London 2012 Olympics Tickets Hotels and Tours: Broken Clocks and Bungled Tickets

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The countdown clock in
Trafalgar Square.

While everyone is up to their ascots in Britain about the broken London 2012 countdown clock and problems with summer games tickets, I have a more positive story. London Olympics' organisers now give tours of the Olympic Village but the tickets are very hard to come by. In fact, I was on a waiting list for a spot in early April and never thought I'd get "the call". But call me they did. The woman on on the phone was both friendly and organised. This is rather unremarkable but when you think they called me on March 15 when London 2012 tickets starting going on sale, it's rather remarkable. So London 2012 organisers get a thumbs up from Spyns.


But my call back aside, things took a decidedly negative turn this week for the London 2012 gang. London 2012 organisers were left red-faced over two embarrassing incidents as they marked 500 days until the Olympics. Official timekeeper Omega confirmed the countdown clock stopped working only a day after it was unveiled in a grand ceremony in Trafalgar Square. And London 2012 chiefs claimed there was 'no glitch' with the ticketing website despite some fans being unable to finish their orders due to an error with card payments.


The clock was the centrepiece of celebrations to mark 500 days to go to the 2012 Games, which it counts down in days, hours, minutes and seconds. Monday's launch was attended by organising committee chairman Lord Coe, Mayor of London Boris Johnson and heptathlon world champion Jessica Ennis among others and today's technical problem is a major embarrassment for Omega. A statement from the company read: 'We are obviously very disappointed that the clock has suffered this technical issue. 'The Omega London 2012 countdown clock was developed by our experts and fully tested ahead of the launch in Trafalgar Square. We are currently looking into why this happened and expect to have the clock functioning as normal as soon as possible.' The clock, which is 6.5 metres high, five metres long and weighs around four tonnes, took 10 people two days to assemble.


Meanwhile, sports fans with Visa cards which expire before the end of August found the official website, which went live at midnight on Monday, could not process their orders. London 2012 said that the website and ticketing guide clearly states that in order to process your application, Visa cards must expire no earlier than August 2011. This is because while people are applying now for tickets, they will be paying for them between May 10 and June 10 and will need their card to be valid during this period.


I believe we should cut Olympic organisers a bit of slack. Selling 6 million London 2012 tickets, building an entire Olympic village (from scratch), and doing the many other things required to put together the games is enough pressure without everyone whingeing about a clock. But it is a shame the clock stopped on its first day of operations. Big Ben has always kept perfect time. Shame on you Omega.

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: Whew! UK Basketball Team Given Green Light to Compete in Olympics

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Great Britain will compete in
London 2012 basketball

In one of the most important "whew!" brow-wiping, almost a catastrophe moments in Olympic history, Great Britain have been granted automatic qualification to play basketball at the 2012 Olympics. The announcement was made at world governing body FIBA's central board meeting in Lyon, bringing a successful conclusion to a long campaign from British Basketball. Board members voted 17-3 in favour of allowing Britain to play, but attached a condition that the sport's governing structure in Britain be resolved by June 30, 2012. This is a bit like the government's bailout of Norther Rock - we'll say yes now but you'll really have to clean up...er at a later date.


"I congratulate you," FIBA secretary-general Patrick Baumann said in announcing the decision. "You will be playing at the Olympic Games and we will be very happy to have you there." FIBA had asked to see evidence that Britain could put a competitive team on the court and that the Games would leave a legacy for basketball in the country. While it was quickly accepted that Britain had met all performance criteria, Baumann revealed there was a long discussion by board members on the question of the governing structure, which currently sees British Basketball operating as an umbrella organisation over the three home nations, England, Scotland and Wales, who retain their votes on FIBA's board.


FIBA want to put an end to that situation going forward, and as part of the agreement to allow Britain to play next year, they will require home nations to either merge completely or disband the British team following the Games. As London 2012 tickets go on sale next week, olympic basketball tickets will very likely be a big seller at the London summer games. Spyns will be offering London 2012 basketball tickets and many others as part of its London Summer Games packages.   

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: British Olympic Team Faces Funding Crisis

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The British Olympic Assocation is
facing a fund crisis.

