London 2012 Olympics Tickets Tours Hotels: Money Fight Between London 2012 Organisers and British Olympic Association

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Going Rogge. IOC President
has sided with London 2012
in a dispute with the BOA.

As Spyns diligently prepares to launch our London 2012 tours page, we are constantly reminded the modern games are about money. The British Olympic Association and London 2012 organisers are up to their ascots in a dispute about who gets excess cash (if any) from the London 2012 games. The BOA today suffered a blow in their cash dispute with London 2012 organisers after the International Olympic Committee ruled against them. The IOC say their ruling should be final and binding but it may not mean the end of the row - the BOA had previously lodged a submission with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Lausanne. Raise your hand if you've never heard of the CAS. Thought not.


Of course the issue surrounds any money left over after the London 2012 Games - the BOA are due to get a cut but claim the running costs of the Paralympics should not be taken into account when calculating the surplus. Clever because the Paralympics are a notorious money-loser. London 2012 have disputed this and now the IOC have ruled against the BOA, with IOC president Jacques Rogge signing the decision. An IOC spokesman said: "The IOC was asked to reach a final and binding decision on how the surplus of the Games should be defined. Having studied the documents and the past recent history of the Games bidding process we have decided that the word 'surplus' clearly represents the financial results from the staging of the Olympic Games and the Paralympic Games combined. The IOC would like to see a swift resolution to this dispute - to allow all parties to concentrate on delivering what will be outstanding Games in London next year."


London 2012 organisers welcomed the IOC's finding and claimed the issues now settled. A spokeswoman said: "We are pleased that the IOC has ruled on this technical point confirming we should continue to determine any surplus on the basis of combined costs and revenues from both the Olympic and Paralympic Games. "Now this is settled we look forward to moving ahead together with the BOA to realise our shared vision of hosting a spectacular Olympic and Paralympic Games." London 2012 stressed the dispute would not affect the staging of the Games next year nor the preparations of the British athletes.


If the BOA proceed with their claim to CAS that the word 'Games' in the host city contract refers to Olympics and not Paralympics, the IOC's ruling means they will be directly challenging a written decision from Rogge.  In biblical terms, this would be a bit like challenging the big man regarding the validity of one of the ten commandments. That could have repercussions in terms of longer-term relationships between BOA leaders and the IOC. Damn straight!

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: What Londoners Think of Their Games

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"That fare will be 1 billion pounds
for the Olympic Games please."

As Spyns diligently prepares for its London 2012 Summer games tours, I wanted to take a moment and reflect on what the locals think about the London 2012 Summer games. Before that, however, I just wanted to use the term London 2012 Summer games one more time! Let's get started.



While I've written a lot about the London Olympics and the endless construction surrounding the same, today I'd like to blog about what locals think about the Olympics. During a recent swing through London I was lucky enough to ask Londoners what they thought about next year's games. While people who live in large cities like London can be jaded, I was surprised by the results.


Not surprisingly, the very first person I spoke to about the London 2012 Olympics was a taxi driver. Born and raised in London, he was enthusiastic about the prestige the games would bring to his city but lamented what 500,000 to 1,000,000 tourists would do to its creaky transportation system. He also thought the resulting traffic would be nightmarish. This appeared to be a common theme in my discussions with London natives. While most were thrilled about winning the games, almost everyone acknowledged it would be impossible getting around downtown London with so many tourists.


For anyone who has experienced London's subway, affectionately referred to as “the tube”, you might agree with me that the only thing keeping the system running properly is Londoners' famous good manners. Above ground, the City of London maintains an almost medieval network of narrow roads and streets. The road system gets overloaded even in normal traffic conditions let alone when so many tourists are flooding the streets during the 2012 Summer games. Underground, things won't improve much. The tube is a complex system of overlapping lines second only in complexity to the human nervous system. Although not the fault of those who manage such a complex subway system, it tends to break down A LOT. I also think that when the British were awarded the games, the International Olympic Committe glossed over issues such as London's infrastructure (one need only look to Rio winning the games as an example of the IOC turning a blind eye). For example, the Olympic Village will be located in London's East End and unfortunately there is only one subway line that goes there. I find it difficult to believe that this line will not become overloaded during the Olympics. And I am not the only one with this concern.


