London 2012 Olympics Tickets Tours Hotels: Iran Protests London 2012 Logo

http://www.london-tours-2012.com/  
http://www.london2012-tours.com/
http://www.london-olympiad.com/

London 2012 Logo: Zionist plot
or naughty Lisa Simpson?

While most see Lisa Simpson performing a lewd act, the Iranian government sees a Zionist (read: Jewish) conspiracy in London 2012's controversial logo. The head of Iran's national Olympic committee has complained to the International Olympic Committee that the jagged logo for the London 2012 Olympic games is racist because it spells the word "Zion." As Spyns clients prepare for the London 2012 summer games, most are thinking about London hotel rooms (few and far between if you read my former post), while those fun-loving Iranians come up with this.

"Unfortunately, we all are witnessing that the upcoming Olympics ... faces a serious challenge, definitely spawned out of some people's racist spirit," Mohammad Aliabadi stated in a letter to IOC president Jacques Rogge that was obtained by the newswires. "The use of the word Zion by the designer of Olympics logo ....in the emblem of the Olympics Games 2012 is a very revolting act," he added, warning that if Rogge did not act the logo would "affect the participation of several countries, especially like Iran which insists on following principles and values." That's a bit of a stretch given the Iranian government's recent crackdown on opposition protests. Come to think of it, the London police used charging horses to break up students protesting higher tuition just last year (see this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=axWyu1t4rkE). People in glass houses....

Why this complaint is emerging now, when the logo was revealed in 2007, wasn't forthcoming. In a buildup to the great counterfeit games of 2012, London Olympic organizers raided a shop in Oxford high street that was carrying some 6,500 counterfeit items branded with the controversial logo. We should expect more of this as the games get closer. I personally find it sad that countries are trying to exploit the games for political gain.

Spyns is an active travel company based in Whistler, BC (Canada). For more information about Spyns and our package tours to the 2012 London Summer Olympic Games, including London Olympics hotels, London 2012 tickets, and summer games VIP access, please visit our websites http://www.london-olympiad.com/ http://www.london2012-tours.com/ and http://www.london-tours-2012.com/ or call us toll-free at 1.888.825.4720.

London 2012 Olympics Tickets Tours Hotels: An Open Letter to Lord Coe

http://www.london-tours-2012.com/
http://www.london2012-tours.com/
http://www.london-olympiad.com/

Dear Lord Coe:

Lord Coe praying people will
have enough hotel rooms.

As Chair of the London 2012 Olympics, the task of organising London's summer games must feel overwhelming at times. While your time is short, I have one simple request: let ordinary people enjoy the games as well. Sadly, you have your work cut out for you.

I understand millions of London 2012 tickets will go on sale in just a few weeks. While I believe you and your team are making genuine efforts to price tickets reasonably, once every has purchsed their tickets, they will have nowhere to stay. And I blame you.

As you are no doublt aware, for such a large city, London has a relatively small number of hotel rooms. Unfortunately, your organising committee has booked almost every hotel room for International Olympic Committee VIPs and sponsors. Sadly, this leaves almost no rooms for the average tourist to stay within London proper. This is unacceptable. If people cannot stay in London to enjoy the games by finding inexpensive accommodations, I fail to see the point of hosting the games at all.

You and your staff are of course aware of the problem. Unlike the Beijing games, my information suggests your organising committee is not building more hotels to provide the beds necessary to meet overwhelming demand. Compounding the issue is your unacceptable lock on every single hotel room in central London. I would therefore urge you and your staff to focus a bit more on this problem to ensure everyone, rather than just Olympic insiders, can enjoy this wonderful event.

I look forward to your timely reply.

Respectfully yours,

Ryan King

Spyns is an active travel company based in Whistler, BC (Canada). For more information about Spyns and our package tours to the 2012 London Summer Olympic Games, including London Olympics hotels, London 2012 tickets, and summer games VIP access, please visit our websites http://www.london-olympiad.com/ http://www.london2012-tours.com/ and http://www.london-tours-2012.com/ or call us toll-free at 1.888.825.4720.

