 ROAD TO THE LONDON SUMMER OLYMPICS
By: Â Hope Wilkos, Writer/Blogger Photographer: Â George Whylie Videographer: Â Maxine Nolan ÂIn a world of constant turmoil, it’s refreshing to know that we can set aside our differences and even the smallest of countries will come together, sending their brightest and best athletes as representatives at the London Summer Olympics 2012.
In just 138 days, sports enthusiasts across the globe will tune in to support their country and cheer their favorite challenger to the finish line.
The official name will be ‘Games of the XXX Olympiad’ taking place in London, England from July 27th to August 12th, 2012. Â This makes London the first city to host the Olympic games three times, previously in 1908 and 1948.
London has many appropriate venues that cater to events such as this, specifically, Wembley Stadium, Wembley Arena, Wimbledon All England Club, Lord’s Cricket Ground, The O2 Arena, Earls Court Exhibition Centre, Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy and Excel Centre. Â This definitely comes as an advantage in the arduous preparation process leading up to the big event.
The traditional torch relay will be run from May 19th through the opening day just prior to the beginning of the games. Â The torch will arrive from Greece on May 18th. Â The relay goes on for 70 days, 66 evening celebrations, 6 island visits and close to 8,000 people carrying the torch 330 yards each. Â It all begins at Land’s End in Cornwall. Â The focus will be National Heritage sites, green spaces and biodiversity, festivals and city locations with large screens in addition to venues with significance to sports.
Millions of visitors will be arriving to see some of the competitive sports to take place such as Aquatics, Basketball, Cycling, Sailing, Gymnastics, Equestrian and more. Â Athletes practice for years to secure their spot in this momentous event. Â Awaiting them will be gold, silver and bronze in addition to the absolute chance of a lifetime.
Rights are currently owned by NBC to televise the games in the United States and The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) will be the home broadcaster bringing fans all 5,000 hours of the Olympics. Â As part of the IOC deal, YouTube will be streaming highlights of the Games to countries worldwide.
Renewable energy will be a crucial part of the Summer Olympics including solar panels on particular buildings as well as food packaging will be made from compostable materials of bioplastics.
Once the games conclude, the legacy will still live on for decades. Â Olympic Park will be transformed into one of the largest urban parks created in Europe in more than 150 years. Â Canals and waterways will be cleaned and widened with new wetlands. Â New wildlife will inhabit the city and native species of trees will be planted giving a new and eternal beauty of nature to this proud city.
Our brave and courageous service men and women will be flag bearers in the 100 Team Welcome Ceremonies and the 805 Victory Ceremonies.
Some of the worldwide Olympic partners include Coca Cola, Panasonic, GE, Visa, Samsung and McDonald’s amongst others. Â Official Olympic partners are adidas, BMW, BP, British Airways, BT, EDF and Lloyds TSB. Â Official supporters are Adecco, Arcelor Mittal, Cadbury, Cisco, Deloitte, Thomas Cook and UPS.
As each opening  ceremony in past years has had some type of theme, this particular one will be known as “The Isles of Wonder” artistically directed by Oscar-winning director, Danny Boyle.  We eagerly await this astonishing evening of wondrous pageantry and who better to kick off the ceremony than Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh.
Read more about The London Summer Olympics 2012 and see how you can still get involved and see how many different initiatives have been created to support the worldwide event.
Olympic Mascots………
PHOTOS COURTESY of www.london2012.com
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