As my fellow Canadian Alanis Morrisette famously sang, "Isn't it ironic, don't you think?" As Spyns prepares for its London 2012 Olympics Tours, London 2012 organisers are spending billions in a building bonanza (see our post about the Velodrome) yet the UK may not have enough cash to field a full Olympic team. Strange.

It's beginning to feel a bit like the 1970s again in England. In a decade lost to high inflation, an oil crisis (then called the energy crisis), and Olympics that spent all of their money on VIPs rather than athletes. I fear this is happening again.  

The British Olympic Association (BOA) admitted there was not enough money to support the GB team at the London Games. BOA members were told of the shortfall at an emergency meeting last week. The association will help about 550 athletes and 1,400 support staff during the Olympics next summer. It will provide training advice, medical assistance and a holding camp. Andy Hunt, the BOA’s chief executive, said: ‘We’ve still got a gap to close. I’m absolutely certain we’ll have a full team at the Games and the money will not affect that. The level to which we can support the team is where the challenge comes.’ Mr Hunt would not reveal how much funding was needed but the shortfall is thought to run into millions of pounds.

The cost of BOA’s responsibilities, which include the Team GB camp in Loughborough, Leicestershire, is expected to be more than £5million (approximately US$8 million). The BOA gets it funding from commercial sponsorship and fundraising and receives no government cash. It gave the commercial rights to the Olympic rings to the London Organising Committee for about £30million. Mr Hunt, not part of the BOA at that time, has insisted the rights were worth more. Sounds like a fight is brewing. ‘The work we need to do, to make sure we meet the aspirations of the British people, is an immense task,’ he recently told the BBC. ‘The judgment about the success of the Games... will be about the ability to win medals and create those amazing moments that inspire the next generation of heroes.’

We at Spyns London 2012 tickets, hotels and tours (shamless plug) hope the Brits can cobble together enough cash to field a full team. Perhaps if British soldiers pulled out of Afghanistan (an unwinnable war), the savings could be applied to funding athletes.

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: IOC President Rogge Delcares War on Illegal Betting

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Psst...need tickets? Spyns London 2012
trip packages (with tickets) go
on sale in two weeks.

While Spyns diligently prepares for the 2012 London Olympic Games, the International Olympic Committee has declared a war of sorts. The IOC will oversee a global taskforce designed to tackle match-fixing and irregular betting, after Interpol estimated the size of the illegal gambling market at $500bn (£308.4bn) in Asia alone and called for urgent action. Following a four-hour meeting between senior government officials, sports bodies, bookmakers and international agencies the IOC president, Jacques Rogge, warned that "sport is in danger" and promised to convene a group within a "couple of weeks."

I fail to see how sport is under threat from gaming. You can't swing a dead cat in London without hitting a (legal) casino or betting hall so demonising a system so widely accepted in the UK will be difficult. Methinks Herr Rogge is simply making grand announcements to divert attention from the Iranian threats to boycott the games (or worse) if London 2012 organisers don't change the logo. When Canada makes a threat, you can brush it off. When Iran starts making threats, it's a little different.


Although Rogge outlined several options, it is believed that the idea of creating a global body with statutory powers in the style of the World Anti-Doping Agency has been largely discounted. Instead, the working group will attempt to come up with a new model for an organisation where sports bodies, law enforcement agencies and government representatives can come together to share information and co-ordinate global action. "Sport is in danger," Rogge said. "We had a clear signal from governments, Interpol and international federations that there is illegal betting that threatens the credibility of sport. It is a big problem in the entire world. There is no safe haven." Ho-hum. I think the IOC and London 2012 should focus on a more pressing issue, getting all of those IOC and sponsor fatcats to stay somewhere else so real people can also book London hotel rooms.

Interpol's secretary general, Ronald Noble, said the tools for international co-operation already existed, pointing to a recent operation that led to 5,000 arrests and the prevention of $155m in illegal bets, but appealed for them to become "a cornerstone of our common strategy. We must act now, and we must act fast. The stakes are high, and they are getting higher," he said, warning that "pressure to violate sports integrity will increase, diversify and come from anywhere in the world." Rogge said the problem was not specifically one for the Olympics but for sport as a whole. The issue has come to the fore in recent years amid a series of high-profile cases, including allegations of fixed football matches across Europe and the spot-fixing scandal that gripped cricket last summer.


