Usain Bolt wants to 'wow' London - ITV
Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt says he is ready to "wow" the London 2012 Olympics and put on a "great show" for the city.
The triple Olympic gold medallist looked in confident mood as he modelled his nation's new Olympic kit on the catwalk during a photocall at Village Underground in London on Friday. Bolt also danced alongside the new kit's designer, Cedella Marley.
Having returned to form to win the 100m in 9.76 seconds in Rome on Thursday and record his quickest time since smashing the world record in Berlin in 2009, the 25-year-old has set his sights on achieving more glory in London this summer.
"I'm really looking forward to competing here. I haven't competed in London in a while so I'm really looking forward to the Games.
"I know all the Jamaicans living here (in the UK) are really looking forward to it also.
"I'm just competing to put on a great show as always and I've explained that at the end of the day I just want to wow people after these Olympics (in London) so I'm looking forward to it."
Queen Elizabeth goes racing to launch anniversary extravaganza - Baltimore Sun
LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's Queen Elizabeth marks 60 years on the throne on Saturday with a visit to the races, indulging a lifelong passion for horses and launching four days of nationwide celebrations to honor a monarch riding high in public affection.
The 86-year-old will watch the Epsom Derby in southern England, joining a crowd of up to 150,000 racegoers dressed in their summer best for one of the racing season's highlights.
Millions more are expected to attend street parties across the country as the nation marks the queen's personal milestone under the banner of the "Diamond Jubilee".
"The queen has given incredible service," British Prime Minister David Cameron said.
"She's never put a foot wrong, she's hugely popular and respected here and around the world and it's an opportunity for people to give thanks and to say thank you for the incredible service that she's given."
Across Britain, red, white and blue "Union Jack" flags billow from street lamps, outside buildings, shop fronts and houses, and sales of patriotic souvenirs have rocketed ahead of the celebrations.
To royalists, the occasion is a chance to express their appreciation of a woman who learned she was queen at the age of 25 while on holiday in Kenya with her husband Prince Philip.
For others, the chance of some extra days off work and to enjoy the sort of extravaganza and public ceremony for which Britain is renowned has made it a welcome break from austere times, pay freezes and deep public spending cuts.
Republicans hope the occasion marks the last hurrah of a dying anachronism, while some 2 million people are leaving Britain altogether to go on holiday.
Having acceded to the throne in February 1952 on the death of her father George VI when Winston Churchill was prime minister, Elizabeth is now the longest-lived British monarch.
Only her great-great-grandmother Victoria spent longer on the British throne and is the only other monarch to have celebrated a Diamond Jubilee.
As well as being head of the Commonwealth of nations mainly made up former British colonies, Elizabeth is also the Supreme Governor of the Church of England.
"I think we've been enormously fortunate in this country to have as our head of state a person who has a real personality - a personality that comes through more and more, I think, in her public utterances," said the Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, the spiritual head of the Anglican Church.
THAMES FLOTILLA
On Sunday, a flotilla of 1,000 boats assembled from around the globe will travel 25 miles along the River Thames to accompany the queen and her 90-year-old husband on a royal barge, in the largest such pageant for 350 years.
Thousands of street parties are also planned across Britain, including one on Downing Street outside Cameron's office, as part of a "Big Jubilee Lunch".
The queen's London residence Buckingham Palace will play host to a pop concert on Monday featuring the likes of Paul McCartney and Elton John, before a network of beacons will also be lit across Britain and around the Commonwealth.
The celebrations culminate on Tuesday with a memorial service at St Paul's Cathedral, a carriage procession through central London and flypast by present and former royal air force aircraft.
Large crowds are expected, with estimates that about a million people will travel to London on Sunday alone. Not all will be cheering for the queen, however, with banner-waving republicans protesting at Tower Bridge during the flotilla.
Officials say there are some 9,500 street parties planned in England Wales and ABTA, the British travel association, said almost 2.5 million Britons were expected to take part.
London's Heathrow airport said some 780,000 people were due to arrive in the next few days, although ABTA also said an estimated 2 million Britons were planning to head overseas to take advantage of the two extra public holidays.
Police said the weekend would include the largest royal security operation ever conducted. Some 13,000 officials including about 6,000 police officers will be on duty for the Thames pageant, which poses challenges never before encountered.
(Editing by David Cowell)
Bishop of London warns of divorce 'epidemic' - BBC News
Promiscuity, separation and divorce have reached epidemic proportions in Britain, the Bishop of London has said.
The Rt Rev Richard Chartres said people should use the Queen's Diamond Jubilee to restore strained relationships.
He said although people were better off in many ways than in 1952, material progress had come at the expense of equality and communal life.
The National Secular Society said having a choice to leave unsuccessful marriages was something to be welcomed.
Dr Chartres, a senior Church of England bishop, also called for action to tackle "depressingly high" youth unemployment.
Writing in a Bible Society pamphlet, he said relationships had become more strained, fragile and broken than people cared to recognise.
'Empty church'"Literally millions of children grow up without knowing a stable, loving, secure family life - and that is not to count the hundreds of thousands more who don't even make it out of the womb each year," he said.
"Promiscuity, separation and divorce have reached epidemic proportions in our society."
"Perhaps, then, we shouldn't be surprised that depression and the prescription of anti-depressants has reached a similarly epidemic level."
Terry Sanderson, of the National Secular Society, which aims to challenge religious privilege, said that while Britain had problems, there was no "epidemic" of immorality.
“Start Quote
End Quote Terry Sanderson National Secular SocietyThe bishop is trying to convince us that we are immoral because we have progressed in ways that he doesn't like”
"That people now have the choice to escape from painful and unsuccessful marriages is something to welcome," he said.
"It has not always been so, and women in particular have borne the brunt of sometimes brutal marriages from which they could not escape - mainly because the Church would not let them.
"Like so many other clergymen, the bishop is trying to convince us that we are immoral because we have progressed in ways that he doesn't like. And that is probably why his church is so empty."
Caroline Davey, from charity Gingerbread, which provides support for single parents, said "poverty and conflict" were the most powerful drivers of poor outcomes for children.
"Modern British family life is made up of a range of different family types, all of whom need and deserve support - not criticism - as they bring up their children in these difficult economic times," she added.
Queen praisedDr Chartres presented the biblical understanding of a Jubilee as an opportunity to take a long view, and think about the kind of environment being bequeathed to following generations.
He said it should include a move to living within our means.
Dr Chartres also described youth unemployment in Britain as "appalling" and said we should look to role models and mentors for a solution, as well as government.
The government said it was one of the biggest challenges the country faced, but was determined to tackle it head on.
Recent figures showed the number of 16 to 24-year-olds seeking work was 707,000, down 24,000 on the previous quarter.
Dr Chartres also praised the "quiet dignity" of the Monarch, who he described as the most famous public figure on earth and the most respected.
"The way in which she and her family have reached out to include newly established British communities has provided a focus for continuing but expanding national self-respect," he added.
0 Responses to "Usain Bolt wants to 'wow' London - ITV"
Post a Comment