New York, U.S.A. – It’s been quite an exciting summer so far in Britain as the London 2012 Olympic Games have just come to a close. VisitBritain, the national tourism agency for England, Scotland and Wales, takes a look back at some of the most memorable and unforgettable golden moments.

The London 2012 Olympics opened with a bang as Queen Elizabeth became the newest Bond Girl and parachuted her way into Olympic Stadium for an unforgettable entrance. This year is the 50th anniversary of first Bond film, which began with Sean Connery in Dr No. The Barbican Centre is celebrating with an exhibition Designing 007: 50 Years of Bond Style and Beaulieu is celebrating with Bond In Motion, the largest exhibit of Bond vehicles ever staged. The newest Bond Girl wasn’t the only member of the British Royal Family that took part in and supported the London 2012 Olympic Games.

The Fab Five won the hearts of America as they took gold, so what better way for these women to celebrate than with a girlfriend getaway fit for champions. These women may now being carrying their own gold, but they won’t want to miss the special Diamonds: A Jubilee Celebration exhibition at Buckingham Palace that showcases diamonds worn by British monarchs over the past 200 years.

No girlfriend getaway is complete without shopping and London is a shopper’s paradise offering a wide variety of choice from East London’s Spitalfields and Sunday Upmarket to trendy stores like Topshop. Every fashion loving girl will want to have quintessential afternoon tea, but with a fashionista twist. Prêt-à-Portea at The Berkley London serves a fashion-inspired afternoon tea that changes every six months to following the latest fashion trends.

Team USA’s women’s soccer team is taking home the gold for the third straight summer Olympic Games and the women’s 4x100m relay team shattered the previous world record winning the first gold medal in 16 years, so these winning women certainly have reason to celebrate. After kicking the ball across Britainfrom Glasgow to Manchester to Newcastle Gateshead, the soccer women finally won the gold in London where the track stars also flew past their competition. Now it’s certainly time to party like champions.

There’s no better way for Michael Phelps to celebrate becoming the most decorated Olympic medalist than taking his girlfriend on a romantic vacation. The Royal Scotsman offers guests the opportunity to see the beautiful Scottish countryside in a luxurious setting. Trains depart from Edinburgh and make their way around the Scottish Highlands adding a bit of old world travel to a very romantic setting.

Ashton Eaton and Trey Hardee have officially been named the greatest athletes in the world having won gold and silver, respectively, in the decathalon, so now there’s no better way to celebrate being the best in a 10-event competition than experiencing the top 10 great British experiences in the UK.

Britain delivered its own golden moments as the host nation from the Olympic Stadium to cities across the UK hosting competitions and celebrations. With the mini remote-controlled MINIs retrieving the discusses and javelins bringing a bit of fun to the track and field competitions, visitors can have their own MINI fun when visiting London. Small Car, Big City offers visitors guided tours in true MINI style covering all the favorite sights including Big Ben, St Paul’s Cathedral, Buckingham Palace and more.

Fans from around the world watched as Misty May Treanor and Kerri Walsh bumped, set and spiked their way to their third gold medal on a beach with a truly unique and iconic British background. The temporary beach is built on Horse Guards Parade, which is right in front of the Prime Minister’s doorstep in London.  This is also the location of the Trooping the Colour event that takes place each year on the Queen’s official birthday.

Visitors from around the world took notice as the iconic Royal Mail red mailboxes started popping up goldas a new one was painted each time a Team GB athlete won a gold medal. Visitors who haven’t seen one in person yet still has a chance as the boxes will continue through the London 2012 Paralympic Games in honor of the Team GB champions. The Royal Mail is also honoring Team GB champions by creating a personalized Royal Mail stamp for each champion.

The Closing Ceremony ended the 17 day event in true British spirit. From British fashion to the best of British music including the reuniting of the Spice Girls the entire night rocked. It’s not too late to check out one of Britain’s many music festivals.

The Olympic Games may have concluded, but that doesn’t mean the 2012 fun and competition is over just yet. There are sure to be plenty more golden moments as the London 2012 Paralympic Games commence with the Opening Ceremony on August 29 and the London 2012 Festival has plenty more opportunities for visitors to take part in through September 9.

For more information and ideas for visiting Britain, please visit www.visitbritain.com.

Image Courtesy of  Diego Barbieri / Shutterstock.com

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Serena Williams demolished Maria Sharapova 6-0, 6-1 en route to winning the Olympic gold medal and securing a career golden slam.

Williams stamped her authority on the competition from the outset and lost just 17 games through the course of the competition. The impressive gold medal match victory leaves her on a 17 match-winning streak since her shocking first round exit at the French Open.

The 63 minute final saw the American drop just one game against Sharapova, and was the most comprehensive Olympic women’s single win.

She joins Germany’s Steffi Graf, Andre Agassi of the United States and Spain’s Rafael Nadal as the only players to have won all four Grand Slams and Olympic gold in singles.

“Oh my gosh, I got the gold. I’ve never played better. Playing against someone like Maria you have to be at your best. I knew that, so it was like I had nothing to lose,” said Williams.

“I never expected gold in singles. I was so happy with my doubles golds [in Sydney 2000 and Beijing 2008].

“I thought, ‘If my career’s over I have my gold medal and now I have everything.’

“I have singles, doubles, actually everything there is to win in tennis. Where do I go from here?”

Silver medal winner, Sharapova said: ”Serena played some incredible tennis, with the form she was in during Wimbledon and afterwards.

“With every match she has played she has played great, she has improved and become better, and that showed today.”

Williams teamed up with sister Venus to win the doubles gold medal in a similar fashion, with the pair not dropping a set in the concurrent competition.

She hopes to continue her form into the final part of the season as she attempts to win her 15^th grand slam singles title at the US Open in a few weeks time.

In the bronze medal match, Victoria Azerenka beat Maria Kirilenko to secure her first Olympic medal.

Azerenka went on to win the mixed gold with partner Max Mirnyi leaving her and Williams with two medals each.

Image Courtesy of   Neale Cousland / Shutterstock.com

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Hod Hasharon, Israel — Allot Communications, a leading provider of service optimization and revenue generation solutions for fixed and mobile data networks worldwide, have announced a new Allot Olympics Report tracking broadband traffic volumes and usage patterns during the 2012 Olympics in London.

Traffic statistics were collected from mobile and fixed networks around the globe, starting with the opening ceremony on Friday evening, July 27th, and continue throughout the games. Allot began monitoring global traffic weeks before the event to establish a usage baseline.

Results and analysis of broadband usage are posted in an Olympic Online Edition of Allot MobileTrends Report at http://www.allotmobiletrends.com. To mark the event, Allot released a special edition of protocol signatures with unique support for identifying traffic directly related to popular sources of online sports coverage such as ESPN, CNTV (China) and BBC Sports.

Key findings in the Online Report include:

• Instant Messaging increased 182% on average during the opening ceremony; WhatsApp was out front with a massive 430% increase
• Online video increased and peaked at 217% during the first official day of competition, with dedicated sites such as ESPN, BBC Sports and CNTV leading the pack
• Facebook traffic posted an 87% increase during the first two days of the games
• YouTube traffic hit 40% during the first official day of competition

This is the first time the Olympics are being streamed live over the Internet. As a result, people can watch and discuss the games anywhere, anytime via mobile access devices.