I do not plan to go through an inventory of people that I spoke to during my last swing through London, but here is a quick list: a bagpiper on Westminster Bridge; a French engineering student living in London for the year; an Australian expat working for the British government; a Polish waitress serving breakfast at my hotel (grrrrrr) ; a British student studying architecture; and many others. The common theme among all these people seem to be the cost. While the games were awarded at a time when it appeared Londonwas booming, since 2008 the economy has more or less been in recession and David Cameron's conservative government is cutting back. While the governments has not reduced the budget for the Summer Olympics games, austerity is in the air.


Not surprisingly, almost everyone who worked in the hotel industry seemed thrilled that the games were coming to London in the summer of 2012. Obviously these are the people best positioned to profit from a flood of tourists. However, in the list of people that I provided above it seemed that those not associated with tourism or least likely to profit from the games were most hostile. The French student for example, was upset the British government had recently decided to increase university tuition. If you have been following the news recently there were violent clashes a few months ago between student protesters and riot police in central London over the issue of increased tuition. It does seem strange that students and their families will have to pay more for university education when the government is building stadiums with taxpayer dollars. I can only imagine how it feels to have your welfare benefits slashed when again the government is building an entire Olympic Village. The incongruity is striking and not lost on the natives.


So through my very unscientific poll the results were as follows: 60% for the games, 30% against, 10% indifferent. My feeling was that while the majority of people living in London were mildly supportive of the games, a strong minority of people felt, "Why now in this economy?" I believe the games have reached a size whereby only the wealthiest countries on Earth can afford them. Unfortunately, whether the British accept this or not the United Kingdom is in a period of transition from economic superpower to perhaps something of a lesser economic power. This is similar to the situation the country went through in the 1970s. Rampant inflation, crushing debts, and high unemployment are not the best conditions for hosting the games. And the citizens are restless. Compounding the problem is the fact that the Chinese spent tens of billions of dollars on the Beijing games - financial means that the British no longer have that their disposal.

In closing, the British support their Summer games but question whether the country can afford it in a period of intense economic uncertainty. I hope you have enjoyed my somewhat rambling post. If you have any questions about Spyns London 2012 Summer games tours or would like information about London 2012 tickets or hotels, please do not hesitate to contact us toll-free at 1-888-825-4720.

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: Iran Protests London 2012 Logo

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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

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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 and Hotels: Velodrome/There Goes Boris Again

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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: The Chinese Are Coming!

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"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

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"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.

London 2012 Olympics Tickets and Tours: London Mayor "Let those without tickets eat cake"

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A commodity more precious
than gold.

To the tens of people following this blog, I have long lamented Olympic ticket organisation and would enjoy seeing an Egypt-like uprising against IOC members and VIP sponsors hording tickets at the expense of the masses. Off with their heads!


While Spyns plans to procure tickets in a fair and open way through the normal channels, recent musings by London's mayor Boris Johnson about free open-air venues throughout the city. Politicians can smell an uprising years in advance. Given our constant requests for information about how tickets will be sold/released and a lack of information, it appears London 2012 tickets are being handled by a rather scared group of computer geeks strung out on Red Bull.


An insider has told The Telegraph that the Mayor of London is considering land on the edge of Thames next to the London Eye as a potential spot for one of his Olympic ‘live sites’, which will show sporting action for free throughout the games. Mr Johnson has already announced there will be giant screens broadcasting 2012 events in London’s Hyde Park, Victoria Park, and on land next to his City Hall building close to Tower Bridge, some of which could attract up to 80,000 people per day.


But it is understood a fourth venue could be necessary to cater for all those who fail to secure or cannot afford any of the 6.6 million Olympic tickets set for release next month. The London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games confirmed today it will run 18 others sites across town and city centres across the country throughout the Olympic and Paralympic Games, all of which will also be free. Whether this will keep the millions of ticketless London 2012 goers happy remains to be seen.

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: A Royal Start for Summer Games Cycling

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How many royals does it take
to fold a bike? Prince Philipp
admires a folding bike at
a palace reception.

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Spyns offers both London 2012 Summer Games packages and cycling tours to France (including the Tour de France). Spyns former clients will be thrilled to learn London 2012 organisers have unveiled the route for the men's 250-kilometre (156 miles) road race. The race takes place on the opening weekend of the Games, and will start on the Mall outside Buckingham Palace before heading south west towards Surrey Hills. Following the departure, riders will pass through the London boroughs of City of Westminster, Kensington & Chelsea and Hammersmith & Fulham, Wandsworth, Richmond and Kingston in what will be the biggest one-day bike race ever witnessed in Great Britain.


