Olympic flame which will be used for the London 2012 torch relay has been lit during a ceremony in Olympia, Greece. The flame was kindled by a “high priestess” who captured the morning sun’s rays in a parabolic mirror. The ceremony came amid political and economic turmoil in Greece, the home of the Ancient Olympics, where a week-long leg of the relay will be held. The flame flie…
he torch on British soil. After criss-crossing every region of the UK, the flame will be used to light the cauldron in Stratford’s Olympic Stadium at the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games on 27 July. At Thursday’s handover ceremony, crowds in the stadium stood beneath multi-colored umbrellas as the national anthems of the UK and Greece were sung by a British school choir and a Gree…
lection. Recent RCA graduate Kihyun Kim won the furniture prize for his balsa wood 1.3 Chair. The 2012 Olympic Torch, along with the other shortlisted designs, is on display at the Design Museum until 4 July. On the Design Awards jury were newspaper proprietor Evgeny Lebedev, Wallpaper editor Henrietta Thompson, Dutch designer Hella Jongerious and chairman of the Canary Wharf group, Sir George Iac…
…o cheat,” says John Hoberman. He believes the more money you offer, especially in poorer countries, the greater the chance an athlete will be tempted to dope. How much for a gold medal at London 2012 Olympics: • Singapore – $800,000 • Kazakhstan – $250,000 • Kyrgyzstan – $200,000 • Uzbekistan – $150,000 • Russia – $135,000 • Tajikistan – $63,000 • US ̵…
A torchbearer has proposed to his eight-month pregnant girlfriend during day 31 of the Olympic torch relay from Middlesbrough to Hull. David State, 25, from Redcar, who works with the Scout movement and raises money for charity, knelt as he asked Christine Langham, 27, to marry him. She accepted and David State then had to carry on his stint in Loftus, Teesside. He described the moment as “…
…for our country”. “Seven years of waiting, planning, building, dreaming, are almost over – tomorrow, the curtain comes up, the spectators arrive, and the Olympic and Paralympic Games 2012 can officially begin.” David Cameron also met the Republican candidate for the US presidency, Mitt Romney, during his campaigning and fundraising visit to London. Mitt Romney had earlier e…
…tity of who was to light the symbolic flame was shrouded in secrecy ahead of the ceremony. The group of seven, chosen by British Olympic champions, each lit a single tiny flame on the ground, igniting 205 petals, one for each competing nation or territory. Long stems then rose towards each other to form a cauldron, signifying unity. The flame made a dramatic arrival via the Thames on a speedboat c…
The official Olympic flag has arrived in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro, the host city of 2016 Games. Rio Mayor Eduardo Paes waved the flag after stepping off the plane with other officials and Brazilian athletes who competed in London. The flag was handed to Eduardo Paes on Sunday in London before the flame at the Olympic Stadium was extinguished. The move marks the official start of Rio&#…
ald the start of the 2012 Games In Trafalgar Square later, former boxer Michael Watson, wheelchair racer Dame Tanni Grey Thompson and Paralympic swimmer Chris Holmes will carry the flame. About 3,000 invited guests, including Paralympians, representatives from disability groups and local residents, attended Tuesday evening’s ceremony at Stoke Mandeville Stadium. Some 150 local residen…
A cyclist has been killed in a crash with what police are describing as an “Olympic bus” on the border of the Olympic Park in Hackney, eastern London. The man, believed to be aged 30, was injured just before 19:45 BST at the junction of Ruckholt Road and East Cross Road, Hackney. Police and an air ambulance attended but the man was pronounced dead at the scene about half an hour later…
ts for the duration of their course. Most courses last four years for most degrees, and slightly longer for subjects like medicine. Among those facing fines is Wouter Brus, a 20-year-old member of the 4×100 m relay team, who is two years into a physiotherapy degree. Dutch Olympic athletes are facing government fines because they delayed finishing their degrees “It’s crazy. I don&…
Volodymyr Gerashchenko, a senior Ukrainian Olympic official, has been suspended after a BBC investigation showed he was willing to unofficially sell 2012 tickets for cash. Volodymyr Gerashchenko, of Ukraine’s National Olympic Committee (NOC), told a reporter posing as a UK tout he would have up to 100 tickets to sell. It is a criminal offence, punishable by fines of up to £20,000 ($32,000),…
2012 Olympics stadium has been officially opened by nine-year-old Niamh Clarke-Willis at a ceremony in east London. Niamh Clarke-Willis joined LOCOG head Lord Sebastian Coe to hit a button which launched balloons into the sky above the venue for this summer’s Games. Around 40,000 members of the public were at the Olympic Stadium in Stratford to witness the opening, which included a laser li…