“Mobile access to the Internet has become part of the online lifestyle for billions of people, and they are taking full advantage of the online content available,” said Jonathon Gordon, Director of Marketing, Allot Communications. “Allot enables fixed and mobile broadband service providers to gain a competitive edge by monitoring and managing the real-time impact of the Olympic Games on their networks.”

Visit http://www.allotmobiletrends.com to view more statistics and sign up for updates sent directly via email

Image Courtesy of  RachelC

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Serbian Novak Djokovic has really shown his aspirations for the Olympic gold medal after beating American Andy Roddick by a clear 6-2, 6-1 in the second round of the tennis discipline at Wimbledon on Tuesday, July 31.

The world’s second-ranked, Djokovic had little trouble against the American and finished with a clear score to the three-time Wimbledon finalist, Andy Roddick.

After a steady start on Centre Court at Wimbledon, Djokovic broke the Nebraskan player’s serve two times (on the sixth and eighth game), to take the first set in 30 minutes by a 6-2 score.

In the second set, the Serbian managed to break his serve in the second game to Roddick, who usually performs well on the grass. Djokovic destroyed Roddick’s chances with a convincing 6-1 after just 54 minutes on the court.

“It was a perfect match in every sense,” Djokovic said after the game ended.

Novak Djokovic is playing at the All England Club, which has the same settings as the Wimbledon. He is aiming for the gold medal and winning back his place as the world’s number one, which Swiss player Roger Federer took from him just twenty days ago.

Murray also won on Tuesday after beating Finish player Jarkko Nieminen (6-2 y 6-4). Therefore it seems that number two on the ATP ranking Djokovic and number four Andy Murray, will play each other if they both keep winning, since they are in the same side of the pairing chart. However, before this can happen Djokovic will have to play against the winning racquet of the game between Croatian Marin Cilic and Australian Lleyton Hewitt.

With the loss against Djokovic, Roddick says goodbye to the Olympics 2012. Rumor has it that he might be thinking about retirement, but the tennis player has yet to confirm speculations, saying: “That’s not something that I’m going to talk about.”

Image Courtesy of  Yuya Chiu / Shutterstock.com

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After the excitement over the opening ceremony have settled in, the organizers of the Olympic Games in London are waking up to the harsh reality of failed expectations: the many too many empty seats at the stadiums.

The problem is not just isolated to the less popular sports, but also big audience disciplines such as swimming, tennis, basket, and soccer are not competing in view of a full house. The initial rounds so far have rarely sold out.

The London Organizing Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) has initiated an investigation into why there are so many empty seats at the stadiums. Especially taking into account that there was a really high demand for tickets in the months leading up to the opening ceremony and many people could not get a hold of the ones they wanted. In fact, before the Games started, 8,8 millions tickets were sold, which beg the question — where are these tickets being used?

According to the investigations, the empty seats are those provided to media, government authorities and sponsors.

The organizing committee chairman, former athlete Sebastian Coe, has threatened to name the sponsors who have not filled their seats. The controversy has even made the British Sports Minister Hugh Robertson say that he is “very disappointing” to see the empty seats.

Coe has said that he will try to fill up the stadiums by offering the empty seats to the army personel that helps with security within the Olympic village, and to teachers and students in the area, as long as it means putting more tickets on sale. This last action worked on Sunday 29, where 3,000 tickets were sold through the Olympics website.

Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt called the situation ‘very disappointing’ and said that they might try selling the sponsor-reserved tickets: “I think it was accredited seats that belonged to sponsors, but if they’re not going to turn up, we want those tickets to be available for members of the public, because that creates the best atmosphere. We are looking at this very urgently at the moment.”

Jackie Brock-Doyle, director of communications for the London organizers, or LOCOG said that they are working on solutions: “We are trying everything we can to make sure that those accredited seats are filled where we can.”

Image Courtesy of   Maxisport / Shutterstock.com

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Britain’s men won a surprising bronze medal in the team gymnastics competition, and were unlucky to not claim the silver medal after an appeal from the Japanese team meant the home nation were downgraded from second spot.

The result was completely unexpected – Britain’s men have not even qualified for the final since 1924 and just making the final itself was seen as a big achievement.

They shocked competition favourites such as the USA, Russia and Germany and took the bronze in controversial fashion, perhaps marking a change in fortune for Team GB.

A strong all round performance from Louis Smith, Sam Oldham Kristian Thomas, Max Whitlock and Dan Purvis  saw them battling with Ukraine for third place as they went in to their final apparatus, the floor.

Whitlock, Purvis and Thomas landed every move of their floor routines to secure Britain the bronze.

But a surprising twist of events saw Japan, who looked comfortable in second place, make a succession of errors on the pommel horse.

Japan moved down from second place to fourth, leaving Britain and Ukraine in the medals, but they questioned the points awarded to their final gymnast on the horse and made an official inquiry.

Their successful appeal put them back into their deserved silver medal spot as China comfortably won the gold.

But it was Britain’s medal that was the biggest talk of the day and the home nation will look to gain from the result which could spur on the rest of the team after a start which many have perceived as slow.

Cyclist Lizzie Armitstead won Britain’s first medal, a silver, in the women’s road race on day two, after favourite Mark Cavendish missed out on the men’s equivalent on Saturday.

Rebecca Addlington added the second medal on Sunday with a bronze in the 400m freestyle, the event she won four years ago in Beijing.

But it had been anticipated these medals would be just two of many by this stage in the Games for Britain, who had high hopes as they chase a demanding target set by UK Sport.

With a few medal hopes not living up to expectations thus far, many believe Team GB have not risen to the challenge, but the pressure of a home Olympic Games cannot be overstated.

It felt like Cavendish had won the Olympic road race before the Tour de France was even completed, whilst Tom Daley was expected to bring back a medal – no questions asked - in the diving, an event which can be swung with one tiny error.

Daley came fourth in the 10m synchronized diving as he partnered Pete Waterfield on Monday, but still has a chance in the individual event.

Elsewhere the sailors seem to be struggling for form in an event the home team was looking to dominate and a few medal prospects, especially in the swimming, have not made the most of their opportunities.

The triumphs of the home nation are vital to the success of the Olympics and these Games have the potential to be one of the greatest the world has ever seen so the nation will be hoping that the unexpected success in the men’s team gymnastics result will be the much-needed boost for the rest of Team GB.

Image Courtesy of   Sergei Bachlakov / Shutterstock.com

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Washington, U.S.A. – Lisa Raymond, the 2012 mixed doubles Wimbledon champion, appears in her first public service announcement for ThanksUSA since being announced as the charity’s national spokesperson earlier this year.

“We are thrilled that Lisa is lending her celebrity to help ThanksUSA provide scholarships for the children and spouses of America’s troops,” said ThanksUSA Chairman and CEO Bob Okun. ”Her spectacular Wimbledon victory with partner Mike Bryan reflects the same dedication and spirit they both bring to thanking our military families with the gift of education.”

“I am honored to support our Armed Forces through the mission of ThanksUSA,” Ms. Raymond said. “The scholarships open up enormous opportunities for those who have sacrificed so much for our country, and my hope is that this PSA brings increased attention to ThanksUSA’s efforts.”