After heading south over Putney Bridge the route winds its way through Richmond Park before passing by Hampton Court Palace and down towards Surrey. As riders enter Surrey they will loop through Walton on Thames, Weybridge, West Byfleet, West Horsley in an anticlockwise direction before riders' climbing legs are tested at they tackle the undulating roads around Box Hill including the National Trust’s Zigzag Hill, a popular destination for amateur cyclists. Following nine 15.5km circuits – two for the women's race – including Zigzag Hill, the race will head back towards central London via Leatherhead, Esher, Hampton Court, Kingdton upn Thames and Richmond Park before speeding its way towards the finishing line.
A 15km stretch of relatively flat road is likely to provide a thrilling denouement where a packed grandstand on the Mall will be hoping for a dramatic sprint finish which would lend itself perfectly to Cavendish, the fastest sprinter in world cycling provided he is backed by a strong team.



Cavendish, memorably, was the only member of the Team GB track cycling team to return from the Beijing Games without a medal in 2008, the year he burst onto the world cycling scene with four Tour de France stage wins, and will be desperate to add an Olympic gold medal to his palmarès. The sprinter, who is currently racing at the Tour of Qatar, said he was excited about the chance to win gold. "Competing in a home Olympic Games is a once in a lifetime opportunity," he said. "To compete in the road race on the opening weekend of the London 2012 Games in front of home fans is going to be amazing."


Meanwhile, Londoner Bradley Wiggins told Telegraph Sport recently that he was unlikely to compete in the race. "Probably not with the way the scheduling is," said Wiggins. "At the moment it looks like I'll do the time trial and the team pursuit." The women's event, which will take place on the same weekend, will be raced over 140km (87 miles) along the same route. The route, could favour Team GB riders such as Emma Pooley, Nicole Cooke, the reigning Olympic champion, and Lizzie Armitstead who are all expected, barring a disaster, to provide the backbone of the women's team.


"Having ridden Box Hill many times – and also knowing the rest of the circuit pretty well – I think we are likely to see a good group form on the ascent of Box Hill. "One-day classics riders such as Cadel Evans, Heinrich Haussler, Thor Hushvod and Fabian Cancellara will all be keen to try their hand here, but there will still be a long run in back to the centre of London. "It could well come back together for someone like Tom Boonen or Cavendish if they are backed with strong teams that can work for them. "If Cavendish has a good day, who knows? He will certainly be motivated to win in front of a home crowd to become Olympic champion. He certainly has the ability to get over the climbs and stay in close contact with the best in the world to win the title."


Cavendish plans to compete in the 2011 Tour de France. For more information about Spyns 2011 Tour de France trips, please visit our website (www.tdf-tours.com).

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: Beware of London 2012 Big Brother

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I believe the Olympic Games have reached a tipping point. The games were previously about sport, competition, and international friendship. Now it seems profit is everything. As the games get more expensive, sponsorship plays more of a factor and it's having adverse effects on the London 2012 games. By my estimates, almost half of London's hotel rooms are currently reserved for Olympic VIPs and sponsors. Clearly these are no longer the "people's games." And now London's organising committee is attacking small businesses.

Kamel Kichane claimed he took advice from Newham Council before naming his restaurant Café Olympic three years ago, after the 2012 Olympic Games were handed to London. He was among a number of local businessmen hoping to capitalise on the Games, which organisers claimed would spark the rejuvenation of east London and boost trade. But now Mr Kichane has reportedly been told he may face legal action as trading standards attempt to crack down on unauthorised use of the lucrative Olympic brand.

He told The Independent: "We did not get written permission ... but the council said, 'As long as the signs do not have the Olympic Rings on, it should be OK". Mr Kichane said changing all of his signs and logos would cost up to £3,000 (approx $5,000), which would represent a "crisis" for his business.  A spokesman for the London Organising Committee of the Games and Paralympic Games (LOCOG), which is in charge of protecting the Olympic brand against unauthorised use, said it would take a "pragmatic and proportionate" approach to infringement, but added that key to the games budget was "companies paying millions of pounds to become exclusive partners."

