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London 2012 Olympic football should be embraced as glimpse into future - The Guardian
As England's Euro 2012 squad acquaint themselves with their Krakow base and the disconcertingly low‑key buildup to their first match continues – free of tub thumping or metatarsal prayer mats – the announcement of the long list for Team GB's Olympic football squad is something of a sideshow.
When the list of 35 names is unveiled before the end of the week, however, it will again reignite some of the most heated debates that will surround the London Games. Not merely whether David Beckham or Craig Bellamy are worthy of a place in the squad, but the place of football in the Games itself and our attitude to it.
The lengthy buildup to Team GB's first appearance in the Games for 52 years has inevitably centred on two things. One, the row whether there should be a Team GB competing at all, given the reservations of the home nations. And, two, the identity of the players who will fill the three overage berths.
The former has receded slightly, as it has become clear that despite their ongoing reservations there is little the home nations can do – although it remains to be seen how enthusiastically the team is greeted in Wales for its opening match. For the second, the smart money is on Beckham, Ryan Giggs (who, in marked contrast to his attitude to releasing other players, Sir Alex Ferguson has said he will allow to play) and Craig Bellamy (who appears to have let the cat out of the bag early).
But all of that obscures wider debates. At a time when the International Olympic Committee is again beginning the process of deciding whether any new sports are worthy of a place at the Games – with squash leading the way – there will be those who ask whether football is worthy of a place.
Like tennis and golf (due to be included from 2016), critics say the Olympics do not represent the pinnacle of the sport and should therefore not play a part. It is a position with which many managers – not least Ferguson and Arsène Wenger – would probably agree as they contemplate the added headache of a tournament that ends the day before the Community Shield.
But it is not one with which I agree. The Olympic football tournament is a different beast from the rest of the football firmament – as long as it is treated as such.
Those countries that take the Olympic football tournament seriously across South America and Africa use it as a breeding ground for youth and a chance for promising players to experience the atmosphere of a big tournament. For Messi (who won gold in 2008), who so valued his place that he took Barcelona to court in order to play, to the Brazilian Ronaldo (bronze in 1996), it was seen as a hugely important formative experience in their footballing careers. For many it is a glimpse into the footballing future. At the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, a whole generation of Nigerian players announced themselves to the world in winning gold.
In Britain, however, we seem more obsessed about which already iconic player will make it the swansong of their career, rather than as a breeding ground for youth. Given that the FA is constantly pushing the rhetoric of a governing body that has belatedly woken up to the importance of bringing players together through the age groups, you'd think more focus would be on this aspect of the Games.
The nation's attitude to the Team GB football team in particular, and the tournament in general, is also a serious concern for organisers. The London Olympic organising committee, Locog, still has more than 1.2m football tickets to shift – and the prospect of embarrassing swathes of empty seats is becoming more real with only 50 days left to shift them.
The hope was always that once the draw was made, the kit was unveiled and the squad was announced, excitement would build. With two of those three milestones down, it seems safe to assume that the group stage matches of the men's GB team should sell out, along with the semi-finals and final, but that it will be an uphill struggle to ensure full stadia for the rest.
Despite that, it also seems safe to assume that once Roy Hodgson's team troop home from Poland and Ukraine, interest will build exponentially. The biggest opportunity of all is perhaps for Team GB's women. If they can emerge from a difficult group and reach the semi-finals, it could provide (with apologies in advance for employing the most overused phrase of the summer) a genuine once in a lifetime boost for the sport.
Sir Steve fears for new Olympic dream
Sir Steve Redgrave, catching up with old friends at the unveiling of Team GB's rowing squad, said he was disappointed to be listed as a short-priced favourite to light the Olympic cauldron on 27 July. Not because he didn't want to do it, but because he was desperate to be picked – and was aware that the favourite rarely prevailed. With Roger Bannister having publicly ruled himself out, Redgrave is a popular choice. David Beckham, having already performed the role at the 2002 Commonwealth Games and accompanied the flame back from Athens, would appear to be out too. But Daley Thompson, the favoured choice of the London 2012 chairman, Lord Coe, (who has ruled himself out too, and absented himself from the decision making) would seem a decent outside bet. Those who believe the bookies are rarely wrong might also note that following the Jubilee weekend, the Queen herself has also seen her odds slashed. For now, the guessing game will continue.
