London 2012 Olympics Tickets Tours & Hotels: Bond-Like Atmosphere at the London Summer Games

http://www.london2012-tours.com/
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As Spyns clients gear up for our 2012 London Olympic Games tours, the UK is attempting to balance severe budget cuts with escalating security costs for the summer olympics. Intelligence officers from MI5 and possibly M16 too are working on secondment on the London 2012 Olympic Games project, contributing to security and anti-terrorist initiatives. Sources say some are ‘embedded’ within the Olympic Park in London, working undercover, and more detail can be found in today’s ‘Inside Sport’ column in the Mail on Sunday. Every brickie and bag searcher may not be who they seem.

Recommend supplementary reading can be found at the Home Office website, here for an official safety and security assessment PDF download, and here for a speech from the effective boss of MI5 Jonathan Evans. The Inside Sport column mentions that 150 of 500 guards on the Olympic Park site are Gurkhas. They work for the security firm G4S, the largest employer of Gurkhas in the world, and providers of security to events including Wimbledon. Other security measures in place at the Olympic Park, beyond Gurkhas, spooks and a 17km electric fence are:

• Hand scanners providing biometric access control, alongside photographic smart cards, for up to 5000 workers an hour at peak.
• Iris scanning and access is also available as an alternative system where required.
• On site searching and screening at entry and exit points as well as off site searching and screening of vehicle deliveries.
• Coordinated CCTV and supporting perimeter security systems.
• A dedicated police team at the Olympic Park which is liaising with on-site staff and contractors as well as the local communities.

In a post-9/11 world, security has become one of the major concerns of Olympic organisers. The costs are staggering. For the 2008 Beijing Olympics, security was nothing short of overwhelming. A 100,000-strong security force of armed police, commandos and other troops were stationed around the city. The authorities installed 300,000 surveillance cameras and sited anti-aircraft missiles next to the olympic stadium (called the "Bird's Nest"). ID checks were everywhere. People who gave police detailed evidence of a "major security threat" to the Beijing Olympics were offered rewards of between 10,000 and 500,000 yuan (five times the usual maximum amount).

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.london2012-tours.com/ and http://www.london-tours-2012.com/ or call us toll-free at 1.888.825.4720.