Oscar Freire 3 time World Race Champion has officially announced that he has postponed his retirement and will continue until the 2012 Olympic Games in London.
The Spaniard champion exposed in his country's AS newspaper that the Olympics "inspire" athletes and are "totally different."
"When you are cycling, more or less, you always feel in the same environment when you go to any competition," he said. "However, being an athlete at the Olympics and meeting other athletes [from other disciplines] is worth the experience."
Freire is Spain's most successful one-day racer and has won 3 gold medal at the World Championships - 1999, 2001 and 2004.
For the tickets to Olympics 2012 two millions people have registered said by Olympics organizers.
8.8 million seats will be available at prices ranging from $31 for standard events to a symbolic 2,012 pounds ($3,105) for the top-priced seats at the opening ceremony,when the tickets go on sale.
Organizers are keen to achieve $700 million from ticket sales,a quarter of their operating budget.
London 2012 chief executive Paul Deighton 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.
Deighton expects another 500,000 people to have registered an interest in buying tickets by March.
PRS music Foundation announcement has made currently concerning 20 brilliant compositions of new music, its a part of 20 X 12 project in London 2012 celebrations.
The variety of musical life in UK all the compositions comprise of huge range of genres and finely exhibit. It includes in Scotland and Northern Ireland to contemporary classical, people and opera.
PRS Music Foundation administrator, Vanessa Reed said, “We are delighted that so many talented music creators and organisations were inspired to apply to New Music 20x12, a fantastic initiative that will see the UK's music community leaving its legacy as part of the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad. The chosen 20 collaborations offer a snapshot of the UK's fantastically rich and varied new music scene and we are proud to support their contribution to this unique, international celebration.”
New music 20x12 started to Jillian Barker and David Cohe, PRS and BBC are the partnership London 2012 Organising Committee delivered it. Committed patrons and funders are encouraging to this project. Also includes in this project Arts Councils of England, Wales and Northern Ireland and Creative Scotland.
It has been announced by the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) Secretary Asif Bajwa that team had achieved good results after two decades now they are focusing to some bigger tasks.
“Our win in China is the first step towards more success,” said Bajwa. “Our next goals are the 2012 London Olympics the 2014 World Cup for which we will give all our best.”
Bajwa was continuously criticized by the Olympians federation because of team poor performance for long time but Bajwa has replied to their critics and successful achievement by Hockey team is the clear evidence of it.
Bajwa also said that he welcomed Olympians to give their suggestions, including the ones who criticised the federation, to improve the standard of the game in Pakistan. “We never take criticism personally and welcome all Olympians to work for the betterment of hockey.”
A three day inspection of venues and preparations for the 2012 Games in London had began by IOC.
IOC will going to review ticket pricing scheme and the change of the marathon route from east London to the Mall in central London.
Inspectors would want an update on the "unhappiness in the East End", a member of the IOC executive board said.
Tower Hamlets council is seeking a judicial review of the change of route.
The original marathon route through Tower Hamlets and the East End to central London announced by the London 2012 organizers.
The new route will cover Buckingham Palace, Birdcage Walk, St Paul's Cathedral and the Houses of Parliament.
This changed was not appreciated by east London councils but London 2012 said the decision was made for operational reasons and it was "fair and legal".
The IOC has twice visit so far this year to the Olympic Park site in Stratford and also look at the security, marketing and plans for test events due to begin in 2011.About 75% of the construction at the Olympic Park in Stratford is complete.
John Armitt, chairman of the Olympic Delivery Authority, said: "This year is the toughest in terms of construction and we are at our busiest.
"We will enter 2011 with the confidence that more than three quarters of the construction project is complete and that all milestones to date have been achieved."
Sir Craig Reedie, who sits on the IOC's executive board, said: "In general they [inspectors] are very happy with London's preparations - now they will be wanting the organising committee to move on as quickly as possible with anything outstanding.
"They will want satisfaction that the changes to the marathon route are in place, and to know what is happening in relation to councils' unhappiness in the East End."
London 2012 chairman Lord Coe said: "Over the next year, we look forward to seeing the changing London skyline as the Park vision becomes a reality."
