Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Top Attractions in London

Wednesday, April 15, 2009 0
Sphere: Related Content When people think of London they think of the Royal family, the Parliamentary government, and years old tradition. If you plan on visiting London, be sure to stop by these must-see attractions for their history, their beauty, and their regal stature.

Tower of London

The Tower of London is almost a thousand years old and is home to the crown jewels. Make sure to plan ahead and get tickets to the Ceremony of the Keys, a 700 year long tradition of locking up the Tower at night. Tickets are free but you’ll need to get them 6-8 weeks in advance.

Because the Tower of London is a hot tourist spot, lines are hours long. To avoid the long lines, buy tickets at any Tower Hill tube station. With your tickets in hand you can bypass the line and walk right in.


Buckingham Palace

Buckingham Palace is probably London’s most famous building, and still a working Palace and home to the Queen. If you go in the summer months when the Queen is in Scotland you can get a tour of the staterooms.

Buckingham Palace is also where the famous “Changing of the Guards” takes place. You can see this every day at 11:30am.



Houses of Parliament

The Palace of Westminster and what is now the Houses of Parliament features the famous clock tower Big Ben, which chimes every 15 minutes. If you think of any postcard from London, you’ll recognize the Palace of Westminster and Big Ben.

It contains the House of Commons and the House of Lords. While there you can see the Parliament in action by making an appointment ahead of time. The building itself is a masterpiece in its own right. Big Ben and the House of Parliament is one of the top attractions in London.


Westminster Abbey

Westminster Abbey is a cathedral used by the Royals for funerals, coronations, and weddings. It is considered to be the nation’s cathedral. Its architecture is breathtaking and its history is astounding.

Poet’s Corner pays tribute to Shakespeare, Chaucer, Dickens, T.S. Eliot, and several others, some of which are buried there. Also here, is the tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Famous Royals like Queen Elizabeth I is entombed here as well as Edward the Confessor.


Tower Bridge

Once atop the Tower Bridge, the views are outstanding. This is the most famous bridge that spans the Thames River. When you buy a ticket you can go into the engine room that is responsible for lifting the bridge. You can also see video and interactive displays inside the bridge. This is a must-see for London tourists.

If you are visiting London soon, please check into the Westbury Mayfair Hotel. They have exclusive rooms and an ideal location next to the finest stores in London. While it may be a bit pricey, your experience will be unmatched.

A trip to London just wouldn’t be complete with visiting the Tower of London, Buckingham Palace, the Houses of Parliament, the Tower Bridge, and Westminster Abbey. Make sure you add these destinations to your itinerary. You won’t be disappointed!

Last Minute Hotels

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

LONDON OLYMPICS 2012 Your interest!

Tuesday, April 14, 2009 0
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LONDON OLYMPICS 2012 TICKETS

Tickets for both events will go on sale from 2011 and, subject to availability, remain on sale until the start of every event.

Details of how to purchase tickets will be announced nearer the time.

LONDON OLYMPICS 2012 ACCOMMODATION

If you are looking for accommodation in 2012, check out www.city-of-london.com

LONDON OLYMPICS 2012 THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
London 2012 may have been a surprise, but somehow it feels right. Here's to the best Olympics, ever.

LONDON OLYMPIC 2012 BENEFITS TO BRITAIN

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The Mayor of London believes the Olympic 2012 Games and Paralympics Games will have far-reaching benefits for London and Londoners, as well as the rest of the UK, creating jobs, attracting visitors and providing inspiration.

Lord Coe said "It's just the most fantastic opportunity to do everything we always dreamed of in British sport. We can change the face of sport in the next seven years and beyond.

British interest in sport is being ignited by the forth-coming Olympics and will lead to enormous numbers of young people honing in on sporting activities.

For cities, the London Olympics 2012 games represent an unprecedented opportunity to reinvent themselves in buildings, events and social innovations.

The London Olympics in 2012 also represent a huge opportunity to showcase Britain to the world and to boost the country's tourism industry before, during and after the games.

VisitBritain predicts that 50-70% of the net economic benefit of the London Olympics will come through hospitality and tourism over 7-10 years.

Estimates seem to show that £2b could be generated and that almost two-thirds of this growth will happen in the four years after the games.

Many of the new purpose built Olympic facilities will be reused. This will be part of the regeneration of Stratford and Lower Lea Valley in east London. After the games, the Olympic Village, where athletes and officials will stay during the London 2012 Olympics, will be converted into homes. It is the aim to make many of these homes available for key workers such as teachers and nurses.

Together with the new homes in the Olympic Village, there will be further housing built on the Olympic Park site after the Games, creating a total of over 9,000 new homes.

A legacy of the London 2012 Olympics will be that after the games, the Olympic Park will be transformed into the largest urban park created in Europe for more than 150 years .

Riverside housing, shops, restaurants and cafes will provide new amenities for the local community.

