London Olympics: Top Three Crazy Corporate Rules Medalists - ibtimes.co.uk
Well, expect it to get worse.
As a "Worldwide Olympic Games Sponsor since 1986", Visa has managed to wrangle a deal with the London Olympic and Paralympic Games, where it has exclusivity over all payment options when it comes to London2012.
It was bad enough when people looking to buy tickets had to use a Visa only card, however Olympic venues will now have significantly pared down ATM facilities, as part of the exclusive deal.
Sites such as Wembley will see its cash machines being slashed to only 8 Visa ATMs, which will run on the company's own system, from a previous 27 cash machines in total.
Tickets holders with Mastercard credit or debit cards will not be able to use the ATMs to withdraw money and ATMs at Earl's Court, Excel North Greenwich Arena, Wembley Arena, Wembley Stadium, Wimbledon, Old Trafford, St James' Park and the City of Coventry Stadium will either be switched off or charge a fee.
It will, of course, free to use the Visa card one.
Visa would not comment on how much revenue it expected to generate from ATM exclusivity but the move is best summed up by Ron Delnevo, the managing director of Bank Machine, the largest operator of free and fee-charging ATMS.
"The vast majority of people attending the Games, from over 200 countries, have no interest in becoming guinea pigs in product launches by sponsors," said Delnevo. "They are gathering to celebrate sporting excellence and should be allowed to do so, unhindered by the commercial manoeuvring of sponsors."
SILVER: McDonald's Supersizing Efforts
With Olympic athletes representing dedication to nutrition and exercise to craft a well-oiled sports machine, you would think the London Games would be a great way to kick start the promotion of healthy eating and exercise.
With the UK suffering an incremental obesity epidemic this is the inspiration the nation needs.
So it's no surprise that some doctors, athletes and the general public hit back following the announcement that fast food giant McDonald's would gain exclusive rights to sell branded food products inside the venue.
In a bid to supersize the experience for the 10,500 athletes and half a million spectators, McDonald's will open a two-story restaurant at the games, seating 1,500 diners and serving up to 14,000 people a day.
The Academy of Royal Medical Colleges recently said that having McDonald's sponsor the Olympics sends the wrong message - not least in Britain, which is battling increasing obesity.
Of course, Jill McDonald, chief executive at McDonald's UK hit back with the corporate PR speak.
"We do offer a breadth of menu," said Jill McDonald, chief executive at McDonald's UK. "You can see on the menu here we have grilled chicken wraps, we have salads, fruit smoothies as well as the more indulgent recipes that people know and love."
Indeed, but when a salad can rack up more calories than a cheeseburger, then you can see why McDonald's has got up in so many people's grills.
'It is clearly sending the wrong signal to kids and young people. If we want them to be healthy and educate them to eat healthily, we need to think about approaching them in a different way, especially around sport," said Olympic Silver medallist, Amir Khan. "The Olympics is a great opportunity to show young people what types of food they need in different aspects of their lives. I think this is a mistake."
GOLD: Trademark Control Freakery
Effectively, if you aren't a corporate sponsor, you are pretty much breaking a trademark rule in some way.
When companies pay buckets of cash to sponsor a major event like the Olympics, it is natural legal restrictions to trademark and exclusivity, in some cases in place.
However, the London2012 Olympics have taken it to a whole other level, making people weary and fundamentally fed up of the games already.
The London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (Locog) insisted that legalities around the trademark, whether talking about it, taking pictures, the logo or even putting on a pub chalk board that "you can watch the London Olympics in here," is there to secure the big contracts and protect sponsors.
However, the control freakery from Locog and International Olympic Committee (IOC) have managed to put plans in place to cripple its own economy.
A grandmother who knitted a jumper with Olympic hoops on the front for a charity shop was reprimanded and kebab shops that are usually only frequented by the late at night drunks had been forced to change their names.
According to new rules, "shops who have used the word 'Olympic' in the name of their business are exempt from policing by the LOCOG as long as the name was established before 1995, a decade before the 2005 London bid."
Now, even using one of the two of the following words in an expression, "Games, Two Thousand and Twelve, 2012, Twenty-Twelve," are likely to be considered a breach of the rules.
Expressions with words, London, medals, sponsors, summer, gold, silver or bronze is another likely breach. Even posting your pictures of you gurning with a thumbs up in Olympic Park could land you with a fine.
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Derby dealership plans charity ball to help children's hospital - This is Derbyshire
DERBY'S Vauxhall dealership has unveiled ambitious plans to raise funds for Derbyshire Children's Hospital, at the Royal Derby Hospital.