Olympics minister Hugh Robertson said: "Good progress has been made on the Olympic Park this year with the main stadia looking fantastic as we approach completion."
Upto 10000 tickets for British servicemen and women and their families, this news has been confirmed by the London Olympics 2012 organizing committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (LOCOG)
Olympic Committee with the collation of "Tickets For Troop", established in 2009 and since then has provided over 200,000 tickets to top sporting, cultural, entertainment and cultural events to members of the Armed Forces and their families.
"it is fantastic that so many of our heroic troops will be able to cheer on our sporting heroes at the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games in 2012", Samantha Cameron, wife to the Prime Minister and Tickets for Troops patron, welcomed the news by revealing it.
"the Games are rightly a source of great national pride - as are those who serve in the forces and I look forward to seeing some of them at the Games in the summer of 2012" said by LOCOG Chairman Sebastian Coe
So far for volunteering at the Olympic and Paralympic Games, over 240,00 have to be applied for London 2010 Game Makers
According to the London 2012 organizing committee " We have received the several application from all over the world from different people and communities around the U.K. Up to 70,000 Games Makers will be needed to stage a successful Olympic and Paralympic Games." Committee is looking for dedicated and enthusiastic people who will undertake a wide variety of roles - from athlete escorts to stewards to radio operators.
Those who are successful through a selection and interview process will attend at least three training sessions to ensure they are fully prepared for the Games.
Up to 8000 London Ambassadors to elevate and advise all the visitors who will travel to London at Games time, and all Ambassadors will be recruit by Mayor of London Boris Johnson.
Sebastian Coe,Chair of LOCOG,said: 'We're thrilled with the response we've had to date for our volunteering programme and would like to thank the 240,000 people who have pledged to give their time during the Games in 2012.'Now we begin the task of finding the right people and ensuring that we match them to the most appropriate roles. This is a long process and will take time but we're asking people to be patient - this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity is really worth it!'
London 2012 needs to sign up 70,000 volunteers in what is being described as the biggest recruitment exercise since the Second World War.
''Volunteers are hugely important and it is one of the big things I remember about Vancouver,'' said Williams, the women's skeleton champion from this year's Winter Olympics.
At the Winter Games in Canada in February the whole country seemed to be gripped by a sense of achievement – and there is no reason why Britain should not feel the same, according to Williams, 27.
She said: ''London 2012 is basically an amazing opportunity for our athletes to compete in their own country and I think, judging from my experience in Vancouver, it was an amazing experience for the Canadians in Canada.
''It was something for the whole nation and it will be the same here with the bubble of excitement growing.
''It is a proud moment for a country to have the Olympics in their own country and to know as an athlete that we are part of it.
''Obviously there are only so many people who can compete and be competitive but what a good way to help with the experience and to be part of it.''
Hopefuls must be at least 18 on January 1, 2012, available to volunteer for at least 10 days during either the Olympic Games or the Paralympic Games and at least three days of training before the events.
There will be no free tickets for the 2012 competitions.
They were called 'the Austerity Olympics. With Europe still in ruins and with the host nation crippled by the expense of fighting the most bloody war in history London staged an Olympic Games to remember.
Now, with London about to host the games again, an extraordinary coincidence brings to light some long-lost images of that unique sporting event. Lucy Bull, aged 37, from Leytonstone, London, bought the box of negatives at a car boot fair in Middlesex for just £2 when she was a photography student over 20 years ago. 'I bought the box of old negatives because I was studying photography at the time and obviously anything to do with photography was of interest to me. I remember looking through them and recalling lots of shots of family and friends, but never the Olympics.' 'They have travelled around with me, moving home over 11 times, but it was only recently when I was clearing my loft that I discovered them again and found shots of the 1948 Summer Olympics including the torch relay and Wembley stadium.' 'I think it's quite ironic finding these as I now live right next to the Olympic 2012 site in Stratford.'
The London Olympics Mark Cavendish will be a strong favourite off to a flying start with Britain's first medal of the 2012 Games.
