London 2012 two million people have registered

Organizers to the London 2012 say two million people have registered for tickets to the Olympics, when tickets go on salein March, 8.8 million seats will be available.

Paul Deighton chief executive to the London 2012 says data from the two million registered people so far shows that "by and large more females than males" have signed up and many are opting to try to see several events.

He thinking at least 500,000 folk to have registered an interest in buying tickets by March.

Shooter Vijay Kumar eyes London Olympics

Subedar Vijay Kumar on his reaching Hamirpur town here today ace shooter was accorded by a great reception.Accompanied by an army band he was taken to various part of the town.While talking with reporter in functions he aimed at London Olympics 2012 and said that“I am preparing for the London Olympics as I have learnt a lot from Asian Games in China where I won two Bronze medals”, he told reporters here today.

He inserted that he was satisfied with the response of the people of the state, adding that it would help the youngsters to come forward to take part in various sports to represent the nation at the Asian and world level.

He said that he was mainly concentrating on his own game of snap shooting and was sure that he would win medals at London games.

Athletic queen's next goal is Olympic gold

Athletic queen Ashwini Chidananda Shetty who is recently crowned for her performance.

"An Olympic gold is my next goal," said Ashwini. Ashwini has so busy schedule which includes her training, her parents Chidananda Shetty and Yashoda, and her sister will be able to spend less than four days with her as she has fixed her target to achieve a gold medal on the 2012 London Olympics.

On her recent win she was warmly welcomed by his parents in a traditional way with the 'aarti' at the Bajpe Airport here on Tuesday.The crowd, numbering in excess of 200, loudly cheered when Ashwini displayed her medals. Ashwini told reporters she could spare only four days for her family and her admirers in Siddapur, as her training schedule was hectic, but said she may visit in February next year for her sister's wedding.

London 2012 Olympics: Great Britain's medal chances boosted as Shara Proctor opts to represent hosts

World-class long jumper Shara Proctor decision has been welcomed by UK Athletics head coach Charles van Commenee, who has been a constant critic of the strength of women’s field athletes at his disposal as she will switch her allegiance from Anguilla to Britain.

International Association of Athletics Federations had approved her transfer of allegiance and the 22 year-old, who finished sixth at the 2009 World Championships in Berlin with a lifetime best of 6.71 metres, is eligible to represent Britain

She has held British citizenship since birth but grew up in St Croix, Anguilla.
“I’m happy to welcome Shara into the team,” said Van Commenee.

“She’s a high-calibre athlete who has proven to be able to make finals at global championships.

“We are not strong in women’s field events at the moment. The fact that Shara has decided to represent Britain from now on will make the team stronger.”

Proctor, who will be added to the UK Athletics World Class Performance Programme and will receive the top tier of Lottery funding, also competes in the triple jump and has personal bests of 13.88m indoors and 13.74 outdoors.

Having recently completed a sports management degree at the University of Florida, she said she was looked forward to the chance to compete for the host nation in London in 2012.

“My lifelong dream has always been to compete at the highest level in track and field,” she said.

“I am therefore thrilled that I can potentially compete for Great Britain and Northern Ireland at the London 2012 Olympics.

"It will certainly be an honour to represent the United Kingdom.”

2012 Olympics Stadium Highly Contaminated

£12.7 million so far has been applied to clean up the 2012 Olympics London Stadium highly contaminated by deadly chemicals

The land located in east London on the banks of river Lea, previously under the ownership of Banner Chemicals Group.after environmental assessments, to contain a plume of vinyl chloride -- a breakdown product of chlorinated solvents, one of the main chemicals handled by Banner -- in its groundwater.

"Vinyl chloride is one of the most toxic organic compounds found in groundwater, and it can cause damage to the liver and nervous system.", it has been revealed by Dr Jason Gerhard,a hydrogeologist based at the University of Western Ontario in London, Canada.

According to the Environmental Agency, the process will continue long after the Games as the contamination on the site is so severe

Stuart Hayes, a hydrogeologist at the Environment Agency said ""We thought that this would be a dirty site but it turned out to be much worse than we expected, grossly contaminated"

“So far, only the topsoil has been cleaned. The next and much more difficult stage is to clean up the deeper pollution.”