GB rowers to shun opening ceremony
Another hardy opening‑ceremony perennial is the never ending speculation on the number of athletes who will take part in the parade. Despite the best efforts of organisers to take advantage of the proximity of the Athletes Village to the stadium, and promises from Stephen Daldry and Danny Boyle to keep the ceremony moving as quickly as possible, the 52 rowers are all set to shun it. The performance director, Dave Tanner, said the advice from the BOA was not to do so, given that they will be staying near the lake at Eton Dorney where they will be competing in the days following the opening ceremony. Britain's sailors, currently competing in the Sail For Gold Regatta on the Olympic waters in Weymouth, will face a similarly difficult call.
London Olympics 50 days away - CBC
A new poll suggests Canada's Olympic spirit is high heading intothe London Summer Games.
In a recent Canadian Press-Harris/Decima survey, two-thirds of respondents knew where the Olympics were being held this summer and planned to follow them closely.
The pollster chalks the enthusiasm up to a post-Olympic honeymoon from the 2010 Vancouver Olympics.
"I think we definitely are in a 2010 honeymoon in terms of Canadians and their showing of Olympic spirit for sure," Harris/Decima vice-president Patricia Thacker said in an interview. "The Olympics aren't being held here, but there definitely does still seem to be some interest in them."
The telephone survey of just over 1,000 people was conducted between May 24 and 27 and has a margin of error of 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
The London Olympics are exactly 50 days away, with the opening ceremony slated for July 27.
The survey indicated the intensity of Canadians' interest is not as strong as it was prior to 2010. Two in 10 planned to watch the Summer Games "very closely" compared to three in 10 prior to 2010.
Canada topped all countries in gold medals won at the 2010 Winter Games with 14 and finished third in the overall medal count. The country's goal for London is a more modest top-12 finish among more than 200 nations.
Seven out of 10 people surveyed felt it's important the Canadian team hit that target. Regionally, support for that objective was highest in Ontario, Manitoba and Saskatchewan.
Seven in 10 of people polled agreed with using tax dollars to fund Own The Podium, which oversees the competitive aspects of athletes' lives between Games and doles out funding based on their medal potential. That support was highest in people aged 18 to 54 and somewhat less among those over 55.
Awareness of Own The Podium is higher now and almost double that of 2009 when less than a quarter surveyed had heard of it. Just 23 per cent of Canadians surveyed then knew the brand OTP and 44 per cent recognized the name this time.
"Definitely awareness of Own The Podium has grown since Vancouver," Thacker said. "The level of support in terms of tax dollars is about the same though."
London 2012: 50 of the best unusual museums in London - Daily Telegraph
2. Cartoon Museum, Holborn
Just a few streets away from the looming British Museum, the diminutive Cartoon Museum is easily missed but worth seeking out. Its mission is to preserve and promote British cartoon art, comic art and caricature and with a collection that dates from the 18th century to the present, visitors of all ages will discover cartoons that tickle their fancy or spark a childhood memory. Playful and popular cartoon strips featuring The Bash Street Kids, Billy the Whizz and Dennis the Menace are shown alongside rarer and more politically minded works; if you feel the subject matter warrants further exploration you can also make an appointment to access the museum’s library, where comic book connoisseurs can study the medium further.
3. Old Operating Theatre, London Bridge
In the 1800s, the Old Operating Theatre was used as an operating space for the deathly sick interned at St. Thomas’s Hospital. In those times medical equipment was primitive and effective anaesthesia unavailable so invasive surgeries such as amputations were terrifying ordeals for patients – although a skilled surgeon could perform the procedure in under a minute, novices would sometimes hack and chisel at mangled limbs for much longer. Staff talks on the theatre bring the innocuous wood-panelled space to gruesome life so it’s worth timing your visit to coincide with one; the adjacent herb garret exhibition space has complementary medical displays.