Cavendish, the good cyclist who has won more stages in the Tour de France than any other Briton, will take part in the men's road race on the morning of Saturday, July 28, the day after the opening ceremony. From the London Organising Committee the race will be one of the first events as officials of the Olympic Games (Locog) want to have a strong British medal opportunity for the local audience, coupled with an event to showcase the capital city for an international audience of billions, to kick start the Olympics. The 240km (150 mile) men's road race will pass much that is London starting at The Mall and heading past Buckingham Palace and Hyde Park, before going through Kensington, Chelsea and Fulham, out to Surrey with a couple of loops around Box Hill before returning into the city via the King's Road. The women's road race, a shorter version at 130km (80 miles), will be held the next day. But though the road race will be the first to start, it will not be the first to finish. Indeed the first medal of the London Olympics will come in the shooting, though the schedule for that has not yet been released. Among other free spectator events, the marathons will be held on days nine and 16 and the triathlons on days eight and 11. It is understood the women's triathlon will be held on the middle Saturday, Aug 4, with the men's event in midweek. The middle Saturday, with its overlap of swimming finals and the start of the athletics programme, including the men's 100m final, will be the most congested day of the Games. Locog director of sport Debbie Jevans said the first event on the Olympic programme would be football, with matches starting two days before the opening ceremony. The ranking competition of the Olympic archery, its preliminary stage, has been moved forward a day to start on July 27, the day of the opening ceremony. Jevans said there were 59 more sports sessions than at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, even though there would be two fewer sports, with the omission of baseball and softball. This was to maximise the number of tickets available to the public. Meanwhile the director of Olympic security, Sir Ian Johnston, said it was probably that officials would ban spectators and officials from bringing liquids, including bottled water, into the Olympic venues. Johnston said there would be exceptions, with items such as baby food and small bottles of suntan lotion being allowed into the Olympic Park, but added: "There will be a no liquids policy. I think people will understand that it is for their safety." He said security arrangements were being based on a 'severe' threat level, one down from the most extreme level, 'critical'.
The 2012 London Olympics opens in two years' time but while the construction of stadiums is on track, the massive project faces a financial squeeze as Britain's austerity measures bite. The world's finest athletes will do battle from July 27, 2012 in a once depressed area of east London which has been transformed by a vast programme of stadium building and urban regeneration. The venues may be less spectacular than at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, but the arrangers of the Games in London intend to leave a legacy of improved housing and urban infrastructure rarely created by a sports event. Sebastian Coe, the former Olympic champion credited with helping to win the Games for London and very much their public face, is treating the daunting 24 months ahead in the same way as he approached his medal laden athletics career. Coe, the chairman of the London Organising Committee (LOCOG), likened the project's progress to being at the 600 metre point of an 800 metres race, the event in which he held the world record for 16 years. "We are just entering the back straight on the second lap and of course the killing zone in an 800 metres is between 500 and 600 metres. That is the platform that you build for what happens in the finishing straight. "This is where a lot of what you do in the finishing straight and what it looks like when you get across the line is shaped. This year is a very important one for us," he told AFP in an interview.
Volunteers are being keen to learn new talents and increase experience of national and international events prior to the London 2012 Olympics.
The British Swimming Volunteer Training Programme, which will begin in January 2010, intent to provide volunteers with the opportunity to facilitate major s to prepare them for applying for volunteer tasks at the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
The programme is under the London 2012 Inspire Mark. This recognises non-commercial projects and events inspired by the Games.
Although the official London 2012 volunteer application process opens later in 2010, Saturday 19th June saw almost 60 of the 100 recruits on the programme descend on British Swimming’s offices at SportPark in Loughborough for the initial induction day.
He explained how all British Swimming athletes are confident to give workers just a smile during their day to make sure they are acknowledged and feel delightful. Through a question and answer session the Olympic medallist shared his memories of Athens and Beijing and his hopes for London in 2012.