The director of Banner Chemicals, Colin Boyle, said, "We take our responsibilities seriously. We seek to implement best practice industry standards and to comply with all of the regulations that relate to installations of the kind we operate.”

“You mention an incident involving some chemicals but I do not know what you are referring to and so you will appreciate that I am not in a position to comment," he added.

“The £12.7m cost of the clean-up, revealed in a Freedom of Information Act request to the Olympic Delivery Authority, should not be covered by taxpayers.” said by Darren Johnson, chairman of the London assembly environment committee

Michael Phelps eager for success at 2012 London Olympics

Michael Phelps has one thing on his mind-going out with a bang in London Olympics 2012 season. Micheal Phelps is also the Olympian gold medalist.

Phelps said "I want to end my career on a great note is something every athlete wants, I had confidence in myself that I could put together four more good years to really put a stamp on my career.A lot of athletes have tried to come back and tried to come back, a lot of athletes have tried to come back and tried to come back."

Phelps professional swimming has been disturbed due to various changes Phelps will have his work cut out for him.

Since the changes done on the rules and regulate on swimmers to set the new swimmers suits mandatory to wears which requires more fitness because Changes for males include suits only allowed to span from the waist to above the knee (before they could cover the whole leg). Since that exposes more skin,
Phelps has had a hard time adapting to the new gear.

But he admits recent sub-par performances can be attributed to other causes.

"I'll be the first to admit it. I was not training as much as I should."

Phelps, who won no less than eight gold medals in Beijing is constantly occupied with extracurricular swimming activities and obligations.

Aside from obligations, swimming coach Bob Bowman indicated that Phelps was as keen as ever to give one last winning performance in London. Bowman reported that the “fire” is still there for Phelps, and that it “never left.”

London 2012 Olympics – Call for Volunteers

When it was first announced that London would host the 2012 Olympics it seemed that it was a long way away, but it is always surprising how quickly time seems to pass. Now the Olympics seem to be just round the corner and the opening ceremony is just a little over a year away.

Now a call has gone out to Britons to volunteer to help out at this historic event. The organising committee is seeking to recruit 70,000 volunteers and applications are now available to members of the general public. Volunteers will be called Games Makers and will receive no pay.

If you are interested in taking part, then you will need to be at least 18 year old by the first day of 2012 and you need to promise to work for a minimum of ten days and to be available for three training days. You can volunteer for either the Paralympic Games or the Olympic games.

In addition to the general volunteers, specialist volunteers are also needed. To date 8,000 specialist volunteers have been recruited already and a further 8,000 are required.

Volunteers are needed for a large variety of jobs which include interpreting, general ticketing duties, acting as visitor guides, advising on travel and accommodation, administering first aid, and keeping the general environment clean and tidy.

If you will be under 18, then there will still be an opportunity to take part. A number of Young Games Maker volunteers will be required and it is anticipated that a call to recruit 1,500 of them will be made during the summer of 2011.

Applications close on 27th October and interviews will be held over the following twelve months. If you have the time and want to have a small place in history, then this could be an ideal opportunity.

By BBC London Olympics 2012 planning parodied

The London 2012 Olympics the BBC is to prody preparations in a new comedy series. "Twenty Twelve" has been shot in the style of mockumentary series "The Office," and the British broadcaster says it hopes it will "bring some humour" to the serious logistical challenges facing prepares.

The BBC says the six part will series deal with "such hot topics as how to phase the traffic lights across London to get people from west to east." After the Olympics writers have also tried to make light of the process of selling a taekwondo hall, theCulture Olympiad the search for someone to run and how wind turbines will operate in the absence of wind.