4. Museum of Brands, Packaging and Advertising; Notting Hill
Those same household products that we retrieve from supermarket shelves week-in, week-out are so familiar that we may not consciously consider our relationships with them, but the Museum of Brands, Packaging and Advertising seeks to do just that. Started by consumer historian Robert Opie, the museum’s collection includes over 12,000 original items that should be familiar to all of us, be they packets of cereal, tins of baked beans or sachets of custard powder. Consider an amble through the space a rummage through a particularly well-stocked larder and prepare to encounter plenty of decommissioned products that once held pride of place on your family’s kitchen table.
5. The Vault at Hard Rock Café, Park Lane
With so many unique restaurants in London I despair when I see tourists queuing for a table at the Hard Rock Café but fans of music memorabilia will appreciate The Vault. So named because the space was once part of a Coutts bank and now holds valuable music mementos, the display area houses some impressive exhibits. Items in the collection include the guitar used by Guns N’ Roses guitarist Slash in the November Rain video, a harpsichord frequently used by The Beatles and, strangely, one of Madonna’s old credit cards. Open seven days a week, The Vault’s opening hours are different from the main dining space (typically it’s open from midday to 9pm) and admission is free.
6. British Dental Association Dental Museum, Marylebone
Its origins may date back almost 100 years but there are still plenty of lifelong Londoners oblivious to the existence of the BDA Dental Museum. Its foundations date back to 1919 when Lilian Lindsay, the first female to qualify as a dentist in the country, donated a number of old dental instruments to the association. Today the museum’s collection includes some 20,000 items with dental instruments, furniture, photographs and art all on display. With few people enthusiastic about a trip to the dentist, going to the museum might be another way to pay your respects to this field of medicine.
7. Pollock’s Toy Museum, Fitzrovia
The space is cluttered and the collection of old, beady-eyed dolls could be considered somewhat creepy, but Pollock’s Toy Museum is an intriguing place. The museum itself occupies two conjoined houses near Goodge Street and when wandering from one small room to another prepare to encounter toys from your own childhood. Despite the ostensibly juvenile subject matter this museum is possibly better suited to adults who want to wallow in nostalgia than parents who want to provide their kids with distraction.
8. The Crime Museum, New Scotland Yard
London has plenty of macabre museums, but perhaps the most morbid is The Crime Museum, better known as The Black Museum, at New Scotland Yard. Housing an extensive number of weapons which have been used to commit murders or serious assaults in London, its collection includes items used by Jack the Ripper and Charlie Peace. The cases the displays are connected to remain shocking and emotive and it’s perhaps for that reason the museum isn’t open to the general public; however, members of the police forces or associated bodies sometimes access the space to attend lectures on forensic science, pathology, law and investigative techniques.
9. Geffrye Museum, Hackney
Anyone with an interest in interiors or design will be charmed by the Geffrye Museum in Hoxton. Based in a series of connected 18th century almshouses, the museum shows typical middle-class living quarters in a succession of period rooms. Visitors start their journey in a traditional 17th century living space and gradually work their way up to the present day. Period gardens in the grounds repeat the process so there’s even more to discover outdoors when weather permits.
10. Household Cavalry Museum
The imposing, Grade I listed Horse Guards in Whitehall makes an impressive setting for the Household Cavalry Museum. The Household Cavalry guards the Queen on ceremonial occasions and also forms an operational regiment that serves around the world; visitors to the museum can learn about its role in detail through interactive displays and can often see members of the cavalry tending to their duties and caring for their horses in the Horse Guards’ 18th century stables.
11. Magic Circle Museum, Euston
By Euston Station, The Magic Circle is a private club where magicians converge; the Magic Circle Museum is a connected space that gives the rest of us insight into how the world’s greatest illusionists operate. Accompanied by guides, visitors can view props used by the likes of Harry Houdini and Chung Ling Soo, the rifles used for Maurice Fogel’s ‘bullet catch’ and hundreds of rare posters.
12. Freud Museum, Hampstead
A short stroll from Finchley Road Underground station, the Freud Museum is housed in what was once the home of Sigmund Freud and his family. They moved here after escaping the Nazi annexation of Austria in 1938 and it was occupied by the family until the death of Freud’s youngest daughter Anna Freud in 1982. It was her wish that the home become a museum that paid tribute to her father’s efforts, and the space remains crammed with his and her accoutrements. Most popular is Freud’s psychoanalytic couch, but visitors will also discover his collection of antiquities, Freud’s writing desk and items from his library.
