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We love this film, showing everything that’s great about football in London. It’s being used as part of the 2018 World Cup bid.
Have you promised to back the bid yet? It only takes a moment and could make all the difference!
We’re also offering you and your team the chance to play at Wembley. Yes, you read that right; YOU could be playing football, with your mates, at Wembley Stadium.
What are you waiting for? Enter the competition today.
On Saturday, there are just 1,000 days to go until the opening ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games.
The London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) has released details suggesting more than 5 million people are now “involved” in the Games in one way or other.
So, if you’re reading this, chances are you’re either one of them, or you know someone who is!
Whether it’s the Inspire Programme looking at community projects, the Get Set programme in schools, the Cultural Olympiad, School Sports Week, or your company is working on the Games, it’s becoming clear than 2012 is having quite an impact.
So, tomorrow is time for London to celebrate this involvement in different ways:
With just 1,000 days to go, all eyes are on the next step: the aquatic centre’s roof is due to be finished before the end of the year…
But, alongside London 2012, we want to know what you’re going to achieve in the next 1000 days? Let us know in the comments below, tell twitter @london2012team, or visit www.london2012.com.
I was lucky enough to be at The O2 yesterday when British gymnast Beth Tweddle won Gold in the Women’s Floor event at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships 2009.
Beth pulled out all the stops in front of the home crowd in a dramatic final. Having performed first, we had to wait for a further seven competitors to complete their routines before Beth’s efforts were rewarded. There was also drama when one of the gymnasts, Jessica Ortiz, was stretchered off following a nasty fall, reminding us what a demanding sport it is. Ortiz is recovering in hospital.
The O2 proved to be a great venue for the Championships. Even those of us without a lot of background knowledge of the sport were able to follow and appreciate the performances taking place on the arena floor below. This bodes very well for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games which will also feature gymnastics at The O2. With any luck Beth will be competing then too. Although, at 24, she is already past the age at which the majority of gymnasts retire, she showed yesterday that she is still in top form.
There was a buzz of excitement at the Southbank Centre today as Unlimited, the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad project to support disabled-led arts, culture and sport, was launched.
“Bring it on!” was the enthusiastic verdict of Jenny Sealey MBE, Unlimited’s Artistic Advisor and Artistic Director of Graeae Theatre Company. “There are plenty of us waiting in the wings to come and fly.”
We were given a sneak peek of the sort of talent Unlimited will be supporting over the next three years as The BLT Crew – an upbeat trio of DJs with learning disabilities – spun a selection of feel-good party tunes, from My Guy to Baby Love.
There was also a performance by Cando2, the Candoco Dance Company’s Youth Dance Company, which runs weekly classes for disabled and non-disabled youngsters at London’s Siobhan Davies Dance Studios, The Place and Aspire.
£3 million has been earmarked for the project, which will provide funding, training and a platform for disabled and deaf-led organisations and artists.
Other speakers included Tony Hall, chair of the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad Board and Chief Exec of the Royal Opera House – who wasted no time in getting on the decks with The BLT Crew and picking up some tips – and Chris Holmes. The nine-time Paralympic gold medal winner and London 2012 Director of Paralympic Integration entertained everyone with some sporting anecdotes before getting us all to shout “Unlimited” – and refusing to accept our feeble first attempt!
Like the project, the event was as inclusive as possible; with a sign-language interpreter on hand and instant subtitles on a large TV screen. Jenny Sealey even created a new way to “sign” Unlimited – an energetic combination of the sign language words for “create” and “explosion”.
After the launch, we spoke to Jenny about the two main obstacles facing many disabled artists:
“There’s still a perception that disabled performers can’t do Shakespeare, for example,” she says, with frustration, “but it’s still Shakespeare, there’s just another undercurrent to the performance. We all have our own unique selling point.”
To apply for funding or find out more about Unlimited, visit www.london2012.com/unlimited.
If you’re interested in exploring the disabled arts scene in London, why not check out Crossings, a new play by Julie McNamara at The Cochrane Theatre in London this November – it comes highly recommended by Jenny. And who knows what new talent Unlimited will uncover… watch this space!
It’s now only one day until the Great Gorilla Run and the nerves are starting to build up. I’m not nervous about the race itself, more about how hot my gorilla suit is going to be.
There was a tangible sense of excitement in the Visit London offices when the suit arrived in the post and it did not disappoint.
I’m not really sure how to describe it; any description just would not do it justice, from the full rubber face mask, to the all-in-one furry suit. There’s even a set of gorilla gloves – just in case my human hands would give away the fact that I’m not a real gorilla!
The only thing the suit doesn’t have is any kind of ventilation, but I have to say, I do love it. Who wouldn’t love to own a gorilla suit? I’ll never have an excuse not to go to a fancy dress party!
So once I had the suit, my attention turned to training. I’m lucky that I’m already training to run a marathon next month, so my fitness is OK. But running a marathon and running a four-mile race dressed as a gorilla are completely different things.
Michael Phelps has won countless medals in the swimming pool, but I would like to see him do it dressed as a shark…
I tried running up and down the stairs wearing every jumper and rugby top I own; I turned the heating up and ate a vindaloo with a scarf wrapped around my head; nothing quite recreates the feeling of unstoppable sweating.
So in the end there was only one thing I could do – yesterday afternoon I donned the suit and went for a run around work. Apart from getting my photo taken by tourists, scaring children and having every CCTV camera in the area watching me, it went very well and I think I’m ready for Saturday.
