “The Olympic Torch Relay is a giant thank you to everyone who has ever helped somebody and provides well-earned recognition,” said Kim. “I’m honoured to be carrying the flame in Edinburgh. This will be a unique experience for me and I’m looking forward to meeting some of the amazing people from all walks of life that Samsung Canada has invited to take part. This is truly an Olympic Games for everyone.”

Samsung has also selected a number of globally recognized Torchbearers who are known for their continuous inspiration to others. British TV star and campaigner Jamie Oliver, nine-time Grammy Award-winning recording artist John Legend, Ivory Coast and Chelsea footballer Didier Drogba and Vladimir Tolstoy, the essayist and great grandson of Leo Tolstoy will all be carrying the Olympic Flame. To top the bill, the brand new Samsung GALAXY SIII is Samsung’s Olympic Games Phone for the London 2012 Olympic Games.

The Olympic Torch Relay began its 70 day journey around the UK on Saturday May 19 ^th taking in many of the UKs cultural landmarks. Visiting over 1,000 cities, towns and villages along its 8,000 mile route, the Olympic Torch aims to excite the UK and marks the official start of the London 2012 Olympic Games upon its celebrated arrival at the Olympic Stadium on July 27 ^th.

For more information about the Samsung Pursue Your Passions campaign, please visit the company on Facebook.

Image Courtesy of   *Psycho Delia*

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The General Secretary of the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine, Volodymyr Gerashchenko, resigned Friday May 28, 2012 after he tried to sell Olympic tickets on the black market. Gerashchenko has been the General Secretary, the top position of the committee, since 1997 according to the BBC.

Gerashchenko’s black market deal was revealed by a BBC journalist who went undercover as an unauthorized ticket dealer. Gerashchenko was in London at the time fulfilling his duties as General Secretary, by accrediting Ukrainian athletes and officials. The journalist had heard that Gerashchenko was illegally selling tickets and secretly taped the meeting between Gerashchenko and himself. Gerashchenko stated, “I understand you’re a dealer – that’s why for me, you are priority number one, the top, the person, in case we have extra ticket to contact you, we contact you”.

Reportedly, Gerashchenko was selling about 100 tickets for several thousand pounds. He planned to give 2,900 tickets allotted to his committee for distribution to Ukrainian fans, coaches, and officials but then sell the rest of the tickets.

Since 2005 it has been illegal to sell Olympic tickets on the black market. Every offense incurs a fine of £20,000. It is unknown yet whether or not Gerashchenko will have to pay these fines since he did not actually sell the tickets.

The Ukrainian National Olympic Committee President Sergey Bubka claimed that he was surprised about the allegations. He said, “We have a special committee responsible for the requests for the Olympic tickets within our quota. The list of the requested tickets is validated by the Executive Committee. This list is a strictly accountable document. There is no possibility for any individual to distribute the tickets beyond the list.”

The allegations were taken very seriously by all and investigations have already begun. Gerashchenko was suspended immediately after the video and story were released and he tendered his resignation shortly thereafter. Bubka claimed “[The committee] takes accusations very seriously and that is why we have acted so swiftly to address the recent BBC reports.”

Shortly after the release of the story and news video the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine held an emergency meeting. Directly after the meeting Gerashchenko tendered his resignation as General Secretary. However, he also promised to cooperate in the criminal and Olympic committee investigation. Sergey Bubka told the BBC, “It will not be appropriate for me in light of the investigation to comment any further.”

Geraschenko was the top official of the 149-member National Olympic Committee of Ukraine. The scandal has cast a shadow on Ukraine’s international image and may affect the European Soccer Championship that the Ukraine is co-hosting with Poland this June.

Image Courtesy of  Steve Heap / Shutterstock.com

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London, UK – London & Partners launches new SMG Insight / YouGov research which shows London fever has spread around the world.

London is set to inspire the world over the next 4 months in the run up to London 2012 according to new research launched by London & Partners which shows the extent of international excitement about the Olympics and the host city, London.

In central London, outside the Olympic Park, a celebration of cultures will be hitting the streets, with National Olympic Committees creating a festival atmosphere by offering opportunities for fans from around the world to show their support for their athletes. Over 40 nations will be represented through official NOC Houses situated around London. The NOC houses will offer fans an opportunity to experience the national entertainment and culture, watch sports on big screens and join in celebrations during athlete appearances.