Ms. Raymond has joined Mr. Bryan and twin brother Bob in ThanksUSA’s “Tennis Thanks the Troops” campaign, a cornerstone in the charity’s efforts. The nationwide campaign was launched this spring, with the United States Professional Tennis Association (USPTA) leading the effort with ThanksUSA and additional support from the United States Tennis Association Mid-Atlantic (MAS).

Through the “Tennis Thanks the Troops” campaign, the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) No. 1 Doubles player and U.S. Open Doubles champion Ms. Raymond, along with the Men’s Doubles champions the Bryan twins, partner with U.S. tennis clubs, professionals, players and fans in helping provide need-based post-secondary school scholarships to military families.

“Our men and women in uniform and their families are incredibly inspiring,” said Mike and Bob Bryan.  “Their bravery and commitment uplift every one of us, and raising our racquets for them is our way of showing our gratitude. We hope all Americans will join the ThanksUSA team.”

The powerhouse mixed doubles pair of Lisa Raymond and Mike Bryan is now setting their sights on repeating their Wimbledon win at the summer Olympics where mixed doubles is returning as a medal sport for the first time since 1924.

“Taking the title at Wimbledon this year was the kind of moment that drives me,” said Ms. Raymond. “Mike and I bring out the best in each other on the court and I’m looking forward to our joining forces again and representing our country at the Olympics.”

Mike and Bob Bryan, bronze medalists in Beijing, will also be competing for gold in men’s doubles. They are top seeds in the men’s doubles, and Liezel Huber and Lisa Raymond are seeded No. 1 in the women’s doubles.

“ThanksUSA is fortunate to have these world-class tennis players on our team,” said Okun. “Their commitment to our troops makes us all winners, and we’ll be cheering for them during the Olympics.”

For more information on ThanksUSA go to http://www.thanksusa.org/.

Image Courtesy of   lev radin / Shutterstock.com

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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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The first two Olympics have been set before the opening ceremony even began. South Korean Im Dong-hyun, 26, made the new world record in archery early Friday, July 27 and even more amazing is that Im Dong-hyun is legally blind.

On July 27 the Olympic preliminary rounds for archery began, several sports’ preliminary rounds have already started to ensure that all of the sports are gone through in time. During the competition Dong-hyun, who has 10% vision in his left eye and 20% vision in his right, scored 699 points in the 72-arrow mark. He beat his own world record that he had set in Turkey a few months prior by three points.

Dong-hyun’s reaction was more than humble. “This is just the first round, so I will not get too excited by it.”

Not only did Im Dong-hyun set an individual world record but he and his fellow teammates, Kim Bub-min and Oh Jin-hyek, set the team world record as well with a total of 2,087 points. The team world record they beat was set by a South Korean team as well at 2,069 points. With these scores the team as well as the individual rounds should go very nicely for all three of the members of the South Korean team.

Im Dong-hyun also won the gold in the team events at the Olympics in Beijing and Athens in 2008 and 2004 respectively. However, his teammates are certainly able to hold their own being in second and third place in the individual competition.

Britain’s Larry Godfrey is in fourth place with his own personal best of 680 points. Godfrey reported that he was “very happy.” “I thought I would be a bit lower than fourth. I’ve shot similar scores and finished much lower.” The British team came eighth out of twelve.

Im does not wear glasses when he competes. Instead he says that he looks at the difference in the bright colors of the target to decide where to shoot.

In South Korea, archery is one of the most popular sports. Most elementary school children are taught archery in school and there is a lot of government funding and training available. The current world champion of archery, a South Korean named Kim Woo-Jin, did not make the Olympic team.

According to the Telegraph the weather was favorable for archery on the morning of July 27 with no cross breeze and cool temperatures. Many people were disappointed, however, when they showed up to watch the preliminary rounds only to be told that no tickets are sold to watch them.

Image Courtesy of   Bill Hails

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Fencing is not a sport that people normally associate with the United States, but two-time Olympic gold medalist in saber fencing, Mariel Zagunis, hopes to change all of that.

Mariel Zagunis, 27, is a left-handed (normally considered a slight advantage in fencing) saberist from Beaverton, Oregon. Zagunis was born to two Olympic athletes who participated as rowers in the 1976 Olympics; she seems to be carrying on the legacy quite nicely.

In 2004, at the Athens Olympics, Zagunis was a replacement who lucked out in getting a spot to go to the Olympics and surprised everyone when she won the gold, the first American fencing medal in one hundred years. If that’s not enough she also helped take five other individual and team medals at the Beijing Olympics including the team bronze and individual gold in sabre.

She is also the highest ranking fencer according to the Federation International d’Escrime (FIE) since 2009 and has won the world titles for 2009 and 2010 and several world cup victories. She also won the FIE’s highest honor for sportsmanship and fair play, the Chevelier Feyerick in 2009 and was the first American ever to win it. Overall, she is the most decorated fencer in America.

Zagunis, who has been fencing since she was ten, has received so much corporate sponsorship that she no longer needs to work but can practice fencing all day and still provide for her family, an incredible feat. Zagunis knows she is lucky and commented, “a lot of American fencers who wish to pursue it at the level that I am doing at look at my story as an inspiration. That if they can also achieve success and do what I have done or close to what I have done, that they can also do it full time… Because that’s what I think fencing is lacking the United States…People go to college, and they fence through college and then after that it’s ‘welcome to the real world’.”

Mariel Zagunis not only wants to bring home some medals from the Olympics but also wants to raise awareness of the sport in the United States. She founded the Mariel Zagunis Women’s Saber Fund to support young female sabre fencers as well as the sport in general. Zagunis’ fame seems to have sparked a significant interest in fencing since as of May 2012 the United States Fencing Association reported that it had 20,000 members which is up from the just over 6,000 members in 1982.

The awareness is needed especially since NBC announced that it will only be covering some of the fencing events, only 2.5 hours worth in fact. With a sport that includes three different weapons (foil, sabre, and epee) and then the team events, that’s a lot of fencing that American viewers are missing out on.

MSNBC will cover the women’s events on July 28 – August 1 but will not feature any of the men’s events. In comparison beach volleyball will have four hours of coverage on opening day alone.

Something that should help bring more awareness to the sport is that Mariel Zagunis has been chosen to lead the American team in the parade at the Opening Ceremonies on July 27. This means that Zagunis will lead the 530 members of the American team – 269 women and 261 men – while she carries the American flag. Zagunis claimed, “I’m just going to focus on not tripping, not letting the flag touch the ground and doing everything right.” In order to become the flag-bearer Zagunis was chosen as a finalist and went through five rounds of voting by team captains, finally coming out on top.

Zagunis also knows that she is the athlete to conquer this year. “Everyone else really has nothing to lose.” Her worst threats are Russian Sofia Velikaya who won gold against her in October of last year in Italy and the Ukrainian Olga Kharlan who won the Korfanty Cup against Zagunis in Chicago last month. Hopefully for the sake of American fencing, Zagunis will continue to bring home the gold.

Image Courtesy of   Mariel Zagunis

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The night of July 27 will be a night to remember with the Opening Ceremony of the London 2012 Olympics kicking off several weeks of incredible competitions. With the economic crisis and uncertainty, the Olympic games are a refreshing distraction for all people of the world.