13. London Sewing Machine Museum, Balham
Part of the Wimbledon Sewing Machine Company, the London Sewing Machine charts the history and evolution of sewing machines both domestic and industrial and contains some 700 different types. Those especially interested in these tools might be excited by an example of the first Singer machine and a machine originally owned by Queen Victoria’s eldest daughter, but this idiosyncratic space is also enjoyed by all manner of designer. It’s usually open only on the first Saturday of each month.
14. London Fire Brigade Museum, Southwark
The London Fire Brigade Museum in Southwark is a must-visit for any adult who aspired to work in the fire brigade as a child, and an interesting attraction for everyone else too. Housed in what was once part of the original Southwark fire station, the museum’s most impressive exhibits are its historical fire engines and Victorian-era gear room but there’s plenty to explore. Visits must be arranged by prior appointment and guests are accompanied by an expert guide.
15. Sherlock Holmes Museum, Baker Street
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle wrote that his fictional characters Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson lived at 221b Baker Street and that is the location of the real-life Sherlock Holmes Museum. Despite the men never existing, the museum does a good job of creating a setting that seems authentic, with the multi-storey space crammed with antique artefacts that could have been used by the sleuth and his associate. An added attraction is the man in period costume usually stationed outside the door, providing a popular photo opportunity for visiting tourists.
16. The Royal London Museum, Whitechapel
Within the Royal London Hospital, the Royal London Museum documents the history of the hospital and the most notable cases treated there. Surgical instruments, old uniforms and assorted trinkets make for atmospheric displays but the venue is perhaps most known for its showcase on forensic medicine – which includes original material related to the Jack the Ripper murders – and its association with Joseph Merrick, the ‘Elephant Man’. He spent the last four years of his life in a specially adapted room within the hospital, and some of his personal effects (including his hat, veil and a cardboard church he made as a gift) remain on show.
17. Bank of England Museum, City of London
Global financial markets are more confusing than ever, so this could be considered a good time to visit the Bank of England Museum for some contextualisation and education. Tracing the history of the Bank of England from its 1694 foundation to the present day, the museum includes displays of old banknotes and coins, antique furniture, historic pictures and glistening gold bars. Entry to the museum is free which, given how much financial pain everyone’s already in, is just as well.
18. Garden Museum, Lambeth
Beautiful and tranquil, the Garden Museum lays in the church of St Mary’s in Lambeth, with the Thames surging past its door. Within the tastefully adapted church, changing exhibitions consider issues related to British gardens and are supplemented by a series of talks; permanent displays of paintings, tools and garden equipment provide further interest. Outside, the grounds contain a well-tended knot garden and the tombs of the celebrated gardeners John the Elder and Younger.
19. World Rugby Museum, Twickenham
Within Twickenham Stadium, the World Rugby Museum is home to one of the world’s most comprehensive collections of rugby memorabilia. Many of its 10,000 objects are kept in storage but trophies, historical photographs and early match programmes and tickets are typically on display. If visiting the museum, consider timing your visit to coincide with one of the tours of Twickenham Stadium (for which there’s an additional charge). When running, they allow fans to take a walk around the pitch itself, the players’ tunnel and the England dressing room.
20. New London Architecture, Holborn
New London Architecture concerns itself with all issues related to London-based architecture, planning, development and construction, and its publicly accessible galleries seek to inform Londoners about the capital’s rapidly changing cityscape. An ongoing programme of debates and discussions consider pertinent issues in depth, but if you only have time for a quick visit, be sure to check out the giant scale model of central London. Measuring 12 metres, the 1:1500 scale model also includes proposed London buildings that have secured planning permission and are in development.