Newham Council confirmed its trading standards department was "advising businesses" on the legality of using words and logos relating to the Games, and that it was examining the case of Café Olympic. As Spyns prepares for its London 2012 Olympics Tours, we wonder if the games are about sport or sponsorship. 

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 Organisers to Triathletes: "Go Jump in a Lake!"

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Look! The crown jewels.

As the interminable battle rages over the London 2012 stadium ("Legacy!!!!" screams Lord Coe), Spyns is dilligently preparing for its London 2012 package tours. Before unveiling a number of surprises, this just in from London!

The swimming leg of the Olympic triathlon at the 2012 London Games will take place in Hyde Park's Serpentine lake after local government officials gave permission for the construction of spectator seating and a pontoon. The triathlon will begin with a 1.5-kilometer (0.9-mile) lap starting from the pontoon on the north side of the Serpentine.

The seating area will hold 3,000 spectators, with the temporary structures set to be installed two months before the August opening of the games. The Serpentine will also host the 10-kilometer (6.2-mile) marathon swimming event. Spectators without tickets will be able to watch both events from vantage points in the park.Westminster Council planning and city development chairman Alastair Moss says "Hyde Park will be a first-class backdrop."

I personally have no desire to complete a triathlon. In fact, the word triathlon makes me want to open a beer. I can't imagine the pain and endurance it must take to finish one although I applaud those who do. Actually I don't mean that at all. You're all mad and look like Holocaust survivors!

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: Spyns to London 2012: "Lighten the Hell Up!"

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"Ambush Marketer" in Dutch is
"hinderlaag bemarker".
Aaaaaahhhhhhh!!!!

As the fiscal belt tightening continues in Great Britain, London 2012 organisers are cranking up the rhetoric to protect summer games sponsors and a much-needed revenue stream. While everyone wants the games, few want to pay for them so expect sponsorship to play a very big part of the London 2012 extravaganza.


The organisers of the London Olympics have warned drinks firms against trying to ambush the Games with unofficial brands as happened at the last World Cup. The Bavaria 'ambush' made headlines around the world - just as intended. London 2012 chief executive Paul Deighton issued the warning as he unveiled Heineken UK as the official supplier of lager. He said his team has a "very, very active anti-ambush" unit which will not tolerate the sort of marketing stunts witnessed in South Africa. Why a Dutch beer is the official drinks sponsor of the London Olympics makes perfect sense.


The most notorious involved 36 young women wearing orange mini-dresses advertising the Dutch brewer Bavaria. TV cameras picked them out in the stands at the Soccer City Stadium in Johannesburg during the Netherlands v Denmark match.The women were ejected from the ground and arrested. They also faced threats of legal action. The World Cup ambushers apparently got their tickets from ITV pundit Robbie Earle.


"If someone tries to ambush, I would see it as an attack on one of the most important events in this country in a decade," said Mr Deighton. "Any brand that behaves like that would probably receive quite a negative reaction." He went on: "We are very alert to protecting our partners who, without their contribution, this kind of event cannot happen. We have got to strike the balance right to protecting those rights and on the other hand behaving in a way that is sensible when an ambush is attempted." We at Spyns suggest an even more severe punishment: forcing ambush marketers to watch all 5 seasons of Dutch "Big Brother". Now that's what we call a life sentence. For our many Dutch readers (tongue firmly in cheek) the Dutch translation of "ambush marketer" is "hinderlaag bemarker". Terrifying isn't it?


Under the terms of an iron-clad tier three sponsorship deal, Heineken UK will get exclusive pouring rights for its beers and ciders at all London 2012 venues where alcohol is served. Its brands include John Smiths, Bulmers and Strongbow. The Heineken deal takes London 2012 domestic sponsorship to £670m, leaving it £30m (US$50 million) short of its £700m (US$1.3 billion) target. It has been tasked with raising a total of £2bn from the private sector to help pay for the Games, which are costing around £9.3bn (tired of calculation but it's a very large 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.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: Swimming Ian Thorpe Making Comeback

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Ian Thorpe's Comeback:
Manage your expectations.

Spyns asks its London 2012 tour clients: Phelps or Thorpe? In what promises to be the new "Battle of Britain" five time Olympic champion Ian Thorpe is expected to announce his return to competitive swimming. Thorpe will bid to make the Australian team for next year’s London Summer Olympic Games, news reports said Tuesday. The 28-year-old, who retired in November 2006 but has been training hard in Sydney pools, will speak to the media Wednesday.

