London 2012 Olympics Tickets and Tours: London Theatres May Suffer Because of Olympics

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London theatres aren't looking forward
to the 2012 summer games.

As Spyns diligently prepares for its London 2012 Olympics tours, not everyone is expecting a bumper tourist season next summer. The Olympics will cause "a bloodbath of a summer" for London theatres in 2012, Andrew Lloyd Webber has predicted. "Nobody's going to go to the theatre at all," the composer told Radio 4's Today programme, predicting that "most of the theatres in London will shut. It's going to be very tough," he said, revealing advance bookings were "about 10%" of their normal level.

Three major musicals, he added, "are not going to play over the Olympics" - but he would not name them. Lord Lloyd Webber's Really Useful Group owns seven London theatres which are currently hosting shows including War Horse, Matilda and The Wizard of Oz. The impresario said "big, big, big hits" like his own The Phantom of the Opera would continue during the Olympics period. But he said some of his other theatres "will have to" close because of a drop-off in the "ordinary West End tourist audience". On a brighter note, the 63-year-old said a host of new musicals would arrive in the West End after the conclusion of the 2012 games.

Shows heading into London include a Spice Girls musical, a Bridget Jones stage show and the Tony award-winning The Book of Mormon. "They've never been so commercially popular," he told BBC arts correspondent Rebecca Jones. "The appetite for musicals is insatiable in a way.
I don't think I've ever had so many musicals being offered to our theatres in London as there are for the end of next year."

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 Hotels and Tours: Cue the Thames Cable Car

"I say good man, where the devil is the Olympic Stadium?"

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I was in London last week on an Olympic pre-trip swing and can safely say London will have a transportation issue come July 2012. But the city seems to have found a solution: a ridiculously expensive cable car!

A wildly expensive £25 million (US$34 million) cable car scheme is set to get planning permission tomorrow, and will be ready in time for the 2012 Olympics. The scheme will be privately funded and Transport for London (TfL) are confident the funds would be found when they vote on the plans. John East, Newham Council's divisional director of planning says: ''All the discussions I have had with Tfl suggest they will be able to secure that private funding, or sponsorship to enable the cable car to happen.' 'Bearing in mind where we are with public finances and the scrutiny that public bodies are under, why would TfL come this far if they weren’t sure?''

Perhaps Tfl could invest the millions of pounds into keeping the tube trains running on time when millions of people test London's creaky transport system to its limits! The cars - a first for a UK city - will cross the Thames connecting the O2 arena and ExCel centre, between the Greenwich Peninsula and Royal Docks. The venues will both be used in the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic games. The scheme is part of the ongoing regeneration of East London and will be significant for improving connections to the site. TfL believes that construction jobs will be found competitively allowing the scheme to be produced quickly and cheaply.

Taking just five minutes to do the crossing, London Mayor, Boris Johnson told the Daily Mail: ''A cable car spanning the majestic Thames would not only provide a unique and pioneering addition to London’s skyline, but also offer a serene and joyful journey across the river." He added: "Passengers would be able to drink in the truly spectacular views of the Olympic Park and iconic London landmarks whilst shaving valuable minutes from their travelling time. It would also provide a much needed enhancement of cross river options to the east of the city.”



The cable cars will match the capacity of 50 buses per hour, carrying up to 2,500 passengers in each direction arriving every 30 seconds, says London Transport Commissioner, Peter Hendy. Now we need only build the damn thing...after the arena, Olympic park, hotels, roads....tea time!

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 Hotels and Tours: London 2012 Tickets On Sale Mid-March

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In what we at Spyns are predicting to be a right British clusterf*ck, millions of tickets for the London 2012 Olympics will go on sale starting Tuesday, March 15, 2011. London Olympic organisers believe this will proceed seamlessly whereas former Olympic games suggest otherwise. While Spyns applauds London 2012's goal of making these fair and equitable games, it would be naive to deny that in a country with a betting hall on every street corner that an enourmous black market won't spring up within 1 hour of the first ticket sales. But let's remain in the honeymoon stage and detail how London 2012 tickets will go on sale.