London Games chiefs said on Thursday the start of the 2012-13 English soccer season will be delayed so as not to clash with the 2012 Olympics. The Olympics start on July 27 and end on Aug. 12, while the Premier League season traditionally opens with the Community Shield curtain raiser in early August. Organising committee chief executive Paul Deighton said he had held talks with the Football Association (FA) and Premier League to discuss the matter. "We have been in discussions with all the sports bodies responsible for sports schedules in 2012 and we are on track to meet our obligation," Deighton told reporters at the end of a four day visit by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to inspect London's progress. Pushed on whether the Premier League and FA would agree to a slight delay, Deighton replied: "Yes". Olympic host cities agree to abide by IOC requirements that no other major sporting events take place at the same time. The FA said on Thursday they were in talks with the London organising committee (LOCOG) about fixing a date for the Community Shield, traditionally played at Wembley Stadium between the league champions and FA Cup winners. Wembley will host the gold medal match in the Olympic soccer tournament on the final weekend of the Games.
ASHES SERIES The Olympics could also have implications for the cricket schedule. England are hosting Australia in the Ashes in 2012 with the first match of the series usually reserved for Lord's which will be the venue for Olympic archery. Denis Oswald, the head of the IOC's co-ordination commission, said he was happy with London's progress. "Two years before the Games you are at the turning point from conception and construction to the operational phase," Oswald told reporters. "We are entering a crucial period in the coming months but we are convinced that London will have a very successful Games." IOC president Jacques Rogge toured the 2012 Olympic Stadium earlier this week and met Britain's new Prime Minister David Cameron. Oswald played down the 27 million pounds ($41.01 million) of cuts to the Games budget currently announced by Britain's new coalition government, saying: "The new government is fully backing and supporting the Games." Asked to compare London's progress with past host cities, Oswald described it as "top of the league" after a dig at Athens.
Danny Boyle, the Oscar-winning film director overseeing the opening ceremony of the London 2012 Olympics, has set out his vision for an "epic and intimate" launch event.
In an interview with The Sunday Telegraph, Boyle, whose films include Slumdog Millionaire and Trainspotting, said that the ceremony would be “full of spectacle and marvel”, and would feature pop and rock music from Britain’s greatest musical acts. Boyle was announced as the artistic director of the opening ceremony last week, and will head up a creative team which includes the film-maker Stephen Daldry, who directed Billy Elliot and The Reader.
“Music has to play a big part in the ceremony,” he said. “For such a small country, we have the most extraordinary tradition of music, and people look to Britain as a beacon of music. It’s a big thing for young people, and the promise of the games was to bring sport and a sense of inspiration to young people. I hope one of the ways we’ll be able to do that is through music. “Just think about who we’ve produced - the likes of David Bowie, Jimmy Page - and all the bands from Manchester where I’m from, like The Smiths, The Stone Roses and New Order. I love that world of music, it’s a big part of my life and many people’s lives, and you would imagine it would be a big part of the ceremony because pop music is freeing and inspirational.” British films, he said, would also play a part in the opening ceremony, which will take place at the 80,000-capacity Olympic Stadium in Stratford, east London, on July 27, 2012. He said: “You think maybe there should be some bits of British films in the ceremony, and there are some wonderful iconic British films that you could use - Chariots of Fire would be the most obvious one for obvious reasons. But just because Stephen and I are involved in film, I don’t think it should be a movie-themed thing.” Boyle also hinted that winning acts from the television show Britain’s Got Talent, including Diversity and Spellbound, the dance and gymnastic groups, could also feature in the ceremony. He said: “What’s extraordinary about those talent shows is the group work. Diversity are at such a level of professionalism, and I’ve been hugely impressed by that and you would hope to harness some of that talent. People love to see that kind of group work and I think there should certainly be some of that in the ceremony.” Boyle, 53, who lives near the Olympic Stadium in east London, said that he would not attempt to “compete” with the extravagance of Beijing’s four-hour opening ceremony in 2008 which is thought to have cost more than £70 million and featured 22,000 performers, 43,000 fireworks and a 16-ton globe rising from the ground. Instead, he will stage the event to highlight Britain’s “idiosyncracies” and to showcase London as “a welcoming city without prejudice”. He said: “Beijing is clearly the zenith of that type of ceremonial opening - you cannot get bigger than that and I don’t think you could probably get better than that, so it’s wrong to try and compete with Beijing. “What’s wonderful about London is we have an opportunity to show that there is something idiosyncratic about our country, and we do things our own way, and re-think some of the traditions. “It will have scale, because 80,000 people in the stadium deserve some kind of scale. It should be full of spectacle and marvel, full of promise and looking forward. “I’d love to be able to sit here in two years time and say that the opening ceremony felt both epic and intimate.” Boyle, who is renowned for making low-budget films that go on to make millions at the box-office, said that there were “strict budget limitations” for the ceremony and that it would be “inappropriate” to produce an overly “extravagant” event. He said: “Again, it’s a contrast with Beijing, it’s a different time and a different place. China’s economy was in huge expansion, but it would be greatly inappropriate to attempt to do something on that extravagant scale and spend that amount of resources. “It’s still a huge amount we’re spending in a difficult time for the country, so it should be spent well.” Boyle described his new role as artistic director of the opening ceremony as “a massive responsibility and honour” that was “exciting and daunting”. “I’m a huge fan of the Olympics, and this is a way that the cultural community of Britain says “welcome” to the games and to this city. I missed the Commonwealth Games in Manchester because I was away filming, and ever since then I’ve wanted to make amends, so when they said about doing this, I was thrilled and jumped at it. “I have spent some time in the Stadium, and found it very inspiring. We will be able to produce something wonderful.”