The pace of technological change, allowing bets to be offered on all manner of sporting events across the world via the internet and mobile phones, and the proliferation of illegal markets has intensified the threat. The sports minister, Hugh Robertson, told the meeting it was important to separate the debate about establishing a "betting right" that would effectively impose a levy on bookmakers to fund the fight against corruption from the need to establish a co-ordinated approach to tackling the problem. He is believed to have said that Britain would play a leading role in co-ordinating an international response.

In two weeks we're about to witness one of the largest black markets ever: secondary sales of London 2012 tickets...the IOC be damned.

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: Cycling Race a Test for London 2012 Organisers

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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

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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: Basketball's LeBron James Undecided About London Summer Games

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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!

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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 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 Hotels and Tours: Summer Games to Volunteers: "We want you...er, no we don't."

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"We volunteered. Now where are
our bloody London 2012 tickets!"

As London 2012 organisers scramble to get Summer Olympics tickets figured out, some bold ticket-related initiatives are quietly being scrapped. Case in point: the volunteers in exchange for tickets plan. I'd love to be a fly on the wall of the London 2012 ticket committee. I can almost smell the sweat, Red Bull, and yes perhaps a whiff of urine as panick sets in. Tick tock boys and girls!

A scheme to use the Olympics to get people to volunteer in their local communities has been scrapped, the Culture Department has said. Following severe government cuts, the UK's culture department now consists of one Welsh man, a telephone, and a monkey named "Londoneye." The national 25th Hour campaign was launched at the Olympic Park last March by the then Olympics minister Tessa Jowell and London 2012 chairman Lord Coe. As a thank-you for giving up their time for community work, devoted volunteers were promised to be in line for one of the 2,012 pairs of tickets for the dress rehearsal for the London 2012 Olympic opening ceremony. Alas the scheme has gone the way of the Dodo.

The 25th Hour campaign was based on the idea that everyone can find an extra hour or more to make a difference. The tickets were to have been among a range of Olympic-themed awards for "exceptional time givers". The new Government is now hoping that the Places People Play scheme will bolster grassroots projects and events. A Culture Department spokesman said: "After careful consideration, the Government has decided not to continue the 25th Hour Programme. "Instead, the focus going forward will be on getting more people involved in sport as volunteers and coaches, through the Places People Play initiative. The new Sports Leaders Scheme aims to recruit, train and deploy 40,000 new volunteers to help organise sports activities in their communities."

 The 25th Hour was separate to London 2012's volunteer programme which this week began interviews to recruit 70,000 people to help the Games run smoothly. We at Spyns London 2012 tours (shameless plug) wonder why the games rely so heavily on volunteers. You don't see anyone volunteering a building, loaning equipment for free, or providing construction services at cost now do you?

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.

London 2012 Olympics Tickets Tours Hotels: London Ambassadors Programme in Full Swing

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"For Queen and Country!"

British pluck has never been more abundantly displayed than with the popular "London Ambassadors" program. Set up by London Mayor (pictured here) Boris Johnson (or "BJ" to his crew), volunteers must make a 6-day committment to help welcome and direct the many visitors to London. Here is a cute simulation from the Ambassadors's website under the heading "Duties":

American gentleman: That's it. We're completely lost. And the 200m heats start in one hour.


American lady: I told you to bring the map! You never listen to me.


London Ambassador: Hi there. Do you guys need any help?

American lady: We need to get to Stratford in one hour.

American gentleman: Where's the nearest subway station?

London Ambassador: No problem. The quickest way is to go to Green Park station which is only 5 minutes away. You'll need to catch a Jubilee Line train, which will go all the way to the Stadium.


American gentleman: Phew! Thanks for the tip.

The above reminds me of those "Don't do drugs" movies from highschool...cute but utterly divorced from reality. Let's hope the "American Couple" don't use much profanity or pack one of the many firearms currently available roadside in the US. I'd prefer a simulation with a drunk French couple, both radical lesbians, with adopted Senegalese baby in pram. Simulate that Boris! On a more serious note, almost 34,000 people have registered their interest in becoming  London Ambassadors for the 2012 Olympic Games. The Mayor of London's office will trim the list of applicants to 8,000 after interviewing a shortlist of applicants between April and July this year. The ambassadors will be welcome guides during the Olympics, answering visitors' questions and showing them the way to outdoor screens broadcasting the games across central London. London Mayor