Originally the tone in London leading up to the games was one of gloom and dislike, but now that the games are actually here they seem to be just as excited as the rest of the world. One London street sweeper, Augustine Adejoh said, “I’m not really into the Olympics and all that. But I’ve got to say, it’s good for London. People are quite thrilled about it.”

Not everything has been perfect in the lead up to this Olympics. London cab drivers have protested not being allowed into lanes reserved for Olympic athletes and coaches. Additionally, a security debacle by the company hired for the Olympics, G4, meant that not enough guards had been hired; now police and armed forces will be involved in the security measures. The Olympics will be the largest security operation in peacetime for England ever.

Republican Presidential Candidate Mitt Romney commented on the security mix up saying, “It’s hard to know just how well it will turn out.” London Mayor Boris Johnson quickly responded via a speech to a crowd of 60,000 in Hyde Park stating, “There’s a guy called Mitt Romney who wants to know if we are ready. We are ready… We’re going to win more gold, silver, and bronze medals than you’d need to bail out Greece.”

The Olympic torch made its way through London on July 26 passing Parliament and Buckingham Palace. So far the torch has traveled 8,000 miles in the last seventy days. The torch will sail down the Thames on its way to the stadium in East London on the royal barge called the Gloriana.

The Olympics have not been seen in London since 1948 when the entire country was devastated after the destruction wrought by World War II. That Olympics was called the “Austerity Olympics” because of the understandable financial trouble England had.

This Olympics has already cost the United Kingdom 9 billion pounds ($14 billion), triple the original estimate. Most of the officials are justifying the use of the money because much of it was used to renovate a run-down area of London.

The former polluted industrial park is now a beautiful stadium that will be the location for the Opening Ceremonies at 9 PM tonight. The Opening Ceremonies at the Olympics always include a performance arranged by the host nation that demonstrates the best aspects of the nation. The United Kingdom’s Opening Ceremonies will be called the ‘Isles of Wonder’ and have been designed by Danny Boyle, director of ‘Slumdog Millionaire.’

The ceremony will begin with the tolling of the largest harmonically tuned bell that was created at Whitechapel Foundry. The Queen will be met at the entrance to the stadium by the President of the IOC, Jacques Rogge. The parade of nations will then begin with the countries entering in alphabetical order according to the language of the host nation. The only exceptions will be that the Greek team will lead and the team from Great Britain will be last.

The Queen will then declare that the games have begun and the Olympic flag, anthem, and oath will occur. Finally the torch will enter and light the cauldron and the performance, the “Isles of Wonder,” will begin.

It is already known that the stadium will be set up to look like a rural English countryside with real farm animals for the opening sequence called “Green and Pleasant.” The rest of the ceremony will include references to William Shakespeare, pop culture like Mary Poppins, Paul McCartney and James Bond, and darker parts of English history like the industrial revolution.

Danny Boyle stated, “our ‘Isles of Wonder’ salutes and celebrates the exuberant creativity of the British genius in an Opening Ceremony that we hope will be as unpredictable and inventive as the British people.”

Tonight will be a night to remember.

Image Courtesy of  samsungtomorrow

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Israeli officials have announced they expect a terrorist attack during the 2012 Olympics. Tel Aviv expressed fears that Iran will target the Israeli athletes and visitors.

This year’s Summer Olympic Games will be held from July 27 to August 12 in London, where more than 10,000 participants from 204 countries will measure swords.

More than 500,000 tourists are expected to visit the British capital to become part of the magic of the Games. However, the question that hangs over some of them is whether they have to fear for their security during the Olympics, especially after the bomb attack against the International Airport of Burgas in Bulgaria on July 18 which was targeting Israeli citizens.

Recently, Israeli officials cautioned that the next target of the unknown terrorists in Europe may be the thirty-seven athletes from the Southwestern Asian republic and the thousands of Israeli visitors who will come to support them. “We are vigilant that Iran and its agents would attack elsewhere, but I can’t give specific details,” the Israel’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Natanyahu, declared on CBS television.

In the meantime, the Foreign Israeli Minister, Avigdor Liberman, met ten of his European counterparts to ask for increase of the safety measures surrounding airports and places which are often visited by Israeli tourists. The inquiry was mainly directed to his British colleague, because Israel’s officials expect another terrorist attack during the Olympic Games in London.

The Islamic military organization Hezbollah, supported by Iran and Syria, is believed to stand behind the bloody outrage in Bulgaria earlier this month. Tehran has denies these rumors, calling them ridiculous and baseless.

Security forces around the world are tracing a group of Europeans who are said to be working together with Hezbollah and the Iranian Quds force after converting to Islam.

The organizers of the Olympics assured that serious measures had been taken and more than 170,000 troops, 125,000 policemen, and 7,000 private guardians will secure the event of the year. Tornado fighter jets of the Royal Air Force are roaming the sky above and around London in order to prevent possible aerial threats. Helicopters from the Royal Navy with heavily armed snipers will also be hovering above the British capital. Representatives claim that there is no reason for the participants or the tourists to worry about their safety.

Meanwhile, the head of the British MI5 intelligence agency, Jonathan Evans, explained that the 2012 Olympic Games are likely to become a target of enemy attacks. “There is no such thing as guaranteed security… The dog you haven’t seen may turn out to be the one that bites you,” he commented.

In 1972, during the Summer Games in Munich, Western Germany, the Israeli team was taken hostage and killed by the Palestinian group Black September. So far, we cannot predict if this year will be equally bloody.

Image Courtesy of  muzsy / Shutterstock.com

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Even though the Opening Ceremony for the 2012 Olympics takes place on Friday 27 when 10,000 athletes from 205 countries will make the inauguration, the Games already started on Wednesday July 25 with a women’s soccer match between the host nation Great Britain and visiting New Zealand.

A goal-kick from Stephanie Houghton, Arsenal player, handed the victory to Britain 1-0 in the first Olympic match, played at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, Wales.

A solitary goal of Houghton, with a precise shooting in a fault that came to the right of goalkeeper Jenny Bindon. Coach Hope Powell was, as would be expected, pleased.

The host team, who alongside Brazil are the favorites to dominate in Group E, was evidently superior to New Zealand.

However, the game between Great Britain and New Zealand was not the only premature match. The national U.S. women’s soccer team started in the best possible way with a 4-2 victory against France at Glasgow’s Hampden Park stadium. The beginning was not easy and France took advantage of the first minutes. By minute 14, France was already winning 0-2 and playing comfortably. But the U.S. did not give up; Abby Wambach in minute 19 shortened the distance, and a pair of goals from Alex Morgan and one from Carli Lloyd secured victory to the U.S.

Other games played on Wednesday 25 were Japan’s victory against Canada (2-1), Brazil showing their superiority against Cameroon (0-5) and Sweden defeating South Africa (4-1).

The medals will be in play between 12 teams divided into three groups of four teams each. The United States is in Group G, along with Colombia, Korea DPR, and France. The next game for the U.S. team will be against Colombia on Saturday 28.

U.S. is favorite for winning the gold medal, but they will have to take care of the other potential aspirants such as Brazil with veteran Marta, or the recent world champions Japan, with the illustrious Homare Sawa (player of the year for FIFA). France and Britain are also prime contenders for the gold.