If you want to come along to one of the most fun events London has to offer, bring your bananas and cameras, and your best supporting voices and position yourself along the route to enjoy what will be a great London day out.
Oh, and look out for Chris the Gorilla who will be wearing a Visit London T-shirt too.
This October, The O2 in London is hosting the Artistic Gymnastics World Championships.
And if you’re a student, you can enjoy the first day of this great event for just £5!
This fantastic offer for school and club groups is available at £5 per person on the opening day of the Championships: Tuesday 13 October.
Simply call 0844 844 2121 or visit www.ticketmaster.co.uk and quote “Schools & Clubs Promotion” to claim your discounted group tickets.
On 13 October, you can see the Men’s Qualifying Competition from 10 in the morning until 10pm. Here’s the rest of the competition schedule.
Over the course of the Championships, which run until 18 October, you’ll be able to see the following sports stars:
The event will also bring all the top international gymnasts from countries like USA, China, Romania and Russia. The World Championships will be a good indication of which world-class gymnasts will be defending their titles at the Olympic Games in 2012.
This is a great opportunity to build kids’ enthusiasm for sport and physical education. Make sure you don’t miss it!
Visit www.worldgymnastics2009.com for more information.
Everyone has a list of life ambitions: write a book, win the lottery, have a No. 1 single, run around London in a gorilla costume. Yes, you read that last one correctly!
It may not be top of most people’s lists, but on Saturday 26 September, I will be taking part in the Great Gorilla Run, a 7km race around the streets of London, to raise money for the 700 remaining mountain gorillas in the wild. And I can’t wait!
I have to admit that I wouldn’t normally don a gorilla suit just to go on a run, but there is something amazing about taking part in sporting occasions in the capital which makes it worth wearing a hairy second skin.
I’ve taken part in a couple of London events before and it always surprises me just how cool and inspiring it is to run past so many iconic buildings.
However, the best thing about events in London is always the crowd. During every event I have ever competed in, the London community has always been incredible. The enthusiasm, encouragement and support they provide is always so valued and helpful for those competing.
The endless cheers, shouts and clapping are like an extra oar to the boat crews; an extra pair of legs to the marathon runners; an extra penalty to the city’s rugby teams; and an extra gear to the cyclists. And no doubt they’ll be an extra banana to us gorillas!
The Great Gorilla Run will take me through the City, across the Thames via four different bridges (including Tower Bridge) and speeding past some of London’s most famous attractions such as Tate Modern, HMS Belfast, St Paul’s Cathedral and the Bank of England – phew!
And if it goes well, then who knows, London 2012 may see the first Gorilla to win an Olympic Gold medal.
There’s now just over 3 weeks to go until the event. Training has begun so look out for updates on how it’s going shortly.
What will you be up to in three years’ time? A different job? A new house? Will your kids be starting school / deciding to go to university? It seems like a long time away…
And yet, three years today, London will be hosting the opening ceremony to the London 2012 Paralympic Games. Exciting stuff!
The London Paralympic Games represent a chance for London to deliver a spectacular sporting showcase for Paralympic sport, to challenge stereotypes, and to increase awareness about paralympic sports.
The London 2012 Paralympic Games in numbers:
As well as ensuring all Olympic venues are as inclusive and accessible as possible, the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games (LOCOG), are also looking at all aspects of accessibility in London, to make sure that spectators with disabilities are able to move around the city comfortably and easily.
“This is where you do your Beyonce flick” said our chirpy dance instructor.
There I was, amongst dozens of women that had braved a drizzly British summer evening to shake our booty on the South Bank, under the gaze of thousands of tourists in the London Eye.
The Nike women training club is not a traditional boot camp. There were no scary military instructors, no drill whistles and no push ups. Instead, we found ourselves entertained by a live DJ as the dancers in a blaze of colour and energy wove through the crowd busting their moves.
It wasn’t long before we were joining in, learning to groove, bump, grind and bounce as the DJ spun her tunes. I’ve never been that great with choreography – unless you count knowing every move in The Timewarp – and I felt a little self conscious at first. But all notions of British reserve disappeared with the Beyonce flick. There is no room for wallflowers in this class. And this was too much fun to be a workout. The rain was forgotten, and before I knew it, hey, I’d done the moves right. All in all, the Nike women class is a great way to challenge yourself, make new friends and learn new skills. The only downside was, like all good parties, it ended too soon.
The next Nike Women Outdoor Training Session is on 9 September. Visit www.nikewomen.com for more information.
We’re happy about this morning’s news that Andy Murray has qualified for the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in London.
The 22-year-old (still so young!) joins four-time ATP World Tour Champion Roger Federer (he retained the title between 2004-07) and 2008 ATP World Tour Champion Rafael Nadal as the first three singles players to qualify for the elite eight-man event.
Murray says, “Obviously with it being in the UK this year, it’s big for me.
“I think qualifying is a goal for all the players. I think it shows you’ve had a very solid year and I look forward to playing. This year the Tour is very tough and it’s tight at the top.”
Murray is hoping for a good battle for the No 1 spot in the world.
The Barclays ATP World Tour Finals is the world’s biggest-ever indoor tennis event. It features the world’s top 8 singles players and 8 doubles teams fighting it out to be crowned 2009 ATP World Tour Champions.
With a capacity of 250,000, fewer than 20,000 tickets remain on sale across the group sessions at The O2, which will host the eight-day tournament.
Book your tickets through www.BarclaysATPWorldTourFinals.com or by calling 0844 847 2495 within the UK. Overseas customers call +44 161 372 0025.
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