London 2012 is also creating a lasting global sporting legacy with over one-in-four people from sampled nations inspired to take up swimming and one-in-five considering taking up cycling this year. To capitalise on this interest plans are already in place to launch a new world-class cycling event in the city following the Games – cycling’s equivalent of the London Marathon.

Such is the excitement about the Games in China that two-thirds of the Chinese population, the hosts of the 2008 Olympics, are inspired to participate in Badminton during 2012 and over half intend to take up table tennis.

Music, culture and outdoor spaces are also important for international visitors to London. London’s river, squares and parks are an important attraction for visitors with almost 6-in-10 stating that they intend to visit London’s famous outdoor spaces. In these spaces, BT will be hosting BT London Live sites where medal events will be shown on the big screen and a daily schedule of cultural and arts showcases from around the world will be shown.

Retail will also experience a significant boost with over 40% of visitors planning to go to world famous shopping locations such as Harrods, Selfridges and Oxford Street.

Iain Edmondson, Head of the Major Events team at London & Partners, said: “During the Games, there will be a festival atmosphere filling the streets of London with numerous opportunities for the public to experience the spirit of the Games even if they don’t have tickets. After 2012 people will be able to turn the inspiration of the Games into participation, by entering London’s world-class mass-participation events such as the London Marathon, London Triathlon and new road cycling event.”

Key results from the London Sport Global Inspiration Survey show that:

•   28% of adults are inspired to take up swimming during 2012. 20% inspired to take up cycling.
•   Both modern and historic sporting locations are the most inspiring Olympic venues. 23% want to see the Olympic Stadium, 18% Olympic Aquatic Centre and 18% Wimbledon
•  23% of those surveyed favour watching Rafael Nadal and Michael Phelps. Rising stars such as basketball player Jeremy Lin (20%) and cyclist Mark Cavendish (13%) also feature as inspirational figures around the world. Usain Bolt is the most popular athletes for UK residents, with 28% stating that they are inspired to watch him.
• 69% of the Chinese population are inspired to watch basketball during 2012. Nearly a third (30%) of the international survey is inspired to watch athletics/running.
• Half of visitors to London are inspired to visit a museum or historic building. Slightly more (53%) will visit a tourist attraction such as Madame Tussauds and 57% will visit a park, river or public space.

The full report can be viewed and downloaded from here:

http://vlstatic.com/l-and-p/assets/events/london-sport-global-inspiration-survey-report.pdf 

For the full list of NOC houses available to the public and what’s going on in London throughout 2012 go to http://www.visitlondon.com/2012 

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Ronaldinho, the former face of international soccer and the prime representation of Brazilian soccer throughout the world is back and wants to play in the 2012 Olympics.

The Brazilian mid fielder who dazzled fans during the peak of his career is now 31 years old and is looking for one final run at glory in the tournament, which is an under-23 event. Ronaldinho would be the lone player over that required age, as the rules allow for one player to play over that age limit.

Ronaldinho previously appeared in the 2008 summer Olympics after being traded from his club team to Milan. He scored one goal in the under-23 tournament in which Brazil left with the Bronze medal. Many thought that would be final stroke of the gifted Brazilian on the international stage as a competitor.

However, he has regained his form, or what’s left of it, and is now looking to lead the next generation of Brazilian footballers at the next Olympic season. As we have seen with young Brazilian Neymar, soccer in this carefree, creative style will continue even after Ronaldinho decides to leave the game for good.

It is important to note that his ‘ultimate goal’, if all goes well through the London Olympics, is to make the team for the 2014 World Cup — at which point, he will be 34 years old. Ronaldinho is quoted for saying, “I want to go step by step,” eventually landing him a home-hosted, last world cup.

The soccer star did not make the team for the 2010 World Cup. In fact, the last time we saw Ronaldinho on the world stage taking part in a big tournament was all the way back in the 2006 World Cup. The tournament did not end well for the Brazilians and he did not play as well as he would have liked.  Brazil was sent packing after the unexpected loss in the quarter finals to France.

The former two-time FIFA Player of the Year in 2004 and 05 and one-time European Footballer of the Year in 05 is now playing in a Brazilian club called Flamingo; a contract that will expire in 2014. After having won every tournament he has competed in throughout his career, this is his final test, his final challenge as footballer.
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