2000 Sydney Games Australia's ABC aired a alike that the Games took a satirical look at Olympic bureaucrats.

London 2012 Olympic Games - Plan your Games

London Olympic 2012: Luke Taylor refuses to give up

Dartford judoka Luke Taylor knows age isn’t on his side in the run up to the London Olympics but has vowed to leave no stone unturned in his bid to qualify for 2012.
Taylor, 20, gave warning of his talents in 2008, claiming Junior World Championship bronze two months after Britain returned home from the Beijing Olympics with nothing to declare.
The former Chellaston School pupil has since begun the transition from promising junior to talented senior and is recently based at the British Judo Performance Institute in Dartford.
Taylor will be 22 by the time of the London 2012 Olympics – which are two years away on July 27 and maintains his tender years won’t deter him from trying to qualify.
Taylor said, "The London Olympics will likely come a bit too soon for me, which is disappointing but I’m not going to rule anything out".
"It is only two years away and I have still got a bit of a way to go before I can lift myself up toward the top of the game.
"I’m still in the situation at the moment where I’m making the transition from being a junior to being a senior, which is always tough.
"I’m still learning about different things and if I can go to certain European events and do well then that is going to be hugely beneficial.
"It is all about the development stage because now I’m competing against guys who are stronger and more experienced than me so it can be a steep learning curve.
"London 2012 should be a fantastic event, the fact that we have the Olympics in this country will do great things for the sport."
Taylor – who is a member of the British 2012 development and senior judo squads – suffered with a back injury at the start of the year but is now fully fit.
And, with a European Cup meeting in Germany and the Heart of England Championships on the agenda in the next two months, Taylor has vowed to prove his worth.
He added: "Training has been going well. I’ve got no injuries to report so I’ve got nothing to complain about.
"I’m back from injury feeling good and would like to now go to the European Cup and look what I can do.
"Then I want to go to the Heart of England Championships and do well there because I think I’m in with a opportunity of getting a medal there."

Olympics-London 2012 unharmed by government cuts, organisers say

London 2012 Olympics organisers are on schedule to complete their project despite a 27 million pounds ($41 million) government budget cut, the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) said on Monday.
The coalition government's wide ranging austerity measures to tackle Britain's budget deficit included a reduction in the money allocated for the 2012 Games. However, the ODA said its own efforts to drive down costs had already achieved savings.
In its Quarterly Economic Report, the ODA said it had reduced the estimated overall cost of the Games by 6 million pounds to 9.298 billion pounds.
Those savings would have been nearer 50 million were it not for tax, VAT and national insurance increases announced by the government. The ODA said 100 million pounds of savings had been made in the last quarter, of which 27 million pounds had been returned to the government.
Of those savings, 13 million pounds came from construction site security, 11 million from the international broadcast centre and main media centre, and 3 million from smaller changes to the basketball arena and velodrome.
"As we approach two years to go until the Games, and with over two-thirds of the construction phase complete, we are in an excellent position," Sports Minister Hugh Roberston said.
"The ODA have done an excellent job thus far, delivering a complex project on time and within budget, despite the credit crunch. Today's report shows they have delivered 27 million of savings as part of the Government's measures for reducing the deficit, while keeping the whole Olympic programme intact."
ODA chief executive David Higgins said 700 million pounds of savings had been made since the baseline budget for the Games was announced in November 2007.
"As we have done since the very start of the project, we have made savings through driving greater efficiency on a range of projects," he said.
"We will continue to bear down those costs wherever possible, whilst ensuring we deliver what is required for both a fantastic Games in 2012 and a lasting legacy afterwards."
The Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) has completed its latest set of milestones on time it was announced today as the `Big Build' construction project moved into its final year. New aerial images of the Olympic Park have also been released showing the good progress being made across the site. Last week the ODA said it had achieved all 10 construction milestones announced last year and that by this time next year the structures of all the main venues will be complete an ready for handing over to the organising committee.
Seats have already been installed inside the main Olympic stadium while the strucjturse of the Aquatics Centre and Velodrome are also complete.
Three quarters of the Olympic Village is also built and more than 2,000 new trees have bene planted as landscaping of the park begins.