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Crawley, England, – British Airways will be rewarding customers who stay in the UK to cheer on Team GB and Paralympics GB. The cashback rewards on holidays are for travel after the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games and in line with specific athlete wins.

British Airways will feature a new offer based on a chosen athlete, valid for a limited period and in line with their schedule in the London 2012 Games. Each offer will also have a money back incentive dependent on the performance of the athlete.

Customers can book an offer via the dedicated campaign page on ba.com and later if the featured athlete wins a medal, cashback will be given on the booking in relation to the medal won. A maximum cashback reward is given based on the highest medal won.

For a Gold medal the cashback will be GBP100 per booking, for a Silver medal GBP75 per booking and for a Bronze medal GBP50 per booking.

The airline is currently supporting Jessica Ennis, World and European heptathlon gold medalist and if customers book an all-inclusive Caribbean holiday for seven nights they can win cashback on their holiday if she wins a Gold, Silver or Bronze medal.

Twenty-five favourite all-inclusive Caribbean holidays are on offer with flights plus seven nights all-inclusive accommodation. Holidays in Cancun including flights and seven night’s all-inclusive accommodation are included for travel on selected dates between September 10 and October 14, 2012 (travel dates vary by offer).

Many other destinations are also on offer including Dominican Republic, St Lucia, Antigua, Barbados, Tobago and Grenada.

The Caribbean holiday deals are available to book until July 24, 2012. Visit ba.com/winningdeals for more information.

About British Airways

British Airways plc offers a wide range of worldwide destinations – including holidays in Venice and holidays in Los Angeles, as well as flights to New York, hotels, car rental with Avis, and experiences. Customers can save time and money with ba.com when booking ATOL protected holiday packages, ATOL number is 5985. Passengers are offered added peace of mind to their holiday plans and the security of travelling with British Airways. British Airways plc constantly seeks to exceed customers’ expectations, both in terms of the value for money and quality of the service provided.

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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.

Image Courtesy of   Aspen Photo / Shutterstock.com

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A massive development project has been initiated to improve the surroundings of the prehistoric monument Stonehenge in England. The monument is considered an awe-inspiring creation attracting many national and international tourists annually. Work is intended to transform the vicinity by closing the main road, the car park and fences located near the monument, making way for a new visitor center.

The organization English Heritage has said that the total cost outlay proposed for redevelopment of the area is going to be £27 million, including the construction of the new visitor center.

Chief Excutive of English Heritage Simon Thurley said “A new dawn at Stonehenge is truly upon us. Though the stones themselves never failed to awe visitors, their setting has been a national embarrassment and disgrace. After nearly 30 years English Heritage finally has a scheme that will transform the setting of the stones and our visitor’s experience of them.”

Mr. Simon believed that the program will gradually restore the lost appeal of the historical monument and help in glorifying the importance of the most famous structure in England.

Stonehenge is a pre-historic structure located in Wiltshire County, about 8 miles west of Salisbury. Construction work has already begun by the Vinci Construction Company. John Penrose, the Heritage and Tourism minister, said “People have been talking about the project for nearly 30 years and so I’m absolutely delighted that work is finally under way to preserve this internationally recognizable prehistoric world heritage site, and to improve the visitor experience for those who come to marvel at it too.”

Stonehenge is considered a great stone-age mystery, mesmerizing millions of people, inspiring and enchanting them. A unique aspect of these wonderful creations is that nobody still clearly knows for what they been erected, and are considered as last gasp of the stone age. The British poet Layamon, inspired by this magnificent structure, wrote in 1215 AD,

The stones are great;
And magic power they have;
Men that are sick;
Fare to that stone;
And they wash that stone
And with that water bathe away their sickness,

After the completion of the redevelopment project, these serene locations will for sure envelope the first time visitors under its stunning beauty, charming grasslands and mysteries stones. For quite a long time this monument has been at the top of the list for adventurous history lovers and tourists at large visiting Britain, and with the Olympics around the corner, this upgrading project is a blessing in disguise.

Britain, a country bursting with rich heritage, architectural wonders, exciting beaches, world-class cities, breath-taking grass lands and captivating villages, makes another step forward in attracting millions of tourists from around the world, by launching the program to redevelop the Stonehenge vicinity.

Image Courtesy of  Rhubarble

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Roger Federer played some of the best tennis of his life to beat Britain’s Andy Murray in the Wimbledon final yesterday.

Federer came back from a set and a break down to win 4-6, 7-5, 6-3, 6-4, claim his seventh Wimbledon title and 17^th career grandslam.

It was his first major victory since January 2010, and the king of the grass was relieved to be back at the top after a couple of years absent from the Wimbledon final with people doubting him.

“I think the belief got me to victory today, and almost two other ones in the last couple of years as well,” he said.

“When it all happened I was just so happy that it was all over and that the pressure was gone, basically.

“I guess that came due to the tough loss I had here last year. There were a couple of tough moments for me over the last couple years.

“But I think I’m playing some of the best tennis of my life right now.”

An emotional Murray was reduced to tears in front of his home crowd, showing how much the Wimbledon title meant to him.

He has now lost all four of his grand-slam finals – a feat that only his coach, Ivan Lendl, and Kim Clijsters have ever done before – the future looks bright if history is anything to go by.

This was by far his best effort; however, and while he will take some time to recover from this loss, he will be proud of the improvements he has made, particularly in his mental game.

“I am getting closer,” a tearful Murray said to the BBC immediately after the match.

“Everybody always talks about the pressure of playing at Wimbledon, but it’s not the people watching – they make it incredible.

“I felt like I was playing for the nation and I couldn’t quite do it.

“We’re talking about one of the greatest athletes of all time. You’ve got to put it in context a little bit.”

Murray got off to a flying start and made the Swiss superstar look distinctly average for a set and half. But after Federer clinched the second set the rain came down, meaning the remainder of the match was played under the roof of centre court.

Federer was able to hit his precise shots without the elements affecting him and showed the world why he has such an immaculate indoor record.

Murray never gave up fighting however, and pushed Federer until the final point.

A twenty minute game in the third set on the Scot’s serve in which he saved six break points before surrendering to the relentless pressure of Federer was the turning point of the match.

The 30-year-old continued to elevate his game, and played two of the best sets of his life to complete the turnaround.

He now regains the number one spot and will match Sampras’ record of 286 weeks at the top of the rankings.

Murray many have lost the final, but he won the hearts of a nation, and showed the world how close he is getting to that elusive grand slam he deserves.

He will join Federer and the other top players back at SW19 in a few weeks to compete for the Olympic title before the American hard court season and the US Open at the end of next month.

Image Courtesy of  meunierd / Shutterstock.com

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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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The Olympic torch is a symbol of hope, unity, and pride. It began its journey for the London Summer 2012 Olympics at the Temple of Hera in Olympia, Greece on May 10, 2012. From there it traveled to Land’s End, Wales, and on May 19 2012 began its journey across the United Kingdom. It will reach the Olympic Stadium in London on July 27, 2012, when the Olympic Games will begin.

The torch is an exceptionally important world symbol so the 8,000 individuals carrying the torch over its 8,000 mile journey are specifically chosen for their unique backgrounds and national ties.