The job of directing the opening ceremony of the 2012 Olympics comes with a lingering whiff of the Leni Riefenstahls. In Beijing, the gig fell to Zhang Yimou, a one-time dissident film-maker who has since been repurposed as a kind of in-house director for the state authorities. Zhang was judged to have executed his task with aplomb. His reward was a commission to direct a state-sanctioned blockbuster to mark the 60th anniversary of the People's Republic of China, and to manage a firework display in Tiananmen Square.
So who is to pick up the baton in London? Reports suggest the committee's first choice is Danny Boyle, a man once accused of peddling "moral depravity" via his 1996 film Trainspotting. Today our own former dissident is reformed, largely thanks to the runaway success of Slumdog Millionaire and his endearing, Tigger-like celebrations at the 2009 Oscar ceremony. All of which has made him a favourite of Seb Coe, and the ideal person to oversee the 2012 curtain raiser in Stratford. Boyle, for his part, is playing coy but sounding positive. "I can't say any more," he cautions. "[But] it would be lovely, wouldn't it?"
In the end they were neither animal, vegetable nor mineral. Nor, as some cynics had predicted, did they resemble white elephants. Instead, Wenlock and Mandeville, the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic mascots, elicited mostly baffled reactions as to just what they were at their unveiling today. With a metallic finish, a single large eye made out of a camera lens, a London taxi light on their heads and the Olympic rings represented as friendship bracelets on their wrists, they resemble characters dreamed up for a Pixar animation. But London 2012 organisers, for whom the launch of the mascots marks the start of a crucial period in which the games will become public property, pointed to the delighted reaction of a hall full of primary school children at today's launch as evidence that they would connect with their target audience. "They remind you of aliens, which is really weird and cool," said 10-year-old Ali. "It reminds you of the Olympics, which is worldwide so it's something you'll want to remember forever," added 11-year-old Zanyab as they cavorted with life-size mascots for the cameras. The pair are based on a short story by children's author Michael Morpurgo that tells how they were fashioned from droplets of the steel used to build the Olympic stadium. They will be crucial in raising funds and spreading messages about the games. Wenlock, named after the Shropshire town of Much Wenlock that helped inspire Pierre de Coubertin to launch the modern Olympics, and Mandeville, inspired by the Buckinghamshire town of Stoke Mandeville, where the Paralympics were founded, will become very familiar in the next two years. The chairman of the London organising committee of the Olympic games (Locog), Lord Coe, said the mascots were aimed squarely at children and designed with the digital age in mind. He said they had the most positive reaction in workshops to road test them. Among the designs rejected at the start of an open pitch process were anthropomorphic pigeons, an animated tea pot and a Big Ben with arms and legs. Children will be encouraged to interact with the characters, inviting them via Facebook, Twitter and the web to visit their school and, said Coe, inspiring them to take up different sports. "The story itself is very rooted in the nations and regions. Young people will be able to decide where they go, what sports they pick up. There is a real interactivity there, it is a language and a flexibility that is driven by young people," he said. The pair were introduced in an animated film that followed their story from the Bolton steelworks where the frame of the Olympic stadium was made. They will become a range of up to 30 cuddly toys, including versions based on celebrities and sports stars, as well as adorning badges, T-shirts, mugs and more. Organisers hope Wenlock and Mandeville will rank alongside the more fondly remembered mascots, such as Waldi the dachshund from the 1972 Munich games and Misha the bear from the 1980 Moscow Olympics – rather than the much maligned Izzy of Atlanta 1996. "The games have got a few stupendous assets – the mascot, tickets, the volunteers, the torch relay – and you have got to really use those to bring home your key messages," said Locog's chief executive, Paul Deighton. "If you link them together you begin to have a really powerful story that people will respond to." The unveiling of the bold London Olympics logo in 2007 was controversial, with many criticising its graffiti-like design. Organisers, who hired Wolff Olins at a cost of £400,000 to design it, stood firm, arguing that it was supremely adaptable and perfect for the digital age. But they were forced to withdraw a launch film after it emerged that it had the potential to trigger epileptic seizures. The mascots, conceived by London design agency Iris and costing, said Deighton, just "a few thousand pounds", are an important staging post from a financial and marketing point of view. They will pour up to £15m into the coffers of the organising committee via dozens of licensing deals, part of an overall licensing target of £70m to £80m towards Locog's £2bn privately raised budget. In 1984, the Los Angeles games ushered in the money-spinning Olympic era. The event was the first to use its Disney-designed mascot to raise funds, since when they have become a cash cow for organisers. But the story behind the mascots is also designed to help make the Olympics relevant to the whole nation. That will be crucial if organisers are to maintain support for a project that is also costing the public £9.3bn, particularly as cuts in public services begin to bite. After a spell of behind-the-scenes work devoted to raising £700m in sponsorship revenues, Locog is entering a more public phase when everything it does, from the unveiling of the mascot to its ticket pricing policy, will come under scrutiny.
GB put to pick strong team for London 2012 Olympics
Great Britain is set to be symbolized by at least 500 athletes at the London 2012 Olympics, an add to on the 311 sent to the Beijing games in 2008.
The development, which is subject to funding, was agreed at a meeting of the National Olympic Committee which also sets the qualifying criteria.
The BOA will set the selection criteria for Team GB after the International Olympic Committee and the individual sports' international federations release international qualification standards in the summer.
Essex announced on Thursday that they were bearing in mind a joint offer with West Ham and Newham Council to turn the stadium in Stratford into a multi-sport venue capable of staging football, cricket and athletics.
The club would continue to play County Championship matches at their Chelmsford headquarters but would use the stadium as a 'festival ground' for Twenty20 matches.
The BOA declared on Wednesday it would now stand its pre-Games training headquarters and its uniform distribution centre at Loughborough University, rather than Aldershot.
The army could not illuminate the crash the decision would have on Aldershot's multimillion pound sporting renewals. When the initial BOA deal was released, Aldershot was allegedly earmarked for a £400 million upgrade, including two new indoor arenas, a running track and hockey centre.
The residential property developer yesterday said full-year results will be "materially ahead of market expectations" after a sharp boost in sales during the first three months of 2010.
"The housing market in East London has shown positive signs of recovery, with regeneration surrounding the build up to the 2012 Olympics continuing to stimulate demand," said Andrew Wiseman, chief executive.
About £1.7bn has been set aside in the Olympic budget for investment in renewal, with Telford benefiting from the boost to infrastructure and stature that the project has brought.
In the year to March 31, the company got 389 completions, compared to 350 in the previous financial year, according to its trading statement.
A total of 70 pre-sales were made on developments with overseas investors, a reflection of the improved market in East London.
INDIANAPOLIS — Skipping the World Basketball Championship this summer won’t necessarily keep LeBron James and others off the 2012 U.S. Olympic team after all.
Speaking to Sun Media after the 2010 hall of fame class was announced Monday, USA Basketball head honcho Jerry Colangelo clarified statements he made earlier this week that raised the ire of James.