London Olympic 2012: Usain Bolt not to compete in Britain prior

London Olympics 2012 Usain Bolt not to compete in Britain prior.
Usain Bolt remains one of the most prominent men in the field of athletics today, boasting of three Olympic gold medals, as well as a distinguished world record holder for the hundred metre, two hundred metre, as well as the four hundred metre relay race.
Of Jamaican origin, his sporting triumphs have never ceased to fascinate and enthral his fans, as well as followers of this field of sports. It is fascinating to discover that Bolt has the distinction of surpassing his own records of hundred metre and two hundred metre races, a feat that he currently accomplished at the 2009 World Championships. Such accomplishments are few of the many more that have respectfully earned him the title of “Lightning Bolt”. It is therefore undeniable that Bolt is truly deserving of the respect and appreciation he is showered with.
Yet, current events have triggered a debate that suggests that the athletic lovers from all over the globe may not get to see their favourite athlete perform in the recent future. A proposition that provoked significant fury a few years ago and resulted in Andre Aggasi, the celebrated tennis player to suffer defeat in a case against a taxman has now kindled fire again, with Bolt being at the receiving end this time.
This case raised eyebrows on the technicalities of sponsorship deals, with overseas players suffering the blunt. The victory of the case in favour of the tax man implied that overseas performers such as Andre Aggasi were obligated to provide a share of their earnings to the taxman, regardless of the extremely controversial issue that the income did not get channelled from the United Kingdom.
The gist of this strategy implies that foreign sportsmen may end up being obligated to pay sufficiently more than the amount they earn, since the taxman is now eligible to demand a share from their income. Not only is this methodology seemingly biased in favour of the taxman, it is also legally controversial, since the income that these players receive is not provided by the United Kingdom, hence challenging the protestation of the taxman in the first place.
This current bitterness has resulted in Usain Bolt pulling out of the Crystal Palace Diamond League event, to be held in August. Not only does this imply a blow to the thousands of spectators who arrive at every athletics event in the hope of rooting for their favourite player, but also puts in jeopardy the organizers of this grand tournament. Who had hoped to witness and showcase a three way rundown between Usain Bolt and his prominent rivals Asafa Powell and Tyson Gay. Although this amasses as a great deal of disappointment on the part of both the spectators and the arrangers, it is a ruling that seems justifiable on part of the athletes. In a country such as the United Kingdom where athletes can be charged with up to fifty percent tax rates on their appearance fee, together with a magnanimous proportion of their worldwide earnings, performers such as Bolt are definitely being insightful for nodding in favour of withdrawal from such events.
The proponents of this disposition fail to grasp the idea, that while athletes like Usain Bolt may suffer a temporary downfall by withdrawing, their stardom will enable them to continue participation at other major tournaments, continuing their successful streaks and being oblivious to their inability to perform in the United Kingdom. At the midst of this all, the most gravely affected will be the government of the country itself, since it will have to prepare itself for facing refusal to hold major events in the future.
The hosting of the UEFA Champions League final by Madrid instead of Wembley is a mere testimony of this argument. Therefore, while players such as Usain Bolt may be agonized by facing barriers to perform in tournaments that could prove to boost their careers further, they will never run short of tournaments around the globe to perform in. This leaves the government of the United Kingdom itself to burn ablaze in the fire it has kindled, and the sooner it realizes this, the lesser damage it will concede to its reputation, as well as its economic status.

London 2012 Olympics: McDonald's to train volunteers as part of massive sponsorship deal

London 2012 volunteers will be recruited and trained by McDonald’s staff as part of a multi million pound sponsorship deal with the fast food giant.
Arrangers will start looking for 70,000 volunteers re badged as Games Makers from July 27, which marks the two years to go celebrations. The sponsorship deal, the 32nd sealed by the organising committee, is a coup for McDonald’s, which has long been a sponsor of the Olympic Games, as it affords a highly visible promotional link to the public attending the Games.
Locog 2012 chairman Lord Coe said the Games Makers had to be passionate and prepared for a serious commitment. Volunteers should not expect to be the person carrying Usain Bolt’s tracksuit. Instead, many of the positions are behind the scenes roles with little interaction with the athletes.
Lord Coe said the success of the Games would come down to selecting and training the right talent for the volunteering positions.
”We want them to get the experience of a lifetime, and it is also a fantastic chance for people to find out about themselves and take them out of the comfort zone,” Lord Coe said.
Officials have stressed that people need to take their time considering whether to volunteer because the commitment is substantial. Games Makers will have to be prepared for at least 10 days of unpaid work during the Games as well as undergo several training days conducted by McDonald’s.
Travel costs, accommodation and other expenses have to be borne by the volunteers.
The first tranche of volunteering positions for specialists will open on July 27. The general positions will be launched on Sept 15. There will be a special programme for 1500 volunteers aged under 18.
The Mayor of London is also opening a volunteering programme for 7000 city guides on July 27.