Nadzeya Ostapchuk, women’s shot put Olympic gold medalist, has been stripped of her title after failing a doping test, the International Olympic Committee has announced. Belarusian Nadzeya Ostapchuk, 31, threw 21.36 m with her third attempt to win in the Olympic Stadium last week. But Nadzeya Ostapchuk has now been disqualified after officials said metenolone was found in a urine sample she…
Greek Olympian triple jumper Voula Papachristou has been expelled from her country’s Olympic team over comments she posted on Twitter which were deemed racist. Voula Papachristou was due to compete in the London 2012 Games, which officially start this Friday. But the Hellenic Olympic Committee said her posts mocking African immigrants and expressing support for a far-right party went agains…
A ceremonial cauldron has been lit in London’s Trafalgar Square to launch the Paralympic torch relay. Claire Lomas, who was paralyzed in a horse riding accident, lit the cauldron from the English national flame kindled on Scafell Pike. British Prime Minister David Cameron, London Mayor Boris Johnson and London 2012 chairman Lord Sebastian Coe attended the ceremony. The relay travels from St…
…e made a rude gesture Adele added her Brits to the six Grammy Awards she won last weekend, capping a year of huge global success. According to her record label, the London singer’s second album 21 has sold 17 million copies around the world and hit number one in 24 countries. Accepting the best album prize – the final and most prestigious of the night – Adele said: “Nothin…
…narian Fauja Singh will carry his torch in Newham. The 101-year-old started his career as a marathon runner at the age of 89 and has now completed nine marathons. His personal best time of 5 hours and 40 minutes was set at the 2003 Toronto Waterfront Marathon and is a world record for the over-90s. This year he completed the London Marathon in 7 hours and 49 minutes. At about 14:20 BST Tahmina Beg…
…m’s training camp • On Tuesday, Heathrow is set for its busiest day for Olympics so far as it prepares to handle about 217,000 passengers, including some 1,200 athletes and coaches and more than 3,000 other Games-related arrivals • Motorists have faced long queues on routes where pre-Olympics modifications have been made to road layouts • And the Olympic torch is travelling from Kingston, in…
The biggest McDonald’s restaurant on the planet has been built in London, right in the middle of the Olympic park. The vast two-storey restaurant will serve up to 1,200 customers an hour and sell $5 million of fast food during Olympic Games. At 3,000 sq ft the building, next to the Olympic Stadium, is bigger than the current largest McDonald’s, in Moscow. The Russian restaurant will regain its ti…
Sean Young spent four hours in a police station after allegedly fighting with a security guard at the Governor’s Ball, the official Oscar party, last night. Sean Young, 52, who hasn’t been in a major film since 2008, is said to have argued with a guard at the Governor’s Ball in Los Angeles. The actress was placed under citizens’ arrest by another member of the security team then…
es his organic skill means he or she doesn’t need to work hard. Vince Young, 2006 through 1st game of 2008 before injury and losing job to Collins: 57.3% completions, 6.41 yards per attempt, 22 TD to 32 INT, 6.4% sack rate Vince Young, since regaining job in 2009 until incident last year following thumb injury: 59.0% completions, 7.55 yards per attempt, 20 TD to 10 INT, 5.0% sack rate V…
Judy Lewis – the secret love child of Clark Gable and Loretta Young – has died of cancer aged 76. Judy Lewis sensationally revealed in her 1994 memoir Uncommon Knowledge that she was conceived in 1935 when Loretta Young, 22, and the married Clark Gable, 34, were shooting the classic movie Call of the Wild. Loretta Young, a single Catholic woman, concealed her pregnancy and placed her…
Singer Adele Adkins has taken to her Twitter account to deny that she has married her fiancé Simon Konecki. Adele, 24, was reported to have said “I do” to her bearded partner after she was spotted wearing a gold band ring on her wedding finger back in July. However, the British singer was clearly bored of reading the reports and decided to tweet her 9,094,078 followers, saying: “I’m not mar…
ecorded at Abbey Road studios in London with a 77-piece orchestra. Adele first hinted she would be working on the theme song during an interview on Jonathan Ross’s chat show on ITV1 in September 2011. “I’m going back in the studio in November, fingers crossed,” Adele told Jonathan Ross. “Well this is actually a theme, what I’ve got to do for, um… Wow. That’…
Phil Robertson, Miss Kay and Uncle Si do commercials for Clayton HomesDuck Commander Phil Robertson and his wife Miss Kay, the stars of Duck Dynasty, sliced some sweet potato pie and filled their audience in about Clayton Homes. “What do I…
Recipe: Super slimming mushroom inspired mealMushroom-rich diet followed by Katy Perry, Kelly Osbourne and Roxanne Pallett can help women lose weight without shrinking their bust. The mushroom plan is being touted as…
Chelsea Clinton buys New York's longest apartment for $10 millionChelsea Clinton bought New York's longest apartment - stretching an entire block from 26th Street to 27th Street off Madison Avenue – for $10 million. The apartment is…
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