London 2012 - Ukraine official resigns over ticket scandal - Yahoo! Eurosport
A top official from Ukraine's National Olympic Committee has resigned over allegations he offered to sell thousands of pounds worth of tickets for the London Games on the black market.
The committee said in a statement on its website that Volodymyr Gerashchenko, the general secretary and second highest-ranking official on the 149-member body, stepped down after an emergency meeting last Friday.
It added that an investigating panel had been set up to probe the allegations, which stem from a BBC report which said that Gerashchenko had offered to sell up to 100 tickets for the July 27-August 12 Games to a reporter posing as a buyer.
"After the meeting of the executive committee, the general secretary resigned. At the same time. V. Gerashchenko gave an assurance that he would cooperate fully with the investigation," the statement said.
"Ukraine's NOC will do everything it can to clarify all aspects of the affair."
Gerashchenko, 56, who has been in his post since 1997, was temporarily suspended from his role on May 22 when news of the scandal broke during Olympic meetings in Quebec City.
The Ukraine Olympic Committee was allotted 2,900 tickets for distribution to various officials and groups.
It said that Gerashchenko's functions as general secretary required him to go to London to ensure the accreditation there of Ukraine's athletes and official delegation.
The affair casts a shadow over the former Soviet republic's international image as it prepares to co-host the European football championship with Poland next month.
Fine and dandy: London's men's fashion shows - The Guardian
The menswear industry used to be a little on the lean side Рthe Stan Laurel to womenswear's Oliver Hardy. The numbers were smaller but the sizes larger, and the places to find it few and far between. Step into a department store and you'd have to wade through armies of girls squirting Est̩e Lauder Happy to find the escalator that led you to all things manly; visit a fashion website and you'd hope there'd be a small tab tucked away on the side indicating that there might be a little for him as well as a lot for her.
Well, all that has changed. The menswear industry may never rival that of womenswear, but it's growing up mightily quick. So quickly, in fact, that the British Fashion Council has finally deemed it necessary for menswear to have its very own fashion week. London Collections: Men launches this June with a three-day festival of shows, parties, exhibitions, dinners and talks. The fact that London's menswear shows will now be on the fashion calendar alongside those of Milan and Paris is no mean feat and is the reason why both the mayoral office and HRH the Prince of Wales are lending their support – the latter is to celebrate the occasion with a party in the state apartments of St James's Palace.
This is no vanity exercise. In the past year or two, menswear sales have gained momentum across the world. In the States, a key territory for most British designers, last year men's clothing sales increased by 4% to $55.71bn. Department stores such as Selfridges and Harrods have invested unprecedented space in their menswear floors recently, and it's no coincidence that last year Net-a-Porter decided the time was right to launch a brother e-commerce site for its successful womenswear one. As editor-in-chief of mrporter.com, I was delighted to sit on the London Collections committee (our own bash on the Friday night will probably be a little racier than HRH's).
So why, with a wobbly economy, have the sales of men's fashion – especially at the luxury end – taken a turn for the better? First, Asia, and especially China, has proved to be a huge growing market, with a strong appetite for designer brands with clout and heritage – many of which are British. And in times of increased competitiveness in the workplace, most men realise the importance of looking smarter, stronger and fitter. Sales of tailored clothing jumped 26% in the 12 months to February, with a lot of vendors seeing a sharp rise in their made-to-measure business.
There's also the sense that when times are tough and news is bleak we seek comfort in the things that surround us. This spring, for example, retailers have seen surprisingly strong sales of brightly coloured shirts and trousers. Not long ago, you would never have imagined that our city centres would be populated by men happily sporting emerald-green trousers, pastel-pink patterned polos and dusty-blue suede brogues (step forward, Prince Harry).
The joy, and saving grace, of the British men's fashion industry is that it has so many facets: Savile Row, an institution whose traditions and aesthetics are copied the world over; a shoe industry in Northampton that boasts unparalleled levels of craftsmanship and expertise; and a neverending supply of talented and innovative young designers emerging from the country's leading fashion colleges. All these and more will be celebrated in London as the ideas, talent, polish and skills of the British menswear industry are paraded in front of an international audience – not just those seated at the events, but also those eagerly watching on Twitter, Facebook, street-style blogs and magazine websites.
And not only have the country's leading style makers, magazine editors and industry leaders come together to support this venture, but so, too, has a host of fashion-conscious celebrities, including David Walliams, Tinie Tempah, David Furnish, David Gandy and Downton Abbey's Dan Stevens.