LONDON OLYMPIC 2012 INTERESTING STATISTICS

The following statistics are approximations:

  • Number of sports - 26
  • Number of Athletes - 17,000
  • Number of journalists to cover the event - 20,000
  • Number of countries represented - 200
  • Number of people involved in staging the games - 63,000
  • Number of spectators - 500,000
  • Number of tickets expected to be sold - 9 million

Events connected with the Olympics

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Since winning the bid, a lot has been done to ensure the Olympics in London is a spectacular sporting, social and cultural event. Lord Coe will turn himself into an art work by taking part in Martin Creed's installation at Tate Britain, which involves a series of athletes sprinting the length of the hall.

This stunt will kick start the Cultural Olympiad. This is a four-year arts programme celebrating Britain's creative talents in the run-up to the London Games.

Professional guides can take you on a visit to the Olympic sites to chart the progress of the regeneration of parts of east London and the creation of the new Olympic area and corresponding locations.

London Olympic 2012 Venues

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The sites for the London games will be concentrated around Stratford in the West End (city centre) of London. They will be in the 500 acre/200 hectare Olympic Park which is to be built next to London's new International Railway Station, on the site of the very large tract of Rail Lands.

Creating the Olympic venues and making sure the right infrastructures are in place for the London Olympic 2012 Games is of paramount importance. 34 venues are planned for the 2012 Olympics. London is undergoing a complete make-over to accommodate the Games. A mix of new, old, historic and temporary buildings and complexes will be used as Olympic venues. These include

* Aquatics Venue
* Basketball Arena
* Broxbourne White Water Canoe Centre
* Earls Court
* Eaton Dorney
* Eton Manor
* ExCel
* Football Stadia UK wide
* Greenwich Park
* Hadleigh Farm Essex
* Handball Arena
* Hockey Centre
* Horse Guards' Parade
* Hyde Park
* Lord's Cricket Ground
* North Greenwich Arena 1
* North Greenwich Arena 2
* Olympic Stadium
* Regent's Park
* The Royal Artillery Barracks
* Velo Park
* Weymouth Portland
* Wimbledon

Transport for the Olympics

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Good public transport links already exist in London but more effort is being exerted to ensure the spectators get to the venues in time and in comfort. London's public transport infrastructure will be expanded by the extension of the London Underground's East London line. There will also be a number of upgrades to the Docklands Light Railway (DLR).

There are also plans to create a high speed shuttle train service. This will be called "the Olympic Javelin" and will take passengers from St Pancras International -where the EuroStar is based - to the Olympic Park. A number of park and ride sites will also be made available around the M25 (motorway circling Greater London) with low emission vehicles being used as transport.

  • "By 2012 there will be a total of ten public transport lines feeding into Stratford, representing the capability of a train arriving in the area every 15 seconds."

LONDON OLYMPICS 2012 PREPARATIONS

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Preparations are now well under way for the Games. The 2008 Olympics officially closed in Beijing and the mantle was passed to London as Host for London Olympics 2012, amidst much celebration.

  • Olympics Aims London's Lord Mayor Boris Johnson wants the London 2012 Olympics to be much more fun than those in Beijing. He wants to create a "party atmosphere" and wants the London 2012 Olympics to excel in a different way. There are plans to use the whole of the city to create a fantastic atmosphere.

It is his intention that central London will be the place where people come to hang out and spend their money before they go to the various Olympic sites around London, thus creating a party and festival atmosphere.

LONDON OLYMPICS 2012 LOGO

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The aim for the Olympics Logo was to graphically capture the essence of the London 2012 Olympic Games - namely to inspire young people around the world through sport and the Olympic values .

Lord Coe feels this has now been achieved and the logo represents the vision at the very heart of the London Olympics 2012 brand. The logo for the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics was unveiled in a star-studded ceremony in London .

The jagged Olympics emblem, based on the date 2012, comes in a series of shades of pink, blue, green and orange and will evolve in the run-up to the Games.

The word London and the Olympic rings are included in the first two digits of the new Olympics logo.

  • This is the first time that the same logo will be used for both the Olympic and Paralympics Games.

LONDON OLYMPICS 2012 FINANCES

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It has been estimated that the total cost for the Games will be more than £11.3 bn. Creating the Olympic venues and making sure the right infrastructures are in place for the Games will primarily be funded by public money - taxes. The Olympics Games themselves will be funded mainly by the private sector.

The Olympics bill for hosting the Games has risen dramatically since the last London Olympic Games in 1948:

  • 1948 London Olympics £20 million.
  • 1960 Rome Olympics £44 million.
  • 1984 Los Angeles Olympics £966 million.
  • 1992 Barcelona Olympics £1.7 billion.
  • 2008 Beijing £20 billion.
  • 2012 London £11.3 billion

LONDON OLYMPICS 2012 COMMITTEE

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Lord Coe is the Chairman of the London Olympics 2012 committee. The organisation is made up of 3 core oganisations co-ordinating this huge event. They are

• The London Organising Committee for the Olympics Games (LOCOG) - overseeing the planning and development of the Games.

• The Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) - works closely with the LOCOG. The ODA is responsible for making sure the venues and necessary infrastructures are in place before the Games.