21. The Cinema Museum, Kennington
The Cinema Museum celebrates all aspects of cinema, with a particular appreciation for the pre-digital days when ‘going to the pictures’ was a ticket to escapism and fantasy. The extensive collection deserves detailed exploration, including as it does countless photographic images, old cinema posters, cinema staff uniforms and antique cinema fixtures. Guided tours of the museum are available most days but must be booked in advance as they’re lead by volunteers; a varied complementary programme of talks and screenings attract all manner of cinema enthusiasts and film industry insiders.
22. Leighton House Museum, Holland Park
Its exterior may be unprepossessing, but Leighton House Museum’s beautifully opulent interiors must rival the most lavish private houses in surrounding Kensington. The building was once the home and studio of the Victorian artist Lord Frederic Leighton and it remains a showcase for his spectacular artefacts. The central Arab Hall displays Leighton’s dazzling collection of shimmering Islamic tiles, but other ornate rooms impress with antique furniture and tasteful contemporary art displays. If possible it’s worth timing your visit to coincide with the free tours given at certain times on Wednesdays and Sundays; otherwise it’s possible to download an MP3 tour of the house from the museum website in advance of your visit.
23. V&A Museum of Childhood, Bethnal Green
The V&A Museum in South Kensington is known internationally as one of the world’s greatest museums of art and design; less recognised is its Museum of Childhood in Bethnal Green. This is where the V&A houses its collection of childhood-related objects and with displayed objects often dating back decades (and in some cases centuries), it’s worth a visit whatever your age. The curators deserve further kudos for providing a complementary programme of free daily drop-in activities for children, all designed to entertain and educate young minds.
24. Petrie Museum, Euston
Found within UCL, the Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology may be small but its collection of some 80,000 objects makes it one of the greatest museums of its type anywhere. Among its artefacts are sculptures of lions from the temple of Min at Koptos, dating from around 3000BC and the oldest wills on papyrus paper, as well as various ancient costumes and a series of Roman-period mummy portraits. Admission is free but opening hours are limited so check in advance of your visit.
25. Whitechapel Bell Foundry, Whitechapel
The Whitechapel Bell Foundry is best known for two things: being the oldest manufacturing company in Britain, having been founded in 1570 and operating continually since; and for creating the Big Ben bell at the Palace of Westminster. The foundry includes a small exhibition space in its foyer but is best explored on a pre-booked tour. Detailing the efforts undertaken to cast bells and showing the workspaces in which they’re made, the tour provides detailed insight into the company’s operations and the limited numbers accommodated in the small space means places get snapped up quickly.
Royal palaces, idyllic countryside: Outside London, Olympic events show off iconic England - Associated Press
HAMPTON COURT, England (AP) -- Medieval cottages crowned with thatched roofs. King Henry VIII's storied riverside palace. A wind-swept naval fort that helped to defend Britain's coastline during World War II.
Away from the bustle of London's Olympic stadium, the Summer Games will also showcase the country's postcard perfect rural charms, and highlight centuries of its history.
While it was Britain's vibrant capital that won the right to host the 2012 Games, events aren't confined to London. Spectators will flock to Wales and Scotland, to verdant hills in southern England, and even to a working farm - where rare breed sheep must make way for Olympic cyclists.
"It might be called London 2012, but really it's a countrywide event. There are places right across the country which are getting a chance to taste the Olympics," said Beverley Egan, of the Salvation Army charity, which owns a swath of eastern England countryside where the Olympic mountain bike competition will take place.
Egan, the organization's director of community services, lives close to the site, the 950-acre Hadleigh Farm, about 40 miles (65 kilometers) east of the London stadium, where cattle graze amid the ruins of a 700-year-old castle.
Sports fans can head to 10 venues outside Britain's capital. Canoeists will slalom through bubbling rapids at Lee Valley White Water Center just beyond London's northern outskirts, while rowing crews will compete on a lake at Eton Dorney, set inside a tranquil 400-acre park about 25 miles (40 kilometers) west of the capital.
On England's southern coast, visitors will watch sailing events at Nothe Fort - a 19th century naval defense post. During World War II, troops fired the fort's heavy guns in warning on two suspicious ships, but later found the vessels were carrying refugees fleeing the Channel Islands, the only corner of Britain to come under Nazi occupation.