London 2012 Olympics Tickets Tours Hotels: Cycling Race a Test for London 2012 Organisers

http://www.london-tours-2012.com/
http://www.london2012-tours.com/
http://www.london-olympiad.com/

British cyclist Mark Cavendish
is a favourite to win gold next summer

Ever since London 2012 organisers unveiled the fetching velodrome, England is abuzz with cycling news. Spyns not only offers London 2012 tours, but we're also a leader in Tour de France tours (http://www.tdf-tours.com/) so blogging about two wheels feels rather natural. A test event will be held over the Olympic road race course on August 14, London 2012 organisers have confirmed. The Surrey Cycle Classic, a UCI-approved race, will put the route, which takes in nine laps of a Box Hill circuit before finishing in front of Buckingham Palace on The Mall, through its paces before the Games arrive in London in July 2012. The course was announced earlier this month.

The full details of the Surrey Cycle Classic are yet to be announced but the event, which will sandwich the Tour de France and Vuelta a Espana, is only expected to tackle three laps of Surrey's iconic Box Hill - a 166m climb. London 2012 organisers have announced details of the full test event programme, with the newly opened velodrome set to host next year's Track World Cup on February 17-19 in place of Manchester, which held the 2011 event last weekend. And the mountain bike course will host the Hadleigh Farm International on July 31, 2011.


London 2012 chairman, Lord Sebastian Coe, said: "Our approach to operational delivery is similar to that of an athlete. You do not want to face any conditions at competition time that you have not prepared for. When the world’s greatest Olympic and Paralympic athletes come to London in the summer of 2012, every aspect of our delivery needs to be the best it can be. "The invaluable experience we gain through our testing programme means we can 'road-test' all our operational plans and make sure we have all the knowledge we need to deliver a truly memorable Games in 2012."


We applaud their efforts to highlight cycling as a premiere sport. While basketball, swimming, and athletics (track & field) are among biggest draws, thanks to one Lance Armstrong and host of medal-worth British riders, organisers are right to promote everything two-wheeled. While the velodrome was finished on schedule, methinks ticketing may be a tad more complicated. But Spyns London 2012 clients will just have to wait until March 15.

Spyns is an active travel company based in Whistler, BC (Canada). For more information about Spyns and our package tours to the 2012 London Summer Olympic Games, including London Olympics hotels, London 2012 tickets, and summer games VIP access, please visit our websites http://www.london-olympiad.com/ http://www.london2012-tours.com/ and http://www.london-tours-2012.com/ or call us toll-free at 1.888.825.4720.

London 2012 Olympics Tickets Tours and Hotels: Velodrome/There Goes Boris Again

http://www.london-tours-2012.com/
http://www.london2012-tours.com/
http://www.london-olympiad.com/

London 2012: One down, sixty to go.

London Mayor Boris Johnson rarely disappoints. Yes the nervous hair has been smoothed, and the public school blazers replaced by tailored suits but he still comes up with the occasional zinger. As London 2012 looms, organizers are frantically working to finish, well, everything. No wonder everyone looked so relieved at the opening of the London 2012 velodrome.

The 2012 Olympic velodrome, site of the track cycling competition at the London Olympics, was officially opened on Tuesday. It's the first 2012 venue to be completed, and officials, dignitaries and athletes were on hand to cut the ribbon. Among the speakers at the event was London Mayor Boris Johnson, who made a seemingly outlandish claim: The cedar planks that make up the roof and ceiling of the structure got their amber color after being rubbed with rhubarb.


If it wasn't for this blogger's mother making strawberry-rhubarb pie years ago, we probably wouldn't know what exactly rhubarb is. (A quick Google search turned up rhubarbinfo.com, a Web site solely dedicated to the odd vegetable -- a common myth is that it's a fruit.) Johnson's declaration that workers tediously rubbed the wood with the sour-tasting plant might have been inflated -- watch a video of his speech here -- but we still think the rhubarb deserves some time in the spotlight.

