London 2012 Festival: Coldplay to headline Paralympic closing ceremony - Daily Telegraph
His band formed in 1996 at University College London, and has since gone on to become one of the most successful acts of the last 15 years, topping the charts on both sides of the pond and selling over 55 million records worldwide. Coldplay's most recent album, Mylo Xyloto, was released last year.
London 2012 Olympics: torch goes out on day three - Daily Telegraph
The Olympic torches were designed in London by Edward Barber and Jay Osgerby, who commended its ability to withstand adverse weather and stay lit in an interview last week.
"The torch had to be economical and sustainable as well as being beautiful and strong, so it’s an incredibly complicated piece of design," they said.
"It has to function at high altitudes, sub-zero temperatures, in strong winds and also be incredibly light as so many different types of people will be carrying it."
The flame is supposed to remain alight even in high winds because of a gas burner system held in the centre of the torch which emits a gas mix that optimises flame height, colour and luminosity.
The relay is in its third day and the torch is travelling between Exeter and Taunton. Former Long jump gold medal winner Jonathan Edwards and cricketer Marcus Trescothick are among Monday's runners.
This is not the first occasion on which the Olympic flame has been extinguished in recent days. A gust of wind blew out the flame during a ceremony in Olympia, Greece while it was being held by an actress playing a high priestess who was re-enacting a scene from the ancient Olympics.
In London, Protest is Coming to the Olympics | The Nation - Nation
To be in London, two months before the 2012 Summer Olympics, is to feel a bit like a fish in an aquarium, with people constantly poking at the glass. Cameras adorn nearly every street corner and police vehicles are more prevalent than double-decker buses. It’s easy to understand why many are saying enough is enough.
On Saturday July 28 protesters will be gathering in London to just say no to the priorities imposed by these most corporate of Olympic Games, and it’s hardly difficult to understand why.
Security forces are busily militarizing the urban terrain. Olympics security officials recently unboxed the military-grade Long Range Acoustic Device (LRAD), an eardrum-shattering weapon that has been war-zone tested in Iraq. Surface-to-air missiles have been affixed to the roofs of London apartments. The Royal Navy’s biggest warship will sit along the Thames. Typhoon jets and Lynx helicopters will be ready for action. Scotland Yard has stockpiled more than 10,000 plastic bullets. Police are constructing mobile stations to facilitate swift bookings. And “dispersal zones” have been set up where police can freely ban anyone they deem to be engaging in anti-social behavior.
None of this comes cheap. Londoners were told that the Olympics would cost £2.4 billion. Projections that include ballooning infrastructure costs are now looking at £24 billion, ten times the original bid’s estimate. They were told that the Games would be funded with a “public private partnership,” but the “private” end is now picking up less than 2 percent of the tab. In such an atmosphere, protest is inevitable, but the people coming out on July 28 are angry about more than militarization and debt. There are other issues drawing people into London’s privatized public square.
Olympics sponsorship has become a full-throttle, corporate cornucopia. London Games sponsors include icons of health and fair play like McDonald’s, British Petroleum and Dow Chemical. In the name of good health, McDonald’s is handing out “activity toys” for kids to play with after munching down their Happy Meals. BP is—no joke—an official “sustainability partner.” Dow Chemical’s prominent presence is a slap in the face to London’s large South Asian population, given the notorious gas disaster in Bhopal, India that killed more than 20,000 people and left hundreds of thousands more suffering in its wake. In 1999, Dow Chemical merged with Union Carbide, the US firm responsible for the Bhopal nightmare.
The UK Tar Sands Network has been active, helping carry out a gutsy intervention at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre where, dressed in Shakespearean garb, activists stormed the stage and delivered a brilliant monologue—“To BP or Not to BP?”—and urged patrons to tear out BP’s sponsorship symbol from their program.
Behind this Bizzarro World where McDonald’s means health and BP stands for sustainability are the plutocrats and moral midgets of the International Olympic Committee.
More than a year after the Arab Spring, this is one dictatorial operation still chugging along. Originally a decaying assemblage of barons, dukes, and counts, the IOC has now broadened its membership to include our modern royalty, the mega-wealthy. Having only allowed women as members in 1981, the IOC is the 1 percent of the 1 percent, a global cosmopolitan elite that drips with privilege.
To stage the Games, host cities must submit to a laundry list of IOC demands and London is no exception. It has set aside 250 miles of VIP lanes for exclusive use by members of the “Olympic Family,” including athletes, medics and corporate sponsors. London organizers are required to secure nearly 2,000 rooms for IOC bigwigs in the finest five-star hotels. To control commercial space in favor of the Olympics’ corporate donors, the “Technical Manual on Brand Protection” dictates, “candidate cities are required to obtain control of all billboard advertising, city transport advertising, airport advertising, etc., for the duration of the Games and the month preceding the Games to support the marketing program.”
As the Games approach, and you begin to mark your favorite athletic contests on your calendar, remember that at noon on July 28 there will a different kind of event: when campaigners come together not to celebrate the breathtaking athleticism of the Olympics, but to challenge the breathtaking audacity of Olympic elites.