Lord Sebastian Coe, the London 2012 chairman, has announced that the process for allocating tickets for the London 2012 Olympic Games will begin on Tuesday 15th March this year. With 26 sports, featuring 38 disciplines, taking place between 27th July and 12th August, competition is sure to be high as the public vie for a chance to see some of the world’s best athletes take part in the 30th edition of the modern Olympics.


There will be over six million tickets available, with prices starting at £20 ($25-$30), for those wishing to attend the games. The application process will be open from 15th March through to 26th April, in which time those hoping to attend must apply for the events they wish to view. Anyone who truly believes they'll spend just £20 ($25-$30) to watch the bastketball finals have likely purchased 'a substantial interest' in London Bridge. According to Olympic organisers, tickets will be allocated to those who have applied within the six week time period. If events are oversubscribed then tickets will be allocated via a ballot system. There will also be a number of free events throughout the games as the Triathlon, Road Cycling, and Marathon will all take place on the streets of London. Furthermore, those not able to attend London itself will not be without the opportunity to taste the magic of the Olympics. Canoeing will take place at Dorney Lake in Buckinghamshire and in Lee Valley White Water Centre in Hertfordshire; mountain biking will be hosted by Hadleigh Farm in Essex; while sailing will be hosted in Weymouth. Spyns asks: how the hell are you supposed to watch sailing as a competitive sports anyway?

The Olympic Games football (soccer for our North American readers) tournament will also be hosted by a number of arenas outside of the capital. As well as Wembley Stadium, football will also be played at the Ricoh Arena of Coventry City, Manchester United’s Old Trafford, St James’ Park of Newcastle United. Furthermore, the national stadiums of both Wales and Scotland will get in on the action as the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, and Hampden Park in Glasgow will also be used for the football at the Olympics. This will give everyone the opportunity to buy some ridiculously overpriced rail tickets as I did while taking the Gatwick Express. Anyone who believes privatising the rail system was a good idea had obviously never enjoyed the 30-minute train ride from London's Gatwick Airport to Victoria Station for roughly £27.50 (approx $40). Given these prices, I was expecting a smallish piece from the royal jewel collection but only received free attitude from the Eastern European conductor. Pity!

Lord Coe, himself a double Olympic gold medallist, has described the London 2012 Olympics as “the greatest show on earth” and a “once in a life time opportunity,” and it is likely that the organisers will have a tough time on their hands as the majority of the events, if not all of them, are likely to be highly sought after.

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 and Tours: Calls for Ticketing Transparency

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London 2012 organisers have been urged to be up front about how many tickets will be available for the Olympics and how much they will cost. The London Assembly's economic development, culture, sport and tourism committee said the public needed to have faith in the ticketing system. Games organisers said details would be revealed after the Paralympic Winter Games in Vancouver had finished. There will be 9.2 million seats available during the event. The committee has written to London 2012 chiefs requesting details on how they plan to fill seats at the Games.

Committee Chair Dee Doocey said: "The key issue is simple: How many people will be ahead of the average Londoner in the queue for Olympic tickets? "Locog - London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games - needs to be open and transparent about how many tickets are going to be available for the public and how many are going to be reserved for the Olympic family.
We will be making an announcement about our ticketing strategy after the Vancouver Paralympic Games has finished

"These tickets for International Olympic Committee staff, officials, partners and sponsors will significantly reduce the number of seats available for the public." The committee said it would like to know how many tickets will be available at less than £10, £20 and £30 and how they will be shared out among the events. Other questions included how any possible stand-by scheme for unused tickets might work and who, if anyone, would count as a priority group for preferential or low-cost tickets.

London 2012 should publish its ticketing strategy in draft form as soon as possible to allow the public to comment on it before it is finalised, the committee advised. Tickets for the Games will not go on sale until 2011, according to Locog. A London 2012 spokesman said: "We will be making an announcement about our ticketing strategy after the Vancouver Paralympic Games has finished." The 2010 Paralympics is scheduled to finish on 21 March.

For more information about Spyns and our tours to the 2012 London Summer Olympics, please visit our websites http://www.london2012-tours.com/ http://www.london-tours-2012.com/ or call us toll-free at 1.888.825.4720.