“We appreciate the fact they’re willing to give their time. We have to be flexible,” Colangelo said. “Some players may have to miss for whatever the reason may be — contracts, injuries, family issues...free agency this year is big.”
Previously, Colangelo had said he would not provide “free passes” in terms of playing in London in 2012 for players who skipped the worlds without a valid excuse.
That had sparked an angry response from James, the likely NBA MVP.
“There’s a lot that goes on with being a professional athlete other than just basketball,” James told reporters. “I’m not trying to bash Jerry or anything like that because he’s a good guy and I respect him. I don’t respect (his statement) because of the commitment we’ve all given to the U.S.A.”
Colangelo said he realizes James, Dwyane Wade and the Raptors’ Chris Bosh will have a lot on their mind this summer — like who to accept millions of dollars from — and he wasn’t speaking particularly about them.
“The point I made regarding London is, we will give credit for all the equity people have put into it," he said. "Bosh has equity, so does Wade, so does LeBron. Things happen. We just have to be flexible."
The trio has been involved with USA Basketball since 2003.
Locog, the London 2012 organising committee, this morning launched for UK and EU residents interested in buying tickets for the Games, which go on sale next year.
Reigning Olympic women's 400m champion Christine Ohuruogu was among those due to be present at Trafalgar Square for a media event to mark the launch and the first day of London becoming the next Olympic and Paralympic host city, following the closing ceremony of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Paralympic Games last night.
The ticket registration site tells its users that "they will be among the first to hear about ticketing news and other exciting events and offers" although signing up does not give users any head start in the application process.
Locog will be hoping that the launch helps begin to appease the London Assmebly, which last week issued a list of 18 hard-hitting questions amid demands for transparency and affordability in the ticketing strategy.
While London bidders promised a range of tickets at less than £30, there have been recent indications from Locog that that price barrier is too low to meet a £441 million ticketing revenue target.
The Assembly submission called for specific details about price, the availability of tickets, whether there will be any priority access and the purchasing arrangements.
On a chilly winter morning, just before dawn, a young woman dressed in a black tracksuit runs hard along the seafront of her home town. She shadowboxes as she runs – seven miles around the picturesque coastal town of Bray in Co Wicklow. Over the past six years this morning workout has been a daily ritual for Katie Taylor, the two-time and current amateur lightweight world boxing champion. It is part of a gruelling regime that she hopes will help her achieve her ultimate goal: to become the first woman to win an Olympic gold medal at boxing. The London Games in 2012 will be the first time women have been allowed to compete in this most visceral of sports at Olympic level. Last August the International Olympic Committee (IOC) decreed that 36 places would be available in London to the world’s elite female fighters, who would compete across three weight classes: flyweight (48-51kg), lightweight (56-60kg) and middleweight (69-75kg).
Taylor knows that women’s boxing is a mystery to the majority of sports fans, but is certain that is about to change. 'People will be shocked by the standard of the sport at London 2012,’ she tells me after her run. 'We’ve been invisible up until now. I think if I had achieved what I’ve achieved and I was a man, I’d have got much more recognition. Hopefully, more recognition will come with the Olympics.’
She certainly has recognition within her own sport – other female boxers talk about Katie Taylor with awe. She is supremely skilful and has lightning reflexes. 'I like to sit in the pocket [boxing speak for fighting at close range], to fight on the inside,’ she says. 'I do like a bit of a war.’ Her hero is Sugar Ray Leonard, the flamboyant American champion of the 1980s.
Eloquent and attractive, Taylor, 23, is a promoter’s dream, tipped to be one of the stars of the 2012 Games, and the athlete who can lead women’s boxing into the mainstream. Like many of her fellow fighters, she is an all-round sports enthusiast, and has also represented Ireland at football. She started boxing at the age of 10 – one day, when it was raining too heavily to play football, her father took her to the local boxing gym instead; she was a natural. Thirteen years later, she wants to repay her father, Peter, a former amateur light-heavyweight champion of Ireland and now her trainer. 'He’s sacrificed so much to work with me full-time,’ she says. 'I wouldn’t be where I am now without him.’