London 2012: Olympic Flame Relay Reaches Exeter On Third Day - huffingtonpost.co.uk
Some of Britain's top sport stars will carry the Olympic Flame as the London 2012 torch relay enters its third day today.
Ashes winning cricketer Marcus Trescothick and Olympic gold medal winning triple jumper Jonathan Edwards are among more than 100 torchbearers who will get to hold the famous torch.
Communities stretching from Exeter, via the north Devon coast, to Taunton in Somerset will see dozens of unsung and hardworking individuals get their moment in the spotlight.
The torchbearers range in age from children from Minehead School to 91-year-old Arthur Gilbert.
Gilbert will be one of the oldest of the 8,000 torchbearers who will carry the Olympic Flame on the way to the July 27 opening ceremony.
The nonagenarian, from Burnham on Sea, will carry the flame through Minehead.
His nomination says he received an MBE in 2008 to recognise 35 years of charity work.
Gilbert ran his first triathlon aged 68 and completed his most recent race in June last year in 2hrs 45min 43sec.
"Arthur lost his son and his wife to cancer recently looking after both of them at home and still keeping his training going," his nominator says.
"He is a shining example to all the young people who use the local sports facilities and has a large following of supporters."
There is also dedicated milkman James Winter, 40, from Chard, who will carry the torch in Minehead.
His nominator says: "The community he delivers the milk in rely on him to be there in all weathers.
"Even in the deepest snow he manages to deliver extra milk and make sure the elderly people on his round are ok and have enough suppliers.
"He goes out of his way to call on people to check they are ok on a weekly basis."
Winter has also completed the London marathon three times for charity.
Organisers will be hoping for a repeat of the packed out scenes that were part of the first two days of the relay when excited people lined the streets of Cornwall and Devon to catch a glimpse of the torch.
Yesterday began at the Plymouth Life Centre with the torch in the hands of 18-year-old Jordan Anderton.
Inspirational former Royal Marine Mark Ormrod, who lost an arm and two legs in a bomb blast in Afghanistan, was a torchbearer in Plymouth.
The relay travelled from Plymouth the Devon south coast of Totnes, Paignton and Torquay before finishing in Exeter for an evening celebration.
More than 8,500 people filled Exeter Cathedral Gardens to watch a live show of music and dance.
The convoy travelling with the flame is made up of 14 core vehicles, including a pilot car, torchbearer drop-off and pick-up shuttles. There are also sponsors, media and security vehicles plus a command car.
The lead convoy provides some entertainment for the crowds. The torchbearer follows about five to seven minutes later.
A crew of approximately 350 people are set to be working on each day of the 70-day relay.
The relay also relies on the work of staff from London 2012, the Metropolitan Police Torch Security Team, the sponsors plus the host police forces and town halls.
London Broncos coach Rob Powell understands review decision - BBC News
London Broncos head coach Rob Powell says he understands the club's decision to hold a performance review.
The Twickenham Stoop outfit's board announced the mid-season review last week after picking up just two wins in the Super League so far this year.
Powell told BBC London 94.9: "There's been a decision to look at what we are doing and they are well within their right to do that.
"It's a performance-based industry and we haven't been performing."
He added: "They want to look at who we've got and who's doing what roles. They are right to want to challenge us and make sure we are getting it right.
"How it unfolds is not for me to answer but we're more than happy about it."
The Broncos have the third-worst defensive record in the Super League but following their performance in the 14-12 defeat to Hull FC on Sunday, Powell believes his side are close to turning the corner.
"I think we defended really strongly and if we can build on that, take it forward and do it on a consistent basis, we'll be okay and get through this tough period," he added.
"It's pretty pointless if we only do it once. I'd like to think this is a benchmark that we can achieve more often.
"We've got a very hard-working group of players and staff who want to make amends and make things right.
"There's a lot of effort that goes on behind the scenes in many different departments."
London ticket grumbles seen as price of success - The Guardian
London 2012: Coldplay to headline Paralympic ceremony - BBC News
Best-selling British band Coldplay are to headline the closing ceremony of the London 2012 Paralympic Games.
They will take to the stage at the Olympic Stadium on 9 September for the ceremony, titled Festival of Flame.
Frontman Chris Martin called it "a great honour" and said the band were "very happy to be involved".
They will be among more than 2,000 performers at the event. The remaining tickets for the 11-day Paralympic Games went on general sale on Monday.
Martin added: "It will be one of the biggest nights of our lives and we're very excited to try to create a performance for the last night of the games that will close London 2012 in style."
The London 2012 Paralympics run from 29 August and will follow the Olympic Games, which take place from 27 July to 12 August.
The closing ceremonies are being co-ordinated by artistic director Kim Gavin, who has worked on Take That tours and staged the Concert For Diana in 2007.
"Our show will be a celebration of the UK as a centre for festivals, which is a fitting finale to the amazing festival of sport that is the London 2012 Games," he said.
London 2012 chairman Lord Coe said he was "delighted" that Coldplay had signed up to help them celebrate the "spectacular" event.
"The athletes involved in the Paralympic Games are incredible sportsmen and women and I urge everyone to take this chance to be there and to form memories that will last a lifetime," he said.
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