Pentagon Derby, which also sells Chevrolets at its extensive Pentagon Island site, hopes to boost the funds of the hospital by holding a charity ball in October.
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Pentagon Derby business manager Ashley Worrall (left) and general manager David White are seen with their children at the launch of the charity ball at the dealership. Ashley is pictured with son Jacob while David is seen with Toby, Imogen and Henley.
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The Derbyshire Cricket Club marquee, venue for the Pentagon Derby charity ball.
The ball will be held in Derbyshire County Cricket Club's marquee with the evening including a three-course meal and entertainment featuring The Falconette showgirls, plus a charity auction and raffle. Guests will then be able to dance the night away with carriages at midnight. The evening starts at 7pm.
David White, the dealership's general manager, says that as a long-established business in Derby, the firm is always looking for ways to support local charities and the people they help.
He said the children's hospital was a vital unit in ensuring the welfare of children in the county.
"As some of our own team members can testify, the care and support of all the staff at the unit provides a great comfort to the children and their families when they are at their most vulnerable," he said.
"We hope that the funds raised through our event will help the hospital continue with their magnificent work."
Tickets cost £55 and are available through Nicola Broughton at Pentagon Derby, Pentagon Island, Nottingham Road, Derby, DE21 6HB. She can be contacted on 01332 362661 or by email. Her email address is Nic ola.Broughton@pentagon-group.co.uk
Rain, rain go away: A London slog for Olympics? - The Guardian
DANICA KIRKA
Associated Press= LONDON (AP) — After a sodden spring, is Britain heading for a summer washout?
It's lurched from the cold, wet drizzle that dampened the queen's Diamond Jubilee flotilla on the Thames to a sea of mud at the Isle of Wight music festival to frequent delays at Wimbledon, where even the retractable roof couldn't make the event all strawberries and cream.
And now that the country has recorded its wettest June on record, should Olympic officials be concerned? The games are just 21 days away.
"Oh, goodness! It's only a bit of British weather," said Charles Powell, a spokesman for the Met office, the national forecaster. "It's naturally variable."
Britain is an island nation, at the mercy of winds scooping up water from the Atlantic Ocean and breezes bringing in dry air from the European continent. There's a reason trench coats are classic here. This is a country that can have four seasons in an afternoon, where one should never leave home without both an umbrella and sunglasses.
In other words, if the weather is not to your liking, hang on, it will change. And if it doesn't, London Olympic organizers say they are ready for every eventuality.
"The main thing is that we are used to it and we have planned accordingly," said Debbie Jevans, director of sport for the games. "It is something that is a fact of life. That is why our country is so lovely and green."
There are five different sailing routes at Weymouth, on England's south coast, in case of poor weather. The BMX cycling track has a cover and improved drainage following lessons learned from downpours during a test event.
Care has also gone into drainage at the equestrian venue at London's Greenwich Park. This is likely to be extremely important — several big British equestrian events, including the Badminton Horse Trials, were rained out this year because the ground was too sodden.
Plans have been drawn to make sure organizers and spectators get the most up-to-date information possible. Five Met Office forecasters will be embedded with the games and working around the clock, providing long- and short-range forecasts for the event, which starts July 27 and ends Aug. 12.
The sport most susceptible to rain is tennis, as any Wimbledon fan will tell you. Wet grass is problematic for players, who can easily slip and suffer injury — so you can't just "keep calm and carry on" the way athletes can if they are playing, say, beach volleyball.
Some extreme weather patterns may cause some delays if the safety of athletes and spectators is endangered. That includes thunderstorms and lightning bolts — as in the atmosphere, not the kind coming from the speedy shoes of Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt.
Beyond that, the Olympics will go on.
That hasn't stopped bookmakers from going into overdrive over all the rain-soaked bets that can be placed. British bookmaker Ladbrokes has offered odds at 50-to-1 that it will rain every day at Olympic Stadium in east London. The odds are 25-to-1 that the weather causes the flame to go out during the opening ceremony and 500-to-1 that the person lighting the flame will be wearing an umbrella hat.
The only time rain is assured is during the opening ceremony. Director Danny Boyle has written it into his script and made provisions should the heavens not comply.
It's too early even for predictions, with the Met office saying it will have a good idea only five days before an event. London Games chair Sebastian Coe has proclaimed himself unconcerned, though he says he'll "have a flicker of nervousness about it" on July 27, the day of the opening ceremony.