The Daily Telegraph reported that Thorpe, who would need to register with the ruling body FINA by the end of May to be eligible to compete at the London Olympic trials in March 2012, has told friends that he would be returning to competitive swimming. Thorpe left the sport when illness and injury put him out of the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne. Thorpe, who has lost weight and looks in good shape, said last month that he was enjoying swimming again.

Swimming is among the top five most popular sports at any summer games. If Thorpe plans a comeback and Phelps continues to dominate, it will likely be one of the most coveted London 2012 tickets. Spyns will be offering trips that include the men's swimming finals so you might even catch the Thorpedo in action - provided he makes the Australian swimming team. “I never really stopped swimming, I’m just doing more of it now and I’m really enjoying getting into shape,” Thorpe said. Michael Bohl, Stephanie Rice’s coach, said last year that a Thorpe comeback would be a success. “He’s one of the best freestylers I’ve ever seen. He has an absolutely perfect stroke,” Bohl said. Thorpe’s best times in his chosen disciplines have all been eclipsed. Brazilian Cesar Cielo Filho holds the 100 metres freestyle in 46.91 seconds while Germany’s Paul Biedermann holds the 200m and 400m in 1 minute 42.00 seconds and 3:40.07 minutes, respectively.

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 Summer Games Tickets Hotels Tours: UK Students to Participate in Games Design

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Cringe. The Vancouver 2012 Closing
Ceremonies. "Guys & Dolls"

As Spyns dilligently prepares for its London 2012 tours, most potential clients are focused on London 2012 tickets but we at Spyns would prefer to talk fashion. Why are Olympics costumes and mascots so unbelievably bad? Hopefully the Brits can get it right but they've decided to let students get involved and this can lead to some "creative designs." While watching some of the ceremonies in Beijing, I thought a lot of the women looked like crosses between Japanese manga characters and pre-WWII Shanghai streetwalkers. As a Canadian, I have to face up to the total train wreck that was the closing ceremony costumes during the Whistler Olympics (see photo).


Royal College of Art (RCA) post graduates will have a hand in the design of the podium, costumes, flower holders and trays which will carry the medals and flowers during the Olympics and Paralympics. Around 250 trays and 6,000 flower holders will be used in the ceremonies. The students will work with industry professionals through to the 770-plus ceremonies that will take place at 29 different venues.


London 2012 chief executive Paul Deighton described it as a "once-in-a-lifetime opportunity" for the post graduates, while RCA rector Dr Paul Thompson said it was "a great honour" to be involved. Mr Deighton said: "We look forward to seeing their proposals, then teaming them up with industry professionals to realise their designs which will be seen by a global audience at the greatest show on earth." Next, the high street fashion chain which is London 2012's official clothing and homeware supplier, will work with the RCA students on their designs to produce all the costumes for the ceremonies.


These include the costumes for the escorts who accompany the athletes and the medal presenters plus the medal and flower bearers. Professor Wendy Dagworthy, the RCA's head of the School of Fashion and Textiles, said: "To have their work viewed by millions of people is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and our fashion students are very excited to be involved with the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games." Christos Angelides (clearly a Scotsman), Next's group product director, said: "We are excited to be working with the Royal College of Art to produce the victory ceremony costumes and look forward to helping to make the victory ceremony attendants look great."

We at Spyns hope the students don't come up with a beefeater slash Sailor Moon concoction for the 2012 London Summer Olympic Games. Mark your calendars as tickets go on sale March 15, 2011.

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.

Lond 2012 Tickets Tours Hotels: Pubs Enjoy Later "Last Call" for London 2012

"Later pub closures,
later pub closures!"

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As Spyns prepares for its London 2012 Olympics tours, potential clients will see a nice benefit to London's Summer Games: more beer!

London's Olympics could be the catalyst for a three-month long party after it emerged that pubs, clubs and restaurants are set to be allowed extended opening hours during the summer of 2012. It's not exactly hard to get a late drink in town now, but for the Olympic season, Westminster Council – which covers much of the West End – is ready for many more establishments to run a late bar.