• The Government Olympic Executive - the UK Government body taking the lead coordinating the London 2012 Olympics. This unit is based in the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS).

LONDON OLYMPICS 2012 BID TO HOLD THE GAMES

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On July 6 2005 at 12:46pm UK time, Jacques Rogge stood in front of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) General Assembly in Singapore and announced: 'the Games of the XXXth Olympiad in 2012 are awarded to the city of..........London.'

This announcement was greeted with delight by the London delegation in Singapore, the huge crowd of 30,000 people gathered in Trafalgar Square and at events all over the country. This was the result of three years' hard work by a dedicated Olympics bid team supported by millions of people around the UK.

The Right Honourable Sebastian Coe, OBE, headed London's successful bid to host the 2012 London Olympics. Lord Coe is a British athlete and Conservative Party politician. London's bid was not initially the favourite but a complete overhaul of the transport strategy and a huge surge in public support helped in the turnaround.

HISTORY OF THE OLYMPICS

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To really absorb the wonderful prospect of the London Olympics 2012, it is uplifting to take quick glance at the history of the Olympics. In short, the Olympics games started in Sparta in 776 BC when the then King was involved in a treaty with three Greek provinces. The treaty was reaffirmed every four years featuring a race between the provinces and the intervening four-year period was an Olympiad. This continued for twelve centuries uninterrupted, attracting huge crowds from all over Greece. The Olympics games stopped in 393AD symbolizing the decay of Ancient Greece.

A re-birth of the Olympics games was instigated in France by Baron de Coubertine in 1894. In Athens in 1896 the first modern Olympics featured athletes from 14 countries with the USA having the most winners. In Paris in 1900, women took part in the Olympics for the first time with the first female winner being Britain's Charlotte Cooper who won the Olympics tennis event.

The London Olympics 2012!

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As you are travelling to London do visit Ireland either before or after the Olympics. For those with Irish roots it is a time to visit or discover relatives of your own blood.Your Irish trip will be the icing on the Olympic cake so please have a wonderful trip .

London Olympics 2012 will be everyone’s Games.
This is the vision at the very heart of the new London 2012 brand.


London Olympics 2012
27 July –12 Aug 2012

Paralympics
29 August – 9 Sept 2012

LONDON OLYMPICS 2012

Hosting the Olympic Games is the biggest prize in sport. The 30th Olympic Games will take place in East London to form the London Olympics 2012.

The dates for the London Olympics 2012 are 27 th July to 12 th August 2012. These will be followed by the London 2012 Paralympics Games from 29 August to 9 September 2012.

The win for London to host the Olympics and Paralympics in 2012 signifies a great victory, making it the first city in the world to host the Olympic Games for the third time.

London also hosted the Olympic Games in 1908 and 1948.

Tickets for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games go on sale in 2011.

Sphere: Related Content 7.7 million tickets will be available for the Olympic Games, with another 1.5m for the Paralympic Games.

Tickets for both events will go on sale from 2011 and, subject to availability, remain on sale until the start of every event.

Details of how to purchase tickets will be announced nearer the time.

We aim to give as many people as possible the chance to attend the Games – ensuring a great atmosphere for all the events.

To achieve this, our tickets will be priced fairly. London will aim to repeat the success of the Manchester Commonwealth Games, where 90 per cent of seats were sold.

Each ticket will also include free travel on public transport in London for the day of the event, to encourage spectators to use the transport system and take in the festivities throughout the city.

As well as this, there will be free events - including the Road Cycling, Triathlon and Marathon.

These events will take place on the streets of London, where spectators can line the route.

Welcome to the London Olympics 2012!

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London Art Galleries

London Attractions

London Hotels

London Museums

London Parks

London Theatres

London Olympics 2012

Business Services

Great Pubs

Great Restaurants

Gifts

Personal Services

UK Attractions


Jack the Ripper

London History

Newgate Prison

Shakespeare's Globe

Tower of London

Newham Classic 10k Run

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Tessa Sanderson CBE, Olympic Champion and Newham Ambassador, 9 April 2009

Come and join the Newham Classic 10k Run on Sunday 19 April 2009 in Stratford and help write a new chapter in the sporting history of Newham.

I’m really excited that the 1,000 people who enter the Newham Classic 10 kilometre run will be able to take in great views of the Olympic Stadium.

I have been down at the Olympic Park site this week and it looks amazing. The progress made over the last 12 months is an incredible achievement that, as an ex-athlete, makes me really proud. I'm really keen that the community get the chance to see the site as it progresses, as well as see the huge developments happening in Stratford.

The event is being organised by World Adventure Club and staged alongside a Newham Council Fun Day with other activities in the town centre.

I can't wait until 19 April now. Just to experience that buzz feeling of getting a close-up view of the Olympic Stadium will inspire all runners to feel part of the build-up to what will be a great Games in 2012.

There are a limited number of places still available, and you can enter the run by going to the Newham Classic 10k Run website

Be part of it and join me on Sunday 19 April 2009!

Read more of “Newham Classic 10k Run”

 
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