New Jersey, U.S.A. – NBC Olympics, a division of the NBC Sports Group and Panasonic Corporation of North America announced on July 20 that the first-ever 3D coverage of the Olympic Games, beginning in London later this month, will be available to subscribers of MVPD’s (multichannel video programming distributors) representing nearly 80% of U.S. TV households.

The daily 3D programming, which will be shown on next-day delay, will be carried by many cable, satellite and telco providers such as such as Armstrong, AT&T, Blue Ridge, Bright House Networks, Cablevision, Comcast, Cox Communications, DIRECTV, Insight, Mediacom, RCN, Suddenlink, Time Warner Cable, Verizon, and  WideOpen West.

These carriers will distribute roughly 242 hours of the 3D broadcasts via the Media Center. Panasonic is NBC Olympics’ exclusive Flat-Panel HDTV and Blu-ray Disc Player advertiser for the London Olympic Games.

“We are pleased that nearly 80 percent of U.S. TV households will receive the incomparable clarity and performance of the first-ever 3D production of the Olympic Games,” said Joseph M. Taylor, Chairman & CEO, Panasonic Corporation of North America. “Panasonic’s 3D technology and NBC Olympics’ superb, moment-by-moment coverage of the Games will make the events more engaging to viewers as they watch their favorite athletes compete.”

The 3D broadcasts will be produced by Olympic Broadcasting Services (OBS) and will include some of the most-anticipated events of the Games, including:

• Opening and Closing Ceremonies
• Men’s and Women’s gymnastics
• Extensive coverage from the Aquatic Center, including both diving and swimming
• Bicycle racing (cycling) from the Velodrome
• Full coverage of track & field from the Olympic Stadium

NBC Olympics will provide 12 hours of U.S.-oriented 3D programming every day, introduced by Bob Costas and featuring both competitive highlights from the previous day as well as the best moments of the Games to-date. Viewers who watch the award-winning primetime coverage on NBC will have the opportunity to go back and relive their favorite events as never before – in Full HD 3D.

Olympic Broadcasting Services will capture the Games using Panasonic’s state-of-the-art 3D production technologies and fully-integrated twin-lens Full HD 3D camera recorder products. A taste of what’s in store can be sampled at retail outlets everywhere, where Panasonic 3D televisions will be displaying amazing 3D footage of the memorable Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.

Image Courtesy of  fstockfoto / 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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Ottawa, Canada- A strong team of five archers has been nominated by Archery Canada to the Canadian Paralympic Committee (CPC) for entry into the London 2012 Paralympic Games.

The Canadian contingent will be led by 2008 Paralympian and 2011 Parapan American Games gold medalist, Kevin Evans (Jaffray, BC). Evans is also a two-time defending world champion, having struck gold in 2007 and 2009 in the Men’s Open Compound Bow category.

“I’m really pleased and excited about returning to the Paralympic Games,” said Evans. “Last season was a bit rough with some untimely injuries, but things are definitely looking up this season and for the Paralympics.”

Joining Evans will be first-time Paralympian Bob Hudson (Leoville, SK). Hudson captured the silver medal in his category at the 2011 Parapan American Games. Both Hudson and Evans will compete in the men’s Compound Bow, Open category.
Lyne Tremblay (Magog, QC), a 2008 Paralympian, will compete in her second Paralympic Games. Tremblay will compete in the women’s Recurve Bow, ARW2 category.

Karen Van Nest (Wiarton, ON) will be competing in her fourth Paralympic Games. She competed in the 2000 Sydney, 2004 Athens and 2008 Beijing Paralympic Games in pistol shooting. The London 2012 Paralympic Games will mark the first time she competes as an archery athlete. Van Nest will compete in the women’s Compound Bow, Open category.

Rounding-out the strong Canadian contingent is international veteran Norbert Murphy (Vaudreuil-Dorion, QC). Murphy will be competing in his third Paralympic Games. He competed at the 2000 Sydney and 2008 Beijing Paralympic Games. Murphy captured the bronze medal at the 2009 World Para-Archery Championship and finished fifth at the 2011 World Para-Archery Championship (in the men’s Compound Bow, ARW1 category).

The five archers nominated to the Canadian Paralympic Team for London is an increase from the three who competed at the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games four years ago.

“I am really happy to see the fantastic growth in Paralympic archery with a record number of athletes being nominated to the London 2012 team with real chances of medals,” said Gaétan Tardif, Chef de mission for Team Canada.
Vladimir Kopecky (Kimberley, BC) is Archery’s Team Leader for the Games.

“I believe we have a very strong team and that we have a real chance to be on the podium,” Kopecky said. “We are going to the Games to do Canada proud.

Athletes and staff nominated to the Canadian Paralympic Committee for the London 2012 Paralympic Games in archery are Kevin Evans (Jaffray, BC) – Compound Bow, Men’s Open category, Bob Hudson (Leoville, SK) – Compound Bow, Men’s Open category, Karen Van Nest (Wiarton, ON) – Compound Bow, Women’s Open category, Lyne Tremblay (Magog, QC) – Recurve Bow, Women’s ARW2 category, Norbert Murphy (Vaudreuil-Dorion, QC) – Compound Bow, Men’s ARW1 category, Rob Cox (Winnipeg, MB) – Alternate in Compound Bow, Men’s Open category, Vladimir Kopecky (Kimberley, BC) – Team Leader, and Linda Gagnon (Magog, QC) – Team Support Staff

The archery competition for the London 2012 Paralympic Games will take place at the Royal Artillery venue in London from August 30 to September 5.

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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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