The BBC monitors the progress of the torch closely and provides maps of the torchbearers’ routes and biographies of the torchbearers themselves. One of these torchbearers is Adrian Derbyshire, a personal trainer who in 2008 was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor. Instead of resigning to his fate he joined the Team GB wheelchair fencing team and became an active member in the Warrington Disability Partnership. He and many others have been picked as torchbearers for their unique stories and contributions.

Adrian Derbyshire is not the only disabled individual to be included as a torchbearer. Ricky Furgusson is an Afghanistan War veteran who lost both his legs, his left eye, and fingers from both hands. He carried the torch May 30, 2012 through Chester to Stoke-on-Trent to a cheering crowd and saluting members of the 4th battalion.

The eleventh doctor of the long-running show “Doctor Who,” Matt Smith, also carried the torch on 26 May 2012. He claimed that the honor was so great that he would “do it in his underpants” and admitted that he “would probably get a bigger crowd for that”. His early morning jog through Cardiff drew a large crowd as individuals came to see not only the torch but him. He handed off the torch to 14-year-old swimmer Lilo Roberts, a highly ranked 100m freestyle swimmer.

Having Smith carry the torch has stirred up Whovians everywhere who wish to see the tenth incarnation of the Doctor, David Tennant, carry the torch or light the flame at the very end of the route. In the episode “Fear Her” the Doctor – then played by Tennant – carries the torch the last distance and begins the opening ceremony for the 2012 Olympics.

Sir Chris Bonington was yet another torchbearer who is well-known for mountaineering and has climbed Mt. Everest four times. Bonington brought the torch to the top of Mt. Snowdon – a 1,082m trip above sea level – on 29 May 2012 in a lantern. According to the BBC, Snowdon has great significance for Bonington because it is where he began his mountaineering career sixty-one years ago at the age of eighteen.

A group of four Russian representatives also are taking part as torchbearers. One of these Russians is Vladimir Tolstoy, the great-great-grandson of Leo Tolstoy and Director of the Yasnaya Poliana Museum who carried the torch through Hawarden.

The torch is currently leaving Stafford and will pass through Warrington and Wigan tomorrow.

Image Courtesy of  bobchin1941

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The women of Saudi Arabia may have a chance of partaking in the London 2012 Olympics. Saudi Arabia is the last country to confirm the participation of  women in the Olympics. The International Olympic Committee’s executive board has met with the Saudi Olympic officials and said in a statement that it was “confident that Saudi Arabia is working to include women athletes and officials at the Olympic Games in London.”

Qatar, Brunei, and Saudi Arabia’s Olympic team only consisted of all-male teams in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. Progress has been made, and the women of Qatar and Brunei are planning to compete this year. “Saudi Arabia is the last to hold out, denying women and girls the ability to take part in sports,” said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch.

“The clock is running out for Saudi women to join the games and for the international community to insist that the Saudi government allow women to participate.”

The Olympic Charter’s 6^th Fundamental Principle of Olympism has been considered violated by a statement made by Prince Nawwaf al-Faisal, the Saudi sports minister and head of the Saudi National Olympic Committee. He stated, “Female sports activity has not existed in the kingdom, and there is no move thereto in this regard. At present, we are not embracing any female Saudi participation in the Olympics.” The Human Rights Watch has made it clear that discrimination under the means of gender is not in consensus with the Olympic movement.

Women taking part in a sport outside of the Olympics is an issue in the country itself. The government bans Saudi girls from physical education classes in state schools. Women are unable to have access to sports facilities, and private gyms created by women have been shutdown because of allegations that they were unlicensed.

Discrimination among the women of Saudi Arabia is not unfamiliar in their own cultural day-to-day lives. Saudi Arabia is considered one of the most oppressed Arab countries. Saudi Arabia is ruled by King Fahd Bin Abd Al-Aziz Al Saud and is a dynastic monarchy. Patrolling the country are secular security forces and the Mutawwa’in, the religious police.

The government allows the forces to treat citizens as they choose, resulting in torturous treatment. Democracy does not exist in the country, and the people have no voice in government. Freedom of religion is exempt, and citizens have to be Muslim. Citizens of America viewing what other countries endure on a daily basis would appreciate the luxury of freedom.

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Nashville, U.S.A. – Documentary Channel (DOC) is proud to announce the US television premiere of “Warrior Champions“ on June 10, 2012. An emotional and inspiring story of sacrifice and determination, “Warrior Champions“ follows a group of wounded American soldiers as they fight to turn their nightmares of war into Olympic dreams.

As little as a year after losing limbs and suffering paralysis after fighting for their country in Iraq, four brave men and women set out to do what many considered impossible – to compete in the Paralympic Games. Through failure, pain and triumph, “Warrior Champions“ follows these soldier athletes for a full year as they compete for their positions on the US Paralympic team. Though at times heart wrenching, the film is an uplifting testament to the human spirit that challenges every notion of what it means to be disabled.

Other special programming highlights for June include:

“This Way of Life“ an intimate portrait of a Maori family and their relationship with nature, adversity, their 50 wild horses and society at large.  Set against the stunning beauty of New Zealand’s rugged Ruahine Mountains, two parents struggle to instill in their six children the values of independence, courage and happiness.  Cultivating the magic in the everyday while turning hardship into a meaningful and satisfying life, the family has little in the way of material possession but enjoys a physicality most people today can only dream about.

“His & Hers”, award-winning director Ken Wardrop’s intimate gender and cultural snapshot exploring a woman’s relationships with the men in her life – father, boyfriend, husband, son – through the voices of 70 women.  From kitchens, living rooms and hallways across the Irish midlands, ”His & Hers” tells a 90-year-old love story through little girl to old woman, each character portrait woven with the next to create one perfectly crafted cinematic quilt to celebrate both men and the women who love them.  US Television Premiere

“Murder by Proxy: How America Went Postal“ an unprecedented exploration of the growing epidemic of spree killings in America.  The first documentary film to look at the so called “going postal” phenomenon through the lens of the mounting socio-economic changes that have swept over this country, “Murder by Proxy: How America Went Postal” examines the basic question of what brings a seemingly normal person to the point of committing mass murder, studying the complex interplay of personal and societal factors leading to incidents of workplace massacres, starting with the earliest deadly post office killings in 1986.

Documentary Channel (DOC) is the USA’s first 24-hour television network exclusively devoted to documentary films and the independent documentary filmmaker, providing viewers with round-the-clock opportunities to see fascinating, eclectic and award-winning documentary films of all lengths and genres.

Image Courtesy of  CHEN WS / 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 

Image Courtesy of   Pete Niesen / Shutterstock.com

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First of all, I cannot tell you how excited my country is to be hosting the Olympic Games this year, it has been the talk of the nation for many years now and it is now just a few months away from reality. But people realize there will be millions of guests flooding in to the British capitol from around the world come the summer, and not all will be familiar with the ways public transport works in England.

It can be very simple, but it can also be very much a pain. Trains will be your easiest way to get around, or the underground, depending on where you are going. Travel early is always the first tip I give people since London is a busy city at the best of times, never mind when a global sporting event is taking place there. There are plenty of underground stations nearby the Olympic Park and once you get used to it, it will be very easy for you to find your way around.

If you are planning on taking the train to the Olympic Park, the three nearest train stations are Stratford station, Stratford International station and West Ham station, all accessible from the bigger stations in the city centre, such as King’s Cross and Euston. Stratford and West Ham also provide underground travel, and again, these two stations will be your best bet when making your way to the Olympic Park.