I was enjoying dinner in the Westminster district and experienced the bizarre British ritual of, "Last call!" and then 30 seconds later, "Get the f*ck out!" so longer pub hours are a welcome development. "We will need to strike an appropriate balance between the needs of the Games themselves; helping Westminster businesses to maximise the opportunity which the Olympics present; and supporting the wider Westminster residential and business communities to get the best out of the Games," said Angela Harvey, a Westminster Councillor. Note to Angie: please fire the pushy East Indian security guard who kept repeating, "Please exit" at the Concrete Bar on the Thames while we gulped down pints purchased just minutes before getting booted from the pub.

To cope with the extra visitor numbers, the council has slapped a ban on staff taking holiday during the summer months of 2012. On top of that, building work will be banned in central London between June and August and Transport for London has agreed to run more buses and possibly the Tube into the early hours. Officially, that's to help spectators get back from the Games' venues, but late-hours transport will also act as a green light to revellers.

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: Multilingual Shakespeare On Offer as Part of London 2012

Now Playing: Romeo & Juliet in Jive

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Mad dogs and Englishmen! As Spyns' clients count down to the 2012 Summer Olympic Games in London (and London 2012 tickets in March), the cultural events surrounding the London Olympics are starting to gain momentum.

Each of William Shakespeare's 38 plays will be performed in a different language, including Arabic, Spanish and Urdu, during a theatre season in Britain to mark the London 2012 Olympic Games. Shakespeare's Globe theatre in the British capital said Thursday it would host the special season over six weeks, beginning next year on April 23, the playwright's birthday.


Shows will included "The Taming of the Shrew" in Urdu, starring Pakistani television star Nadia Jamil as Katherine, and "King Lear" in Australian Aboriginal languages. Other performances include "Julius Caesar" in Italian, "Troilus and Cressida" in Maori, "The Tempest" in Arabic and "Love's Labour's Lost" in British sign language. "The Globe will create an international Shakespeare community in the heart of London, as a prelude to the internationalism which will fill the capital later in the year with the Olympics," said the Globe's artistic director Dominic Dromgoole.

The project is part of the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad which was set up in 2008 to celebrate the Olympics. The Globe is a reconstruction of a theatre where many of Shakespeare's plays were performed before it burnt down in 1613. Given the catfight regarding the London 2012 stadium, Spyns wouldn't be surprised if the mega-million pound stadium 'did a 1613.'

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: Cyber Attacks!

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"I say, how does one get
London 2012 tickets?"

Hot on the heels of my pre-trip work in London last week, I'm compelled to write that the Brits are doing one hell of a job with the London 2012 preparations. Yes London has creaky infrastructure (like the tube), the streets are crowded, and the London 2012 Olympic village is in the English equivalent of civil war Beirut but I was overwhelmed as the kindness, decency, and work ethic of the English.


It wasn't all lemondrops and rainbows in London last week. My first shock was that the London Organising Committee has booked every hotel room in the city for Olympic VIPs. This will make it very hard for ordinary people to see the summer games. My second shock was how disorganized London 2012 ticketing will be. During a number of meetings, it was abundantly clear that no one really understands what the hell is going to happen with ticketing. But I have every confidence the good-natured and hard-working Brits will figure it out in time for tickets to go on sale next March. While London 2012 ticketing looks to be a clusterf*ck, organisers are certainly getting their virtual game sorted out.


Gerry Pennell, chief information officer of London 2012, said previous Olympic Games had been subject to cyber attacks and there was no reason to doubt that malicious individuals or networks would target London to try to bring down the Games or attack the results system or website. “We will get cyber attacks, for sure,” said Pennell, who has set up a specialist team dedicated to countering outside threats. “We are working very closely with our partners and also with Government to make sure we have the right level of defences against the predictable cyber attacks. Clearly, you can never say never, but I think we’re doing everything we need to do to minimise the chances of that causing us a problem.”


Pennell was speaking at Wednesday’s launch of the ‘Technology Lab’ – a partnership between London 2012 and Olympic information technology provider Atos Origin that will see the Games IT systems subjected to 200,000 hours of simulation and testing before they go live Atos Origin will also work with London organisers on cyber defences, having provided the IT for every Olympic Games since Salt Lake City in 2002.




Patrick Adiba, chief executive of Atos Origin for the Olympics, said one of the key defences was sophisticated monitoring of any anomalies on the network. “In Beijing we had about 14 million what we call ‘events’ per day,” he said. “These were not attacks but just events, things such as someone entering the wrong password three times. We filtered them down to about 400 relevant events that could have been an issue and may have impacted on the Games.”