At gay people, London Olympics to sell badges aimed

London Olympics arrangers will begin selling badges in support of the gay community on Saturday.
The badges, featuring the rainbow flag and London 2012 logo, will be on sale at the London Pride gay parade and on the London 2012 website.
Former Wales rugby captain Gareth Thomas, who announced he was gay in December, complimented London 2012 arrangers Friday for attempting to achieve greater inclusion in sports.
Games arrangers plan to sell more pin badges in the next year based on other issues such as age, disability, belief, gender and ethnicity.

London Olympics tickets: Severe budget cuts in the UK raise questions about affordability

London Olympics despite ticket prices not having been announced yet, there are growing concerns about the ticket cost, and specifically British fans’ ability to afford tickets, in light of the UK’s new austerity plan.
The plan includes 25% spending cuts across all areas except health and international aid, as well as various tax hikes, including a 2.5% increase in the Value Added Tax (VAT). All together, this budget will potentially reduce the disposable income which British Olympic fans intend to use to purchase tickets to the Games.
Still, Lord Sebastian Coe, Chairman of the London Organizing Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (LOCOG), is optimistic that the country’s fans will find their way to the games. In a current quote in London’s Daily Telegraph, Lord Coe expressed confidence that tickets of the Olympic, going on sale early next year, will be met with high demand: "We are very confident that with the ticket sign up we had a few months ago and going forward what we have been able to do regarding price and structure of the events, there will be a very big appetite".
According to Graham Burns, chairman of the Association of Secondary Ticket Agents in the UK, strong ticket sales for the 2012 Games are a certainty, due to the unique nature of the Games themselves.
“People will buy (tickets to the Games) no matter what. It is a global event, and people will be coming from around the world, so a 2.5% increase (in the VAT) is not going to be an issue,” Burns told TicketNews.
However, Coe added that multiple factors will determine the success of Olympics ticket sales, including the economic climate for potential buyers. In addition, with no word yet on the exact price of tickets, LOCOG’s ability to meet the needs of financially stressed consumers has yet to be proven.
Burns’ concerns regarding London 2012 center primarily on disreputable brokers giving a black eye to England’s secondary ticketing industry. In 2008, alleged disreputable brokers in the UK ran ticket scams that reportedly victimized dozens of fans, and there were problems with secondary ticket sales at the current Vancouver Winter Olympics.
“What we need to do is separate out the real brokers from the crooks, because if we don’t, secondary ticketing in the UK will be at risk,” Burns said.
In May, Great Britain’s new coalition government announced £27 million ($39.5 million) in cuts to LOCOG’s partner, the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA). The ODA is responsible for the construction of Olympic venues and developing the necessary infrastructure for the Games. The decision to reduce ODA’s budget came in direct contradiction to the previous government’s assurances that the Olympics budget would not be touched.
Cuts are expected to be managed through administrative cost cutting and streamlining functions. At the time these reductions were announced, government officials insisted that they posed no danger to the UK’s presentation of a successful Olympics.
Following a progress report by Coe and LOCOG’s Chief Executive Paul Deighton at this week’s International Olympic Committee (IOC) Executive Board meeting, IOC President Jacques Rogge also expressed confidence that the £27 million in cuts will not compromise the integrity or success of the upcoming Games.
Earlier this month, however, England’s Sports Minister, Hugh Robertson, remarked that the Games may be at risk for further cuts down the road because of the nation’s ongoing economic difficulties.

