Hockey team targets Olympics, World Cup

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.”

IOC check Games preparations and marathon route change

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."

10000 Tickets for British Troops Announced....!!

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

London 2012: Millions Of Game Maker Attracts

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 Olympics: volunteering for Games open to general public

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.

Amateur shots of the 1948 London Olympics discovered in an East End loft

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.'

London Olympics 2012 Mark Cavendish has opportunity to win Britain

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'.