As Spyns gears up for its London 2012 tours, we can't wait for more bons mots from Sir Boris. His comedy will go a long way in assuaging the masses when they're forced to pay thousands of pounds for tickets to the kayaking finals.

Spyns is an active travel company based in Whistler, BC (Canada). For more information about Spyns and our package tours to the 2012 London Summer Olympic Games, including London Olympics hotels, London 2012 tickets, and summer games VIP access, please visit our websites http://www.london-olympiad.com/ http://www.london2012-tours.com/ and http://www.london-tours-2012.com/ or call us toll-free at 1.888.825.4720.

London 2012 Olympics Tickets Tours Hotels: Basketball's LeBron James Undecided About London Summer Games

http://www.london-tours-2012.com/   
http://www.london2012-tours.com/
http://www.london-olympiad.com/

LeBron may be the only
person who can afford
London 2012 tickets.

As the world eagerly awaits London 2012 tickets to go on sale, organisers are hoping big-name stars will attract potential clients to purchase pricey tickets. Miami Heat star LeBron James has admitted that he still has a 'tough decision' to make before committing to the US Olympic team. James - who controversially swapped Cleveland for Miami last summer and skipped last year's World Championships, which was won by the United States - is the biggest name in basketball and had previously put his name forward for London 2012.


But the 26-year-old, who was an integral part of the US team that won Olympic gold in Beijing, admits he is reluctant to give an official thumbs up until his team-mates Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh reach their own conclusions. News of his potential absence will be a concern for London 2012 organisers, who are hoping that basketball will be one of the hottest tickets to go on sale next month, despite the fact Great Britain's involvement has yet to be ratified by world governing body Fiba. I'm eagerly awaiting the ticket backlash because the prices are going to be outrageous, particularly in the secondary (read: black) market.


"These two [Wade and Bosh] don't know if they're going yet and if they don't go then it's definitely a tougher decision for myself," James told national sports agency Sportsbeat. "I've got to roll with my guys, so we'll see what happens. "I've been to London before and it's a great city. Basketball is continuing to spread. Even though we know it's a huge soccer town, the game of basketball is getting bigger every day."


James had previously stated he would be available, if called on by US coach Mike Krzyzewski.
"Hopefully I'm healthy enough to be a part of that team. Coach K has my number," he said, last year. Wade was part of the Miami Heat team that visited London for an exhibition game against the New Jersey Nets in 2008 but the 29-year-old appears lukewarm about returning. "I think we have to see what the best opportunity is for us at that time and where we possibly fit in," he explained. "And it's about a lot of other things as well. It's an honour for us to even be considered for the team. We'll see. "London is awesome and I know they're going to put on a first class Olympics. I got the chance to go with Miami for the pre-season. The fans were amazing and we had a great time."


Spyns London 2012 tours will also include tickets to the basketball finals...with out without LeBron.

Spyns is an active travel company based in Whistler, BC (Canada). For more information about Spyns and our package tours to the 2012 London Summer Olympic Games, including London Olympics hotels, London 2012 tickets, and summer games VIP access, please visit our websites http://www.london-olympiad.com/ http://www.london2012-tours.com/ and http://www.london-tours-2012.com/ or call us toll-free at 1.888.825.4720.

London 2012 Olympics Tickets Tours Hotels: The Chinese Are Coming!

http://www.london-tours-2012.com/  
http://www.london2012-tours.com/
http://www.london-olympiad.com/

"Leeds here I come!"

As Spyns clients gear up for our London 2012 tour packages, English cities are hoping to cash in on pre-games training camps. A good example is the city of Leeds. China's athletes will be based in the northern English in the final build-up to the London 2012 Olympics, organisers announced Wednesday. China will use the Headingley Campus at Leeds Metropolitan University to train and acclimatise. China is set to be one of the key nations at the 2012 Games having topped the 2008 Beijing Games table with 51 gold, 21 silver and 28 bronze medals. Spyns believes this is just part of a pre-invasion force. Just kidding! The next war will be a trade war between the US and the Chinese, without a shot fired we hope.