Under threat of budget cuts London 2012 Olympics

London Olympics 2010 may not escape encourage budget cuts as Britain's new government seeks to slash public spending, Sports Minister Hugh Robertson said Thursday.
"I cannot say categorically that there will be no adjustments," Robertson told The Associated Press. "No one can say that the state of the nation's finances are not dire, and sport and the Olympics Games are not immune from that.
"But when we look at the Olympic budget we will make an argument that reflects its importance to the nation and make sure that we deliver a successful games that Britain can be proud of, on time and under budget."
Last month, the Olympic Delivery Authority, the body responsible for building the venues for the games, was told its funding would be cut by 27 million pounds ($39.5 million). The overall public sector budget for the Olympics is 9.3 billion pounds ($13.6 billion).
The ODA reduction was just a slice of the $8.7 billion in total spending cuts announced by the coalition government to trim Britain's record budget deficit.
Further cuts are expected when the government's spending review takes place in the autumn, when each department will have to justify its funding in what has been dubbed Prime Minister David Cameron's "star chamber."
Robertson, a Conservative Member of Parliament, said: "I am looking forward to going before the 'star chamber.' I want people to know that."
"Every single area of government expenditure will be looked at, and we have to deliver. But the 2012 Olympics have a measure of protection in that they are an event with a clear deadline. People accept the games are here, we can't hand them back, and that they are vital for the country."
Robertson announced Thursday that British sport's share of money raised by the national lottery would increase from 16 percent to 20 percent by 2012, an increase of about 50 million pounds ($73 million) a year.
The move is part of the minister's efforts to safeguard a positive future for British sport after the 2012 Olympics.
"Delivering a mass participation legacy for sport from London 2012 is one of my three top priorities," Robertson said.
He said the other two priorities were staging a successful 2012 Games and helping England win the right to host the 2018 World Cup.
Robertson also announced other differents to be made by the new British government.
A new "Major Sports Events Bill" will be introduced, which will help Britain attract big sporting events, and the main bodies that organize British sport -- UK Sport, Sport England and the Youth Sport Trust -- will be brought under one roof while keeping their areas of expertise.

Olympic organisers reverse under-18 volunteers ban

Olympic organisers have made a U-turn on their plan to bar under-18s from becoming volunteers for the 2012 Games, BBC London has learned.
Organisers had set a minimum age of 18 as a recruitment drive began for 70,000 volunteers including marshals, ticket inspectors and first aiders.
The plan was criticised by teenagers, including the young mayor of Newham, who urged Lord Coe to rethink the ban.
London 2012 has now said it is "looking at opportunities for those under 18".
Young Mayor Kaycee de Belen, 16, had written to the 2012 chief Lord Coe to urge a rethink of the policy - which was introduced to comply with laws on child protection and working hours - saying it would deny thousands of teenagers a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

London 2012 signs up Gymnova as 28th sponsor

April 6 - London 2012 today signed-up its 28th domestic sponsor when they announced that Gymnova will be the Official Gymnastics Equipment Supplier and they will provide all the equipment needed for the gymnastics events at London 2012.

Gymnova is an approved supplier of the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) and as well as providing equipment for the artistic, rhythmic and trampoline competitions, will also provide equipment for the training facilities.

Gymnova provided the equipment for last year’s World Championships, held at the O2 in London .

Gymnova is a core company within the French ABEO group.

As part of the deal, which sees Gymnova become a Tier Three sponsor, two of its sister companies in the group, O’Jump and ACMAN, will be providing the wrestling mats and podia for the staging of several sports.

Sebastian Coe, the London 2012 chairman, said: "This demonstrates the length and breadth of our commercial programme.

"We’re now delving deep into the planning process and ensuring that we have the best sporting equipment for athletes both for competition and training, is a real priority for us.

"It’s great to have a company like Gymnova on-board and we look forward to working with them to ensure that London 2012 is a fantastic experience for athletes as well as spectators."

Gymnova’s President, Olivier Estèves, is delighted that the company has been selected.

