London 2012: Musicians asked to play for nothing at Olympics - BBC News
Musicians have accused London 2012 organisers of asking acts to play for nothing despite an agreement that professionals would be paid.
Trombonist Steve Haynes said Locog had asked his brass band to play at the Olympic Park for no fee.
He said he thought being asked to play for no money undermined what he does.
Locog said it was not aware of any official approaches made to professional musicians asking them to perform for no payment.
But Mr Haynes, who has played in numerous West End musicals and TV programmes, said: "Initially we were delighted after receiving an email from someone at London 2012, asking us to play.
"But then, actually to find out that it was unpaid, I think this demeans what I've been training to do for 20 years."
In an email to Mr Haynes, Locog wrote: "I realise that no budget isn't ideal but then again it's not every day you get to perform at the Olympic village!"
An agreement between the Musicians Union and 2012 guarantees that all professional performers will be paid unless they are amateurs or headline acts happy to waive their fee.
Music agent JC Caddy said: "They've [Locog] been quite crafty about the way they're going about sourcing acts."
He said it was not right that musicians were not even being offered any travel expenses.
An email to Mr Caddy from Locog said: "They will be fed and watered while on site but I have a feeling we will struggle to get expenses together unfortunately."
'Not earning'BBC London's Olympic correspondent Adrian Warner said: "Organisers want to make the atmosphere of these Games very different and they have ambitious plans for music and entertainment but it looks like they don't want to spend the money to make it all happen."
Horace Trubridge, from the Musicians' Union said: "They have tried all different ways of getting musicians for free which we've had to keep pulling them up on, and their latest one is infuriating.
"They're basically calling on 80 unsigned bands - bands that don't have record deals - to come and play in the park for hundreds of thousands of people over the course of the Games and they've no intention of paying them.
"This isn't a well paid profession. Unless you are a headline act you're not earning a lot of money."
Locog has said it stands by its commitment to the MU that it would not pay volunteers or headline acts but all other professional musicians will be paid.
London 2012: Michael Phelps is aiming to repeat Beijing haul - BBC News
Michael Phelps, who won eight gold medals at the Beijing Olympics, has confirmed he intends to compete in the same eight events in London.
He has already qualified for three of the five individual events and will be automatic choice in the three relays.
After qualifying in the 400m medley and 200m freestyle, he has now secured his place in the 200m butterfly.
Allison Schmitt has also gained qualification for London 2012 in both the 200m and 400m freestyle.
Phelps, 26, needs just three more medals of any colour in London to surpass the overall record of 18 held by Soviet gymnast Larisa Latynina.
He still has the 200m medley and 100m butterfly qualification to secure but is confident of doing so at the qualification event in Omaha.
After a difficult day one, where he was pushed all the way by Ryan Lochte, he eased to victory in the 200m butterfly, finishing well clear of second placed Tyler Clary, with a time of 53.65, the fastest time in the world this year. Clary's frantic finish means he will join Phelps in London.
"Today was the best my stroke has felt throughout the whole meet," Phelps said. "I'm pleased, but I think I need to go faster if I want to win that at the Olympics."
The battle for medals between Phelps and Lochte is set to be one of the most anticipated in the pool. They will go head to head in the 200m and 400m individual medley and the 200m freestyle.
Schmitt , who trains with the same team as Phelps in North Baltimore, will also be on the plane to London after she swam the fastest times in the world since synthetic suits were banned at the end of 2009, meaning she will be one of the favourites this summer.
"I was just going for it and trying to hold on," she told reporters after winning the 200m final on Thursday.
"I'm surprised, but I've been having a great training year, and I've been preparing for this. I still have another race, the 100m free, then I'm ready for London."
By winning the 200m, the 22-year-old, who won relay bronze medal in Beijing, automatically booked herself a spot in the 4x200m relay and could add the 4x100m relay if she finishes in the top six.
London Welsh win appeal against Premiership exile - The Guardian
London Welsh have won an appeal against their right to play in the Aviva Premiership next season and Newcastle, the champions in 1998, will be relegated after finishing bottom of the league last month.
Welsh, who won both legs of their play-off final against Cornish Pirates last month, will play their home games at Oxford United's Kassam Stadium.
The appeal against the decision that London Welsh failed to meet the so-called minimum standards criteria, set out by the Professional Game Board, was heard on Friday.
The independent panel comprised the chairman James Dingemans QC, Ian Mill QC and Tim Ward QC. The decision is a huge blow to Newcastle who had appointed Dean Richards as director of rugby.
Limited-run Corsa has a potent new engine - This is Derbyshire
VAUXHALL'S new limited-run Black Edition Corsa adds a new engine to the range in a punchy 1.4-litre turbocharged power plant that makes it one of the most powerful examples of the supermini on the market.
The new engine produces 120PS and maximum torque of 175Nm, starting at 1,750rpm, giving the latest addition to the Corsa range a top speed of 121mph with 60mph reached from rest in 9.7 seconds.
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Vauxhall Corsa Black Edition gains a raft of sporty styling features, including body-coloured front and rear spoilers.
Fuel consumption is 51.4mpg and CO2 emissions are as low as 129g/km thanks to a stop/start system.
Initially, production of the model is being limited to 500 examples with these coming in both three and five-door form.
The Black Edition is based on the Corsa Limited Edition and along with the 120PS engine gains a black logo bar and new 17-inch diamond-cut alloy wheels.
The car attracts attention thanks to a raft of sporty styling features, including body-coloured front and rear spoilers, side sills, and a rear lower skirt that turn it into one of the sleekest Corsas yet.
Its looks are enhanced further with front fog lights, dark style headlights and tail lights, plus dark-tinted rearside windows.
Inside, sports seats, a leather-covered steering wheel, sports pedals, silver interior seat stitching and matt chrome air vent surrounds set the Black Edition apart from all other Corsas.
For those who wish to go even more upmarket, Vauxhall is offering a broad range of innovative extras not offered by competitors, including a Touch and Connect infotainment system, climate control and adaptive forward lighting.
The Black Edition is on sale now priced at £15,995 for the three-door version and £16,425 for the five-door model.
Pentagon Vauxhall represents the brand in Derby and Burton. Its Derby showroom is at Pentagon Island.
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