Pennell said he was confident that the exhaustive testing and attention to detail would avoid many of the technological problems that afflicted the Commonwealth Games in Delhi last October. “Delhi would be a good example of why we’re doing this,” said. “You could argue that the big difference between Delhi and here is the amount of investment we’re putting in to the integration and testing process.”

Spyns London 2012 tours says, "Take some of that money and effort and get the bloody maps to work properly on the London 2012 website!"

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 and Tours: David Beckham Olympic Gold for London Organising Committee

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Bond, James Bond

Ain't it strange to be over the hill at 37? As Spyns London 2012 tour clients look at flights and purchase flags for their Summer Olympic Games packages, an older, wiser David Beckham (37) looks longingly at Blighty's shores. Apparently, the world's most famous footballer could star at the London 2012 Olympics by playing or coaching the Great Britain football team. According to organising committee chairman Sebastian Coe, Beckham's is at the top of the list. Although football is played as an Under-23 (yikes) tournamenent at the Olympics, the rules allow for three over-age players and Coe believes Beckham or players like Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard should feature because their global profile would attract more interest in the event.

Coe told BBC Radio Five: "We are not going to have a big international football tournament on domestic soil for some time so we want to use it to inspire a generation of young players. "It is an under-23 tournament but you are allowed to play three over-age players and just picking out names that could be Steven Gerrard or Frank Lampard towards the end of their career or David Beckham -- or even David Beckham as a coach, though I have gone way beyond my brief saying that!" Coe has previously spoken to Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson about whether he would be interested in coaching the side.

The English Football Association will likely have the final decision on who manages and plays for Britain, but Coe hopes stars like Ferguson and Beckham will be involved. He added: "It is not for me to decide, it is for the FA and the British Olympic Association."

Beckham's wife Victoria (aka "Posh Spice") has apparently refused a reunion with the Spice Girls for the London 2012 Olympics - despite interest from the four other seasonings for a one-off catch-up. But according to a source close to the Beckhams, ‘she's not a spoilsport but she doesn't feel she's a good enough performer to go back there again all these years on'. Oh well. Provided Heather Small is under lock and key on a remote island north of Scotland and no-one is telling me to search for the hero inside myself then a Spice-less Olympics will be more than palatable.

Spyns female clients will certainly be swooning with anticipation.

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: French British Working to Mobile Coverage in Channel Tunnel

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For those Spyns' clients planning a swing through Paris before hopping the Eurostar train to London, rest assured your mobile gadgets will continue working in the Chunnel. It is understood that Britain's four mobile operators – Vodafone, O2, Everything Everywhere and 3 – have joined forces with their counterparts in France to share the expected £20m ($30 million) cost of providing mobile coverage along the tunnel's entire 31.4 mile length. Spyns is a Canadian tour operator providing London 2012 summer Olympics tour packages to clients in continental Europe and North America.

British operators will share the cost of providing coverage in the Dover to Calais tunnel, with France's Orange, SFR and Bouygues splitting the cost of installing the system in the Calais to Dover tunnel. Alcatel-Lucent, the French telecoms infrastructure company, has been contracted to install the technology. Ofcom, the UK telecoms regulator, confirmed that it is preparing to issue spectrum licences to allow French and British operators to share airwaves inside the tunnel. We haven't seen this kind of cooperation between Britain and France since the Second World War.

It is understood that Vodafone is spearheading the ambitious Channel Tunnel project on the British side of the Channel. However, a Vodafone spokesman refused to comment. As The Sunday Telegraph reported earlier this year, Boris Johnson, the Mayor of London, played a key role in speeding up the project, which has been talked about for years. Mr Johnson also took it upon himself to "bash heads together in the mobile phone industry" to bring 2G and 3G coverage to the London Underground in advance of the 2012 Olympics.


Mobile operators have agreed to collectively invest £150m ($235 million) in bringing the mobile network to virtually all of the city's Tube tunnels. French technology company Thales is the preferred bidder to install the technology, which is likely to be managed by Huawei, a Chinese telecoms company. Coverage is likely to be provided by a very long transmitter snaking along the top of the tunnel, with antennas on the ends of each carriage. Similar "leaky feeder" technology was used to establish communications between the trapped Chilean miners and their rescuers. Passengers will be able to make voice calls and browse the internet over the 3G network.

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.