Weather is a great unifying factor in Britain, where the BBC shipping forecast is a national tradition and where Prince Charles and his wife, Camilla, won rave reviews for reading the weather report on TV during a visit to BBC studios in Glasgow, Scotland.
The sight of the heir to the British throne giving a credible performance as a weatherman prompted Britain's Sun newspaper to wonder if there was "any chance of reign?"
No matter what, the Brits will press on. Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Phillip have showed the way. During the Jubilee flotilla, they stood under an awning for hours, watching the parade through wind and rain as if it were blazing sunshine.
Beyond that, Olympic organizers are urging spectators to be prepared. Bring a hat. Bring an umbrella — a small one because big ones are banned.
And take sunscreen. Because you never know.
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Associated Press Writer Stephen Wilson contributed to this story.
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Follow Danica Kirka on Twitter at http://twitter.com/DanicaKirka
Follow Stephen Wilson on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/stevewilsonap
London 2012 Olympics: how the Games will boost the UK economy by £16.5bn - Daily Telegraph
The Olympics of today are far-removed from the state-sponsored vanity projects of the 1970s and 1980s. They are now as much about redefining their host cities and providing a catalyst for regeneration.
The Games will doubtless help build London's image as a truly modern city. But the bigger impact will be the regeneration of a neglected area of East London, with ripple effects that will benefit everything from living standards in the local area, to the prospects of businesses across the country. That's not to say we would not have achieved such redevelopment without London 2012, but it would have taken 20 years at least.
So, to the numbers. Our new study shows that the GDP impact of London 2012 could reach £16.5bn. That's an impact driven largely by construction, as contracts for the building of the Olympic venues have filtered through to businesses across the UK.
Scotland is a case in point. Companies such as Glasgow's Barr, which built the basketball arena, are contributing to a likely £1bn GDP impact for the country as a whole. We have seen first-hand many of our customers benefiting from contracts and sub-contracts in a difficult economic period.
But there are also huge benefits from tourism as London's new-found status as an Olympic city draws in new visitors from overseas who then go on to visit other parts of the UK.
Although most Olympic host cities see a dip in tourism in the immediate run-up to opening, there tends to be a major boost during the actual event. And London will be no exception. But the real impact from tourism is in the years after the Games. Not just from curious visitors, but from business conferences and sporting events keen to see a city and country at its best.
Jobs and training have also contributed to this GDP growth. Our estimate is that the Games could create and support a total of 354,000 years of employment across the UK – both through direct employment for the Games, and though developing skills of the working population that help raise their prospects of jobs in the future.
With more than 8,000 NVQ awards and apprenticeships on the Olympic Park, our estimate is that this will lead to a £500m benefit over the life of this study.
And what about the impact on businesses? Our study shows that small and medium-sized firms could be helping to deliver more than half of the total GDP contribution of the Games – and there are countless examples of businesses that have gained from London 2012, either directly or through the supply chain. One such firm, Golden Bear, a Shropshire-based company supplying the official mascots, has gone on to win a world-wide contract to produce toy Minis for BMW. And another small business that won a licensing contract for the Games has since doubled turnover and broken into export markets.
The experience of other big sporting events also leads us to believe that the Games will have a "happiness effect" – which, in turn, is likely to encourage consumer spending.
A number of economists have tried to answer the question of whether consumer confidence is affected by major sporting spectacles and the broad view is that it improves when a nation hosts a championships. In the case of the Euro 96 football tournament, the feel-good factor was equivalent to a £165 gift for each of the UK population, so we can expect at least that for London 2012.
A question on many people's minds is whether the London 2012 budget could have been spent on something else, perhaps with bigger benefits?
There are some who might argue events such as the Olympics simply divert resources away from other projects – displacing, rather than creating GDP.
The economics are complex, but the bottom line is that in today's economic climate this is unlikely to be an issue. What we are about to witness is an event that will change the face of London, and deliver benefits to the wider UK and thousands of businesses and our economy for many years to come.
Patrick Foley is chief economist at Lloyds Banking Group
Cleaner-running Vauxhall and Chevrolet share top honour in Midland motoring writers' poll - This is Derbyshire
THERE was a clear winner – or rather, a pair of winners – for this year's Midland Group of Motoring Writers Green Apple awards.
The awards, which are held in association with the internationally-recognised Green Organisation, are designed to find the cars that are both good to drive and are leading the charge towards more sustainable motoring.
