Robert the Engine gets London 2012 facelift

August 5th, 2010

Robert the Engine the 80-year-old-locomotive that has been temporarily moved from the front of Stratford Regional Station to the East Anglian Railway Museum, is getting a makeover.

The steam-locomotive is getting repainted after years of pigeons, rain and wind have left him feeling under the weather. Robert is getting a new crimson coat at the Railway Museum in Colchester, Essex, before being returned to Stratford once improvements works there are complete.

Hugh Sumner, the ODA’s Director of Transport, said: ‘Stratford Regional Station is being transformed into a facility which can serve London before, during and after the Games. The ODA has invested over £125 million in the station to treble capacity and upgrade infrastructure.

‘Robert has been a feature outside Stratford station for more than a decade. We hope that by renovating him, visitors and residents alike can enjoy this historic engine for years to come.’

The 38-tonne saddle tank locomotive was built by the Avonside Engine Company of Bristol to work the Lamport Ironstone mines railway near Brixworth, Northamptonshire.

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Public take the London 2012 Open Weekend challenge

July 26th, 2010

Olympic Triple Jump champion, Jonathan Edwards CBE, today faced 19-year-old British table-tennis pro, Darius Knight at Tate Modern in the most challenging ping pong match ever, to launch the start of London 2012 Open Weekend, 23-25 July 2010.

With the fresh theme of ‘challenge yourself’, the Passport to Pingland table-tennis event is one of more than 900 events taking place across the UK as part of the Cultural Olympiad. Organisations have set public challenges at each of their events, creating an opportunity for everyone to set a new personal best by trying something new or taking an existing interest to the next level.

Seb Coe, London 2012 Chair, said: ‘Open Weekend will lead the nation into the two-year countdown to the start of the London 2012 Games with new personal bests being set right across the UK.

‘Open Weekend 2010 is another opportunity for thousands of people to join in with the London 2012 Games.’

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London Olympics still on schedule despite £27m of government savings.

July 26th, 2010

London 2012 Olympics organisers are on schedule to complete their project despite a £27million government budget cut, the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) said.

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 £6m to £9.3bn.

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 £100m of savings had been made in the last quarter, of which £27m had been returned to the government.

Of those savings, £13m came from construction site security, £11m 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.

ODA chief executive David Higgins said £700m of savings had been made since the baseline budget for the Games was announced in November 2007.’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.’

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Stella McCartney named creative director for Team GB at London 2012.

July 22nd, 2010

Stella McCartney has been appointed as creative director for Team GB for London 2012.

The leading British fashion designer will oversee the design of both athlete kit and fan wear for the adidas Team GB range for the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

It is the first time in the history of the summer Games a designer will work with a sports brand to design the teams’ kit with adidas having now provided kit for Team GB since 1984.

McCartney said: ‘As a British fashion designer it is an amazing, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be creative director of Team GB as the host nation of the London 2012 Olympic Games.’

Olympic and world champion Victoria Pendleton was enthusiastic, saying: ‘I’m a
massive fan of Stella McCartney and with London hosting the Olympic Games it is
really important as the host nation to set the standards.

‘To have a British designer inputting into the British kit is going to be very special.’

Andy Hunt, chief executive officer of the British Olympic Association, added: ‘This apparel line provides an exciting opportunity for fans to connect with Team GB and show their pride and support for the athletes who will represent our nation during the 2012 Games.’

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Do you want to be a Games Maker?

July 14th, 2010

With almost two years to go until the London 2012 Games, the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) today announced plans to recruit up to 70,000 volunteers for the London 2012 Games. The volunteers will be known as Games Makers.

In the UK’s biggest post-war volunteer recruitment campaign, LOCOG will be looking for dedicated and inspirational people representative of the diversity of London and the UK to apply for a wide variety of volunteer roles.

Seb Coe, Chair of LOCOG, said: ‘London 2012 needs brilliant volunteers to help us deliver a great Olympic and Paralympic Games. Our volunteers will be called Games Makers to reflect the important role they will play in staging the 2012 Games. The programme to find our Games Makers will launch on 27 July 2010 and I urge anyone who is interested to come to our website from that day onwards to find out everything they need to know about volunteering in 2012.’

There are two types of Games Maker roles: specialists, in areas such as medical services, sport or press operations; and generalists, with roles including spectator assistants, uniform distributors and ticket checkers.