There will be hundreds of bus services and coach services taking people to and from the Olympic Park from all around London. Even if you are planning to live within walking distance, this can be useful at times since, despite what people think, England can be very warm in the summer. There are Taxi services almost everywhere in London, and if you are over here for a while, why not rent a car for the time of your stay and make your way there in your own comfort.

If you are planning on travelling further north, perhaps to take in some football (soccer) in Manchester, or Birmingham, trains run from the centre of London to both cities. London is a complex city, but there are too many travel services to get lost. Somehow you will always have a route to the Olympic Park and though it may be confusing for a few days, once you know what you are doing, London is not much different to any other major city for transport.

If you want more information on travelling to the Olympics once you arrive, take a look at the website London2012.com.

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To the majority of sports fans in the United Kingdom, Mixed Martial Arts was an almost completely unknown phenomenon six years ago, until a certain Michael Bisping won the third season of The Ultimate Fighter, a reality show with the prize of a contract with the prestigious Ultimate Fighting Championship.

The English fighters’ success in the competition and his subsequent victories in the Octagon catapulted the sport from obscurity to one of the most anticipated sporting events. The UK now hosts regular UFC events as well as boasting several top fighters in the forms of Dan Hardy, Terry Etim, Ross Pearson (another Ultimate Fighter winner) and of course Bisping himself.

This has led to the UK becoming one of the largest markets worldwide for MMA, and more specifically the UFC. It is therefore not a large leap to assume that the recent announcement of Chicago Bulls star Luol Deng’s impending first British All-Star status could have a similar effect on the popularity of basketball and the NBA in the UK.

This current season withstanding, the NBA has played preseason games in the UK for the last few years and even took this a step further last season with the New Jersey Nets and Toronto Raptors competing in two Regular Season games at London’s O2 Arena. Despite the sports’ lack of mass appeal in the congested British sports market, both games were sell outs and deemed highly successful by both NBA officials and the fans who attended the games.

Although the NFL, who have also been hosting a Regular Season game in London for the last few years, is perhaps a step ahead of the NBA in terms of its presence in the UK, the emergence of Deng as one of the top performers in the NBA may be just what’s needed to readdress the balance.

The Sudanese-born small forward, who relocated to Brixton, South London after being granted political asylum, moved to the States at the age of 14 to pursue a promising basketball career. In fact, at the end of High School he was considered by many as the second best senior in the country, with only superstar LeBron James preceding.

He then attended Duke University for just one year before entering the NBA draft, his draft stock considerably boosted by the fact he led all rookies in scoring, rebounds and field goal percentage during his solitary season as a Blue Devil. He was drafted seventh overall by the Phoenix Suns but was immediately traded to the Chicago Bulls, where he set about laying the foundations for what would develop into a highly successful relationship for both team and player alike.

Deng seemed to be on the cusp of something great in Chicago for several seasons, but a multitude of injuries limited his time on the court, however, not preventing him from being named to the All-Rookie First Team in his debut season. Then the arrival of Derrick Rose and Carlos Boozer unfortunately detracted from Deng’s numbers despite causing an increase in the Bulls’ scoring potential.

Since then, Deng has improved his outside shooting significantly under the tutelage of Tom Thibodeau and an enhanced understanding with fellow All-Star Rose has culminated in Deng’s hard work and determination being rewarded by a place in the upcoming All-Star weekend in Orlando.

Perhaps the most influential aspect of Deng’s career so far, at least in terms of raising the games popularity in the UK, is not his ability to put up great numbers, which is considerable, but his desire to represent the national team of his adopted country. Despite facing insurance problems and domestic pressures not to compete at the Eurobasket 2011 for Great Britain, Deng overcame these obstacles and went on to be named MVP for the tournament.

He led an inexperienced GB side very well, and won himself a lot of plaudits from both sides of the Atlantic, not only for his exceptional play, but also his seemingly well honed leadership skills.

Based in a continent where the likes of Spain, France and Italy tend to dominate internationally and domestically, a good showing at the upcoming Olympics from a Deng-led Great Britain could do wonders to help raise the sport’s profile. Throw into the mix the potential inclusion of Detroit Piston’s shooting guard Ben Gordon, as well as NBA journeyman Pops Mensah-Bonsu, then GB’s chances look to be getting much better.

The presence of several British players in the American collegiate system also raises hopes that we may see more players forge a successful career in the NBA, and it only seems a matter of time before basketball starts to grow in popularity and the NBA receives the same level of exposure as its national compatriot, the NFL.

Image Courtesy of   http://www.flickr.com/photos/keithallison/

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In its new Travel Trends 2012 report, flight comparison site Skyscanner has revealed the increasing interest in Asia by British tourists, accompanied by a reciprocal increase in visitors to the UK from a number of Asian nations.

Skyscanner, which has over 15 million users a month and recently opened an office in Singapore, analysed its vast data on user flight searches to produce the report on global travel trends.

Despite flooding and civil unrest during 2011, Thailand remains immensely popular with British tourists; Bangkok was the most popular Asian destination for Brits, with the Thai capital climbing the ranks one position to eighth place compared to 2010, and the country as a whole rising one place to 13.

Of the 20 global destinations that Skyscanner identified as seeing the biggest growth in interest from UK visitors, eight of them were in Asia, with Bangladesh, Indonesia and Pakistan topping the charts. Bangladesh and Pakistan have a long history with Britain which is home to many with Bangladeshi and Pakistani heritage. For Indonesia, it’s Bali that is the big pull for travellers, with the island accounting for more than a third of all the country’s incoming tourists.

2011 also saw the 40thanniversary of Bangladeshi independence, which helped raise its profile and may have encouraged some of Britain’s 500,000 people of Bangladeshi origin to visit the country.

The Philippines and Vietnam continue to emerge as tourist destinations for British travellers, and the increased demand for Vietnam saw Vietnam Airlines launch its first direct flight from London Gatwick to Ho Chi Minh City in December, a move that will reduce travel time by up to seven hours and further increase Vietnam’s popularity in the UK.

Top 20 countries showing greatest rise in interest from UK tourists year on year

1. Estonia (+89.8%)

2. Iraq (+75.4%)

3. Cape Verde (+50.9%)

4. Bangladesh (+36.4%)

5. New Zealand (+35.4%)

6. Indonesia (+33.4%)

7. Tanzania (+32.9%)

8. Croatia (+32.7%)

9. Pakistan (+31.7%)

10. Russia (+31.6%)

11. Philippines (+31.2%)

12. Uganda (+30.5%)

13. Vietnam (+29.1%)

14. Thailand (+28.9%)

15. Ukraine (+28.8%)

16. United Arab Emirates (+28.6%)

17. Singapore (+28.3%)

18. Cambodia (+28.1%)

19. Colombia (+24.9%)

20. Australia (+23.3%)

Asians coming to the UK

Asia has seen increasing popularity from British tourists, but this popularity is reciprocated with many Asian nations now seeing an increase in travel to the UK. Indeed, of the countries seeing the biggest increase in travel to the UK, Asian countries feature as four of the top ten.

Pakistan and Indonesia are seeing the greatest rise with an increase of 93.2% in flight searches year on year, followed by Japan (+80.8%), and Singapore (+79.2%).