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The Vauxhall Ampera, above, and Chevrolet Volt, left, are known as range extenders; cars that rely purely on pollution-free electric power for many miles of motoring, before switching to an efficient petrol engine if more distance is needed before the battery can be recharged. The Ampera is available through the Sheffield branch of Pentagon Vauxhall.
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The Jaguar XF fitted with a 2.2 litre diesel won the Green Apple award for luxury cars.
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And the cars the judges thought best managed both ideals were the Chevrolet Volt and its identical twin, the Vauxhall Ampera.
The Volt and Ampera are known as range extenders; cars that rely purely on pollution-free electric power for many miles of motoring, before switching to an efficient petrol engine if more distance is needed before the battery can be recharged.
The duo were praised for their brand new technology which takes in the best of both worlds by giving drivers the option of joining the electric club without the penalties of not being able to go anywhere.
The entries were judged by the 30-strong Midland Group of Motoring Writers – of which I am a founder member – who spend their working lives at the wheel of the latest cars and get to assess them in the real world, far away from the laboratories where the official fuel consumption tests are carried out.
The Volkswagen Up! was winner of the supermini class, with Ford's Fiesta as runner-up.
One judge said of the winning VW: "It shows VW at the top of its game, stretching conventional technology to produce a car that drives like a bigger one and finds an amazing amount of space for people, but sips fuel like a petrol miser."
In the small family car category, the Kia Rio triumphed over the newly introduced Peugeot 208, with one judge saying of the Kia: "The latest Rio looks good and is great to drive too. The diesel model is also a commendable 'green' performer."
The larger family cars vote went to the Chevrolet and Vauxhall duo that later took overall honours, with the BMW 3 Series in second spot and an honourable mention for last year's overall champion, the 1.6 TDI Bluemotion version of the VW Golf.
Range Rover's hugely successful Evoque took top prize in the smaller SUV and 4x4 section, with a judge saying: "The most stylish, trend-setting SUV of all is also one of the most economical. Who says Range Rover can't do green?"
Second spot went to the Skoda Yeti, with the VW Tiguan garnering enough votes for a high placing.
There was no runner-up in the coupé and cabriolet section, with judges divided about many of the entrants. However, one car did stand out this year in the handsome shape of the new Vauxhall Astra GTC.
One judge wrote: "Vauxhall has made a real effort to produce a car that's both good to look at (essential in any coupé) but also economical to run and own."
Final category was for luxury cars, won this year by the Jaguar XF fitted with the 2.2 litre diesel engine that, as one judge said: "Brings a real luxury feel in a car that costs surprisingly little for what you get, which includes surprising real world economy." Runner-up was the BMW 5 Series, nominated here in 520d guise.
1959 Vauxhall Velox is a dream on Guild Classic - This is South Devon
You could say it's lucky – though there are other considerations – but for most of my life I drive brand new cars: Clean, shiny with that warm smell of showroom wax and polish.
The downside is that I have to seriously evaluate them, write quite a few hundred words about them; often photograph them.
So how different it is to drive well over 1,000 miles in five days, through England, France and Belgium, in a 53-year-old model: No seat belts, no power steering, oldie-fash drum brakes, windy everything, three-speed steering column gear change, heavy clutch, miniscule exterior mirrors on the extremities of the wings, quite appalling wipers that swept about a quarter of the curved wind screen, non-adjustable bench seats and lights to rival a Toc H lamp. And that says nothing about not being able to use sat-nav, heating and demisting that's on or off with nothing in between. What's it like? Wonderful, back to basics; with a satisfying sense of achievement when you change from third to second without a graunch, actually find reverse, when you can hold a straight steering line on a bumpy road; when you actually arrive. Adrenalin is a huge stimulus. The car was a 1959 Vauxhall Velox, beautifully restored and maintained by the Vauxhall Heritage Centre at Luton. In the original blue with a cream roof.
It has the old straight six cylinder 2.25-litre petrol engine (or, in the parlance of the day, 2,262 cc) – the one that powered buses, Bedford lorries and was developed from the one that army transport drivers claim won the war. New, it cost £998. It's done not quite 60,000 miles from new, purred like a bird without missing a beat through Belgium into the Ardennes.
It drew hugely admiring looks as I drove onto the P&O Ferry to Calais and parked in line next to the most modern machinery – and, inevitably attracted those who strolled over to have a word, generally starting: "Gosh, how lovely – my father had one of those…"
The event was the classic run organised by the Guild of Motoring Writers, of which I am a member, in which 22 cars took part.
Oldest was a pretty MG YT Tourer from 1950.
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