Quaint images of rolling hills will provide a quintessentially British backdrop to events beamed around the world. However lovely, they are also critical to the country's plans for capitalizing on the Olympics, which have cost Britain 9.3 billion pounds ($14.6 billion) to stage. Ministers hope prospective visitors will be captivated as they see historic landscapes and landmarks and book a vacation. They also hope potential investors can be wooed.
Competitors in road cycling races will travel into England's picturesque countryside as they compete for gold medals. Their route - 156 miles (250 kilometers) for men, 87 miles (140 kilometers) for women - begins outside Queen Elizabeth II's Buckingham Palace home, but quickly swaps London streets for tree-fringed country lanes.
Their path winds through fields of grazing deer in Richmond Park, bringing the Olympics into the southern England county of Surrey and to the historic Hampton Court Palace.
Home to Henry VIII from the mid-1500s, the palace sits at the heart of his scandalous personal life. It was here that he and his aides plotted England's break with the Roman Catholic church to allow the king to divorce. The king married two of his six wives here, too. Two were accused of adultery and beheaded.
Road race cyclists will flash by, headed toward the spine of chalk hills known as the North Downs - but competitors in time trial events will start and finish their races inside the palace grounds, where William Shakespeare and his company of actors once performed for King James I.
During the road race, athletes will continue past the ruins of the 12th Century Newark Priory, on through woodland copses shaded by canopies of trees and down heart-stopping, twisting slopes.
Alan Flaherty, a highway engineer at Surrey County Council and a road cycling fanatic since he first visited the Tour de France in 2004, helped to devise the course once organizers chose to take the event outside London.
Olympic authorities had planned for the route to snake through the capital, but the sport's governing body wanted a course that would better challenge riders and show off more iconic British views.
Flaherty was tapped to share some of his own favored paths. "I literally went out with my rucksack, a camera and a pen and paper and looked at the whole route and then reported back," he said.
The final course offers a checklist of famous British images - from Westminster Abbey to sheep-filled meadows - and some competitors have already interrupted training rides with Flaherty to snap pictures with their smartphones.
"It does manage to go past all the main tourist sites in London, starting and finishing on The Mall, and also takes in a huge amount of Surrey," Flaherty said. "It's a real contrast - all the countryside shows another element of Great Britain to the rest of the world."
Spectators, though not the riders who will speed by, can admire a vision of English nostalgia nestled along the course at Shere, an unspoiled village with a 12th century church, tea house, gently gurgling stream and cluster of thatched roofed cottages.
Nearby at Box Hill, a favorite southern England picnic spot and vantage point, competitors face a grueling ascent up the aptly named Zig Zag Road, an energy-sapping climb which men will complete nine times and women twice. The summit will host about 15,000 spectators, while tens of thousands more are expected to pack along the remainder of the course.
Flaherty said that since he helped to finalize the route scores of enthusiasts have taken to the course with their own bikes - meaning he must find new paths for his own peaceful weekend cycle rides.
"I've been cycling around here for about 25 years and one of the things I liked is that it's always really quiet," Flaherty said, ruefully. "Then I got involved with the Olympics and now there are hundreds of people out on the route every weekend. The lesson is to be careful what you wish for."
Wi-fi turned on at Tube stations in London - BBC News
Free wi-fi at some London Underground stations has now been turned on.
Transport for London (TfL) said people at King's Cross and Warren Street Tube stations will now be able to pick up the internet at ticket offices, escalators and platforms.
On Friday, Oxford Circus and Green Park Tube stations will go live, followed by Victoria and Euston on Saturday.
By the end of July, 80 stations will have wi-fi access, with 120 expected by the end of the year.
Virgin Media will run the service which will become a pay-as-you-go offering after the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Virgin Media's mobile and broadband customers will be offered continued access as part of their subscriptions.
Non-paying users will be limited to a site showing online travel information and some free news and entertainment.
Mayor of London Boris Johnson said: "We need to ensure London is able to cement its position as Europe's leading digital city.
"Our partnership with Virgin Media to make wi-fi available on Tube platforms will be of tremendous benefit as building world class connectivity is critical to supporting new businesses and the jobs they create, especially in the high-tech and creative sectors."
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