1. Russia (+103%)

2. Kuwait (+93.3%)

3. Pakistan (+93.2%)

3. Indonesia (+93.2%)

5. Tunisia (+92.8%)

6. Australia (+85.9%)

7. Ukraine (+81.3%)

8. Japan (+80.8%)

9. Singapore (+79.2%)

10. New Zealand (+79.1%)

While Japan is the eight biggest riser in searches to UK overall, it is the Japanese who are showing the most interest in London when it hosts the Olympics in the summer, with a 300% rise in flight searches to London during the games period. The Japanese are a keen sporting nation having hosted the summer games once and the winter games twice, and are amongst the top fifteen medal winners.

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11^th European Youth Olympic Festival (EYOF) started with a beautiful opening ceremony in Trabzon, Turkey on July 24. Olympic games start on July 25 and they take 5 days to complete. This will be the first olympic organization of  Turkey.

For the 11^th European Youth Olympic Festival, about 4000 people, who are athletes, technical teams and managers, came from 49 countries. In the Olympics there are 9 branches. They are basketball, volleyball, tennis, judo, swim, bike, gymnastics, athleticism and handball.

Opening ceremony started with an announcer’s “welcome speech” at 20.00 (Turkish Time) then countries came to the stadium and took their seats in alphabetical order. First country was Greece because the first Olympics were played in Greece. Last country was host Turkey and Turkey has a maximum participation with 140 athletes. Cultural section started after countries. In this section Turkey’s traditional dances called ‘Horon’ and other dances were played by some group of dancers and Eyof-2011’s volunteers.

Firstly Sport Minister of Turkey, Suat Kılıç; after that President of Unity of European Olympics Committee Patrick Hickey; lastly Prime Minister of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan talked in the opening ceremony. Patrick Hickey spoke about Norway’s terrorist attack and one minute of silence was held for dead people. When Recep Tayyip Erdoğan started to say his speech, he wanted this one minute of silence for the 20 people who died due to terrorist attacks.

After Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s speech 11^th European Youth Olympic Festival was officially started. Four athletes carried Olympics torch and Olympic flame burned and Olympic flag was hung.

Finally, Turkish singer Mustafa Sandal gave a concert and opening ceremony finished with this concert. Opening ceremony took about three hours.

Pete Niesen / Shutterstock.com

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American soccer fans should remember these great moments of dominance and perceived divine right.  In fact, enjoy and relish in Sundays game and marvel at what was done because it won’t last forever; it is not sustainable for many reasons.

Hearing people talk (myself included) after this past Sunday, after the game against Brazil, you would think that God lives and routs for American sports teams and its athletes alone…of course there are many things wrong with that idea but that is the mentality.  Added with the idea that we are better because of some divine right- then again we shouldn’t be surprise; that is ingrained in American culture.

It works to the benefit of America of course in these great moments where you think they have no hope and our teams manage to pull out improbable victories, it is because American athletes (the good ones) believe in the idea of some kind of close relationship with god and also the arrogance that goes along with believing this.  I’m not saying they believe they can fly or walk on water, they just believe that god is somehow on their side and there is no way they can lose; a great mentality in sports but dangerous off the field of play.

All I’m hearing is this idea in sports and maybe that is something built in every athlete around the world but I think it speak s to American Arrogance in sports all together. It’s funny but when the U.S is bad at a sport, we simply say the sport sucks or ridicule those who are considered great… especially the media.

Sticking to on the field though, I want to make it clear of course; no mentality no matter what the belief, means anything without the skill and financial backing to become good at what you do.

For example, the American women’s team is great and they will be good for a while but we must look into why that is and let’s leave divinity aside for now.  Let’s take a team like Brazil and how good they have become with little to no support back home.  America spends so much money on developing its athletes and it’s a year round thing.  We also reward these athletes with equipment, fields and money but a place like Brazil has only recently come to accept the idea of women playing the same sports that men play and the fact that they can play it very well.

We’ve come to expect great things in all our athletes but not all countries we compete with make these kind of investments; why do you think a great player like Marta comes to play in the U.S during the season…the financial backing and development is there in women’s sports in the US in a way that is not present in other countries.

So the bottom line is, at this point in the development of Women’s sports, we should be far ahead of every other country given how much money we spend and invest in these sports.  The dominance we see or the improbable comebacks and the great wins won’t be there in 10 to 15 years because the rest of the world will have caught up.

The same way other countries have caught up with us in basketball is the same thing we will see in Women’s soccer.  That arrogance will have to turn to respect in order to stay on top; the same way American basketball players have learned to respect their European counterparts.

Like everyone one else, I was in awe at the performance from the Women’s team against Brazil. But after hearing people talk, I caught myself saying things like, there’s something about American athletes; that is the wrong way to look at this victory.  We should look at this victory in the realm of the idea of what sports are.  There can only be one winner and the American team wanted it more than Brazil did and they had the talent to get it done; that’s it, nothing more nothing less.

Sports are about making history as did the Japanese team the day before on Saturday or any other team that has done great things in sports around the world.  The Brazilian men’s team has won many tournaments because they have the talent and support that the women’s team lack at this point, the American men’s team doesn’t win for the same reasons; sports are simple,  so let’s examine sports the right way and leave out the unnecessary.

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Six individuals connected with Xclusive Tickets Limited and Xclusive Leisure and Hospitality have been charged with a range of offenses after an investigation by the United Kingdom’s Serious Fraud Office and the Metropolitan Police.

Terence Shepherd, Allan Schaverien, Alan Scott, Cyril Gold, and Geert van Meel have all been charged with offenses arising from Xclusive’s sale of tickets to a wide range of events, including the 2008 Beijing Olympics.  Additionally, Sheperd’s wife, Margaret Canty-Sheperd, has been charged with money laundering.

It is alleged that the Xclusive companies have a long history of failing to deliver on their promises.  Many customers complained that they never received the tickets, while others reported receiving tickets that were later revealed to have been stolen.  All told, the Xclusive companies received over £5 million in payment for tickets that were never delivered.

The accused claim that their failure to supply the tickets was due to the collapse of another company, Peter Ticketing.  However, prosecutor Miranda Moore QC told Southwark Crown Court that Peter Ticketing was actually a bogus entity created to conceal Xclusive’s fraud.

Shepherd, Scott, Gold, van Meel, and Canty-Shepherd have all pleaded not guilty.  Schaverein has pleaded guilty and has been bailed for sentencing until after his co-defendants’ trial is over.

Xclusive is just the latest ticket-related scandal to be exposed.  According to a report in Dagbladet, a Norwegian company by the name of Euroteam habitually pays cash for black market tickets, which it then resells at a hefty premium.  For example, in the run-up to the 2006 World Cup, Euroteam was able to sell $81.7 million worth of tickets despite the fact that they were not an official distributor.

Dagbladet also alleges that the company contacted FIFA vice president Jack Warner in 2009 and asked him for tickets to the 2010 World Cup.  Warner, who is also president of the Caribbean Football Union, is said to have ordered tickets to several World Cup matches only to have the deal with Euroteam fall through for unknown reasons.  In February, Dagbladet reported that FIFA’s ethics committee was investigating Warner’s links to Euroteam, but nothing seems to have happened since then.

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