London's Paralympic venues

Created at LondonTown.com

With only one week left before the opening of the Paralympic Games, tonight will see the lighting of the 2012 Paralympic flames from the tops of the nation’s four highest peaks: London, Cardiff, Belfast and Edinburgh.

The four flames will be lit by disabled and able-bodied scouts and won’t be taken around the country but will instead be the centerpiece of Paralympic Flame Festivals.

According to Sebastian Coe, chair of the 2012 organising group Locog, the four flames staying at the four highest peaks in the UK will ensure that the spirit of each home nation is represented in the Paralympic Flame.

The official opening of the 11 day competition will be taking place on August 29, when the cauldron will be lit in the Olympic Park.

We made London 2012

Some London Ambassadors at the BT London Live in Hyde Park

The Mayor of London Boris Johnson has recently thanked each and every Ambassador by email for the absolutely outstanding contribution that they have made during the Olympic Games.

Nearly 8,000 Ambassadors who were stationed in 43 different locations across London have delivered a warm welcome to millions of visitors from around the world during the Games.

All those people from different backgrounds decided to give hours of their time for free to support this massive sport event and make London proud while the world was watching.

BT London Live in Hyde Park was one of the most popular site as apart from allowing sport fans to celebrate the Games by viewing live events and by participating in a range of sports, it also gave visitors the chance to watch live concerts.

Isha Puri, 21, is a British-Indian Physics student who commuted every day from Essex to volunteer in Hyde Park.

“I wanted to help visitors as I have known what it's like being lost in a new place, frustrated and tired and in need of a friendly face who can point you in the right direction,” she said.
“This experience also added an unexpected extra element of fun in that we got to be a part of the live action, enjoy the bands and acts, watch the Olympics on big screen alongside the visitors and take part in the free activities too,” she added.

Another proud commuter is Teresa Man, 34, a British-Chinese research Chemist from Twickenham who truly loves sport and said:

“I wanted to be a London Ambassador as I love watching sport and taking part to the activities. I feel it is a powerful way to get people together and live a healthier lifestyle. I thought this would be an amazing challenge and experience, and it was, and more.
“On top of that I worked with an amazing, diverse group of people from different walks of life. I loved it and felt it was truly an unforgettable experience”.

Long is the list of professionals who dedicated hours of their time to be London Ambassadors (LA).

Jonathan Wright, 62, is a British Londoner planning consultant from West London who defined his experience ‘really rewarding’ and said:

“Because our shift time was early and the Live Site only opened at 11 am, we had the chance to go to locations just outside like Oxford Street and Hyde Park Corner, where we were able to help a lot of people.
“It was also great meeting other London Ambassadors of all different ages, nationalities and races. We all had a common pride in London and the aim of helping all visitors”.

LA team belongs to a much bigger group of 70,000 volunteers including the Games Makers, the members of the Armed Forces and the First aiders, just to mention a few. All of them have given their contribution to make the Games happen.

Only a week ago, after 16 days of excitement and delight, ten thousand athletes have headed home and the visitor’s crowds dispersed. Also, at the end of the closing ceremony the Olympic Games were handed over to Rio de Janeiro for the 2016 Games and the Olympic Flame was extinguished.

However, the British capital is now getting ready to host the Paralympic Games, starting on August 29th and the ever-smiling and ever-helpful LA team will still be located in London’s main spots.

Olympic Venues in London Diagram

London - The Olympic City, from LondonTown.com

27.07.2012: The world is watching London

Tower Bridge adorned with giant Olympic rings to embrace Games spirit

Only one stop to the Olympics

Up to one million extra people are expected to cram on to the Tube every day during the Olympics, which will be officially starting tomorrow.

London is completely transformed and on the brink of hosting the biggest sport event and has spent £9.3billion preparing for the Games.

A major programme of rehearsals took place few days ago to make sure the capital’s 150-year-old network won’t buckle under the extra workload. Fake queues and diversions tested Tube’s ability to handle crowds and transport bosses declared London is set for this massive event.

However there have been several delays following signal failures on Tubes and trains during the last few weeks.

On Monday Games workers were left stranded after problems on key Tubes and rail routes to the Olympic Parks.

The central line is one of the two principal routes for the Olympics with the Jubilee, connecting London’s heart directly with the Stratford stadium.

There are also locations that will be exceptionally busy during Games times and will become exit-only during the busiest days of the Olympics.

Trains in the London Underground will run later than usual during the next three weeks to make sure spectators and members of the staff can get home.

Both the last trains westbound from the Olympic Park in Stratford and final trains from central London will leave an hour later than usual at 1.30am.

Transport for London is preparing for a huge amount of pressure on trains, buses and roads as crowds leave the opening ceremony at about midnight tomorrow. At least 80,000 people are expected to watch the ceremony live.

For further information on 'public transport hotspots' and 'driving and road changes' visit 

http://www.tfl.gov.uk/gettingaround/london2012/21677.aspx

Greenwich Peninsula is only five minutes away from the Royal Docks

The Emirates Air Line cable car began soaring over the River Thames last Thursday.

The new vehicle makes the one kilometre crossing between Greenwich Peninsula and the Royal Docks while offering passengers the chance to see London from a different angle. It travels at a height of 90 metres.

London Mayor Boris Johnson, who officially unveiled the completed £45million project last week, promised Britain’s first urban cable car will become one of the great sights of London.

The five-minute ride will give visitors view of the Olympic Park, the Canary Wharf financial centre and the Thames Barrier and could be also used to ferry Olympic competitors to the O2, which is hosting gymnastic and basketball.

Up to 2,500 people an hour can be carried in each direction by this system, that has a cable span of 1,100 metres across three helix towers, with 34 cars each holding up to 10 people.

Cable cars arrive at intervals of 30 seconds and visitors climb in as it moves. The journey costs £3.20 or £1.60 for children and passengers can touch in at the gates with their Oyster card.

English kids get into Mandarin

The global supremacy of the English language could be at risk in the near future.

Education secretary Michael Gove is said to be determined to increase the number of pupils taking foreign languages at GCSE by making them mandatory for the first time at primary level.

In fact, learning a foreign language will be compulsory from the age of seven, with Mandarin Chinese, Latin and Greek being added to 2014 timetables.

The action comes just weeks after nearly 40 per cent of schools in UK have declared that the number of students taking foreign languages at GCSEs had increased this year as a direct result of the English Baccalaureate's introduction in 2010.

Mandarin Chinese as a modern foreign language option in UK has received a boost from Mr Gove to compete in a global economy and support economic growth in future. 

He is currently promoting a public debate on the plans before redrafting them for a formal consultation later in 2012.

Meanwhile related Department for Education’s figures revealed that the number of children who do not have English as their mother tongue has increased by about 200,000 since 2007. About one in six pupils from primary schools do not have English as their first language, while in secondaries one in eight students speak another language at home.