If you're still wondering what all the fuss is about, take a look at some of the talent here that will be on display in June. British menswear is looking very fine and dandy indeed.
London Collections: Men runs from 15-17 June. For more information, go to londoncollections.co.uk
London 2012 providing boost to ‘Brand Britain’ - sportbusiness.com
A survey of 6,000 consumers by Deloitte, the official professional services provider to London 2012, found that around 80% of respondents from China and India are more likely to want to visit Britain in light of the publicity surrounding the Games. More than 60% say they would like to buy more British products, whilst 77% want to learn more about the UK as a whole. The research also shows that 76% of respondents in China and India associate the Olympic Games with the UK, a higher proportion than consumers elsewhere in Europe or the United States. Only the UK’s history, universities and London itself are attributes more closely associated with the UK in the minds of Chinese and Indian consumers.
“London 2012 clearly provides a direct and immediate opportunity for consumer businesses,” said Nigel Wixcey, UK head of consumer business at Deloitte. “However, our research shows the potential is there for a longer term benefit too, but only if companies are prepared to exploit the opportunity. As the global population is evolving, so consumer spending power is shifting. The emerging middle classes of China and India are increasingly powerful consumers of Western goods – both as visiting tourists and increasingly as strong consumer markets develop in their home countries. This trend will continue to accelerate over the next few years.”
Deloitte has noted that the impact of the publicity surrounding the Games has not been so pronounced in Europe and the US. However, despite this around half of consumers surveyed in France, Germany and the US said they are more interested in visiting Britain as a result of publicity surrounding the Games, whilst roughly a fifth would like to buy more British products.
Simon Oaten, director in the consumer business industry at Deloitte, added: “There has always been a strong underlying demand to visit Britain, but London 2012 is giving the UK a shot in the arm. Given the UK economy’s growth prospects, it is important for consumer businesses to develop relationships with overseas customers, particularly from markets such as India and China. Retailers and hospitality operators in the UK who understand the shifting global demographics will reap the rewards. London 2012 provides the UK with a unique moment, a unique competitive edge over other countries.”
London Broncos need mental toughness, says Chad Randall - BBC News
Chad Randall believes London Broncos must improve their mental approach to turn around their current form.
The Broncos, who lost to Catalan Dragons on Sunday, are currently second bottom of the Super League.
The hooker told BBC London 94.9: "We're all training hard but every week when you walk out on the field the doubts start to come in.
"The best players in the world learn how to put them aside. At the moment, we're struggling with that."
The Twickenham Stoop outfit have only won two of their 15 league games this season and have lost their last six Super League games.
"Sometimes on game-day as we're walking out the tunnel, those doubts are starting to creep in," the 31-year-old Australian added.
"We've got to keep working on that mental toughness and belief. We're trying to turn it around.
"This time of year, every single team is pretty much doing the same weight programmes, a lot of time on the training ground and a lot of running,
"At the end of the day, it's a mental thing - your confidence as a team and individuals."
London 2012 Olympics: Fears grow of Olympic tube chaos - Daily Telegraph
“The Jubilee line is crucial,” said Tim Bellenger of London Travelwatch. “When something goes wrong on the section between Westminster and Stratford there will be a ripple impact on the rest of the network.
“If it fails, people will migrate to the Central line, which will already be extremely busy.”
Last week a meltdown on the line saw passengers being taken off a train and walked through a tunnel to safety.
It was not an isolated incident. According to Transport for London’s own statistics, more than 500,000 “customer hours” were lost on the Jubilee line to track, train and signal failures last year.
The line performed far worse than any other line on the network, despite having a newer signalling system.
Other parts of the network, notably the circle and district line, relies on signalling which is at least 40 years old.
The latest problems intensify pressure on Peter Hendy, London’s transport commissioner, who earlier this year advised commuters to avoid delays by heading down to the pub until the problems cleared.
He was rewarded by being named “beer drinker of the year” by the all-party parliamentary beer drinkers group.
But Bob Crow, leader of the RMT transport union was unimpressed. “Instead of collecting gongs from the brewers, and making smug comments advising passengers to head for the pubs rather than the tube, Peter Hendy should be getting a grip on the chaos of breakdowns and failures that has engulfed the underground just weeks away from the Olympic Games,” he said.
“RMT warned that the cuts to jobs and maintenance would plunge the network into a crisis and those who ignored those warnings are now on the brink of turning London transport into a global laughing stock.”
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