He said: "Gymnova have been supplying the gymnastics world with apparatus for over 30 years.

"To supply the world’s greatest sporting stage, the London Olympics, with all its gymnastics and trampolining needs is a fantastic honour.

"The selection of Gymnova helps underline the high regard the company, and its products, has within the Olympic movement and the International Gymnastics Federation.

Gymnova is the 15th Tier Three sponsor to sign-up with London 2012 and joins companies like Holiday Inn, John Lewis, Next and Ticketmaser.

Britain's world gymnastics champion Beth Tweddle, who is an ambassador for Gymnova, said: "This is great news.

"Last year the British team recorded the best results it has ever achieved at a World Championships - all on Gymnova apparatus.

"The opportunity to capitalise on this success and to focus on training on familiar apparatus has given us all a boost leading up to
London 2012."

Boris Johnson Pledges 'Fun' Package for London Olympics

BORIS JOHNSON announces today that he wants to make London the "epicentre of fun in the universe" come the 2012 Olympics and he probably doesn't mean the predicted huge rise in prostitution.

"We've got to assume that huge numbers of people are going to come to the city and we've got to allow them to enjoy themselves, so there's all sorts of things we're preparing," is Johnson's message to the Olympic Board, before which he appears today.

What the London Mayor has in mind is: the pedestrianisation of roads between Covent Garden, Leicester Square and Trafalgar Square; big screens and concert stages in four London parks - Hyde Park, Jubilee Gardens, Potter's Gate and Victoria Park; the Cultural Olympiad arts festival and loads of posters and bunting all over the city.

South Londoners might wonder why no park or common on their side of the river is deemed worthy of a big screen, but might be consoled with thought that the prostitute invasion is likely to be confined to the north of the city.

Police and local authorities in the boroughs near the Olympic construction site say that the number of street walkers has doubled since building began and evidence from previous Games suggests that at the time of the Olympics, numbers double again, so there could be four times as many ladies of the night plying their trade by 2012 as before. They could even make an Olympic sport out of it.

Carlton, Wiley and Time Out official publishers for London Olympics

Carlton, Wiley and Time Out have been appointed as the official publishers of the London 2012 Olympic Games to develop "a full range" of books, which will be hitting the shops later this year.
Carlton is to publish practical sports, children's, reference, history, companion and celebratory books. John Wiley & Sons has been charged with responsibility for the illustrated reference, photographic, commemorative, architecture and design books. Time Out Guides is publishing the travel guides and tourist books.
Charlie Wijeratna, director of commercial negotiations for the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games, said: "Books are always a key feature of any Olympic Games or Paralympic Games and we’re thrilled to have three fantastic licensees on board to publish the official London 2012 books which we hope will educate, entertain and enchant the British public.
"We now have a great team of licensees producing London 2012 merchandise, with more to follow in the coming weeks and months."
The range, which includes The Book of Olympic Heroes and a Countdown to London 2012 children's book, is being developed alongside the LOCOG for launch "from the end of 2010".
This will be followed in 2011 by London 2012 travel guides, further London 2012 illustrated reference publications and the first architecture and design reference books. E-books will also be available

Olympics usher in a big new age of advertising

Vancouver used to be a gloriously garish place, an urban jungle filled with hundreds of giant neon signs and billboards competing for your attention.
But that was way back in the 1950s. A civic beautification movement swept the city in the '60s and '70s, and almost all the garishness vanished, replaced by more "tasteful" stuff.
The Olympics offer a brief respite. Stand at the southeast corner of Georgia and Hornby and you might think you'd been transported to Times Square. The Hudson's Bay building is covered in four-storey-high portraits of Olympic athletes. One of the black towers at Georgia and Granville has become a big ad for Samsung cell-phones. The Hotel Georgia project is clad in the biggest Canadian flag you've ever seen.

The most impressive ad of all might be a skier flying into the sky down the eastern side of the 37-storey Royal Bank Tower at Burrard and Georgia. For a 37-storey ad, it's remarkably tasteful: the skier is the dominant image, the Royal Bank logo is relatively discreet at the top of the building.