Pre-identified applicants for specialist roles can apply from 27 July 2010 onwards. Applications for generalist roles will open on 15 September 2010.

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New trees and wetland plants turn Olympic Park from brown to green

June 24th, 2010

The first of 4,000 new semi-mature trees are taking root in the Olympic Park to help create around 250 acres of parklands on former industrial land.

Around 100 ash, cherry and hazel trees, which were grown in Hampshire, have already been planted.

Work has also started to plant the 300,000 wetland plants, grown in Norfolk and Wales for the UK’s largest ever urban river and wetland planting. The first plants were laid on the river banks today by Minister for Sport and the Olympics Hugh Robertson, TV Gardener Charlie Dimmock, Olympic gold medal winner Jonathan Edwards, Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) Chairman John Armitt and children from the Olympic Park’s Construction Crew.

New reed beds are being created in a large area of wetlands in the north of the Park. They will help form wider areas of parklands where visitors during the Games will be able to relax and watch the action on live screens. After the Games the riverside area will be a tranquil space for people and wildlife which will also help protect 5,000 properties in the area from flooding.

ODA Chairman John Armitt said: ‘The parklands will be the centrepiece of the Olympic Park during the Games and are at the heart of the long-term transformation of this part of east London.

‘We have cleaned up formerly industrial land, much of it contaminated, and opened up inaccessible riverbanks to start creating a new great park that will be enjoyed by people and wildlife for generations to come.’

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London 2012 outlines vision for welcoming the Olympic Flame to the UK.

June 21st, 2010
The London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games today announces that the Olympic Flame will arrive in the UK on Friday 18 May 2012 and will travel around the UK for 70 days, arriving in London the weekend before the 2012 Games begin.
  • Olympic Flame to arrive in UK on 18 May 2012
  • 70 day Torch Relay around the UK
  • 8,000 Torchbearers
  • 95% of the UK population to be within a one hour journey time of the Torch Relay
  • Presenting Partners – Coca-Cola, Lloyds TSB and Samsung

We will be working closely with villages, towns and cities the length and breadth of the UK to ensure that as each community welcomes the Olympic Flame, they do so in a way that is unique and special to their area.”As the Torch Relay travels around the UK, visiting different communities and cultures it will connect people to the Olympic Games, its heroes and its spirit. “Representing peace and unity, the Torch Relay is yet another ‘once in a lifetime’ opportunity in 2012 for ordinary Londoners and visitors to come together and celebrate this historic and exciting moment.”

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Thousands of anti-terror searches were illegal.

June 21st, 2010

Thousands of people across the UK might have been stopped and searched illegally, figures released by the Home Office suggest.

Powers under section 44 of the Terrorism Act were used in “error” after the proper authorisations were not given.

In one example, for April 2004, the Met Police wrongly stopped 840 people.

Dozens of other examples from across the UK have been uncovered before rules were tightened in 2008.

Police Minister Nick Herbert said administrative errors were to blame and he has ordered an internal review of procedures.

The Metropolitan Police is also urgently considering what steps can be taken to contact the individuals concerned.

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Eurostar signs up to London 2012 Olympics.

June 21st, 2010

LONDON – Eurostar has signed up as the latest sponsor of the London Olympics in 2012, becoming the official international rail services provider.

The deal with The London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) sees Eurostar becoming a tier three sponsor of London 2012, the 30th domestic sponsor.

Eurostar will be providing London 2012 with arrival and departure services at St Pancras International for those competing in and working at the Games who are travelling to London on its trains.

The rail operator has also acquired rights in France and Belgium and become a partner of the French and Belgian National Olympic Committees. As part of the deals, the Olympic teams from both countries will travel to and from the Games using Eurostar services.

It will also provide international rail services for London 2012’s operational requirements.

As part of its sponsorship of the London 2012 Games, Eurostar will be carrying out marketing activity across the UK, France and Belgium to promote London 2012 as a ’sustainable Games’.

The first activity will be at the Tri-City-Athlon planned for 14 September 2010 in Paris, Brussels and London.

Nicolas Petrovic, chief executive of Eurostar, said: “As the high speed rail link between the UK and the Continent, we will be bringing over a million people to and from the UK during the Games and will help make London 2012 the most sustainable Games possible.

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