The Chinese Athletic Association said it was "confident Leeds will provide an ideal training base for our athletes as we prepare for the London 2012 Olympic Games." Around 50 athletes and officials will head to Yorkshire's biggest city. It is the first deal to be signed between any of the Chinese squads and a British city. "Pre-Games training camps provide essential preparation for every athlete, and Chinese competitors will enjoy world class facilities in Leeds," said London Games chairman Sebastian Coe. "Having grown up in the county, I'm delighted that Yorkshire people, and especially the Chinese community, will be sharing in the excitement of the Games in their own back yard." To make the athletes feel at home, Leeds will ban certain search engine terms and arrest heads of various Leeds-based human rights organisations. Again...kidding!


British cities hope that hosting pre-Games camps will bring in millions of pounds (dollars, euros) worth of revenue as well as giving locals a chance to see some of the 2012 stars up close and even train alongside them. Since 1988, Leeds has been twinned with Hangzhou in China's eastern Zhejiang province. Their partnership is aimed at developing business, educational and civic links.

Spyns is an active travel company based in Whistler, BC (Canada). For more information about Spyns and our package tours to the 2012 London Summer Olympic Games, including London Olympics hotels, London 2012 tickets, and summer games VIP access, please visit our websites http://www.london-olympiad.com/ http://www.london2012-tours.com/ and http://www.london-tours-2012.com/ or call us toll-free at 1.888.825.4720.

London 2012 Olympics Tickets Tours and Hotels: London Summer Games Tickets Are Going to Hurt Your Wallet

http://www.london-tours-2012.com/  
http://www.london2012-tours.com/
http://www.london-olympiad.com/

"The price is $250 dollars
for one diver...$400 for two."

As Spyns' clients prepare for our London 2012 Olympics tours, price will certainly be an issue. Whenever I visit London, I always call a friend and make the following joke about England's most expensive city, "I just sneezed and it cost me 20£ (approximately $30)." And now we have the London 2012 Summer Games ticket prices to prove it.


Sports fans hoping to make the journey across Atlantic for next year’s Olympic Games were able to get an idea of just how much the trip could cost them after organisers announced the competition schedule and ticket prices for the London showpiece. Some 2.2 million subscribers to an official Olympic email service were given a sneak preview of the times, dates and pricing categories this morning with tickets due to go on sale on March 15th.


Naturally enough, the blue riband events in athletics will command top dollar with VIP seats at the Olympic Stadium for the men’s 100 metres final going for as much as €890 ($1100). The closing two days at the track, Friday August 10th and Saturday August 11th, will also be priced at the same structure. However, the highest prices were reserved for those wishing to attend both the opening and closing ceremonies. Those looking for the best seats in the house when the Olympic cauldron is lit will be asked to part with €2,390 ($3346) while VIP seats for the closing ceremony will cost €1,790 ($2500). Spyns former clients may ask, will only billionnaires be attending the games.


For those hoping to follow Mark Phelps exploits in the Aquatics Centre, tickets will range in price from €23 ($32) for some of the heats to €540 ($760) for the Category AA seats in finals. Given the boxing team’s success in Beijing, the ExCel boxing arena will be another obvious port of call forfans with tickets for the all-important finals available from €113 to €470.


Sebastian Coe launched the detailed schedule for the London 2012 Olympics and admitted that the arrival of the “greatest show on earth” now feels just around the corner. “This is a really big moment, a huge moment. In this project, every day you get closer, every day it becomes more of a living creature,” Coe said. “In my own experience as a competitor this is the point that it suddenly becomes very real.” With the organising committee holding half of the beds in London and sky-high ticket prices, I wonder when someone is going to call London 2012 "the most expensive show on Earth."


Spyns is an active travel company based in Whistler, BC (Canada). For more information about Spyns and our package tours to the 2012 London Summer Olympic Games, including London Olympics hotels, London 2012 tickets, and summer games VIP access, please visit our websites http://www.london-olympiad.com/ http://www.london2012-tours.com/ and http://www.london-tours-2012.com/ or call us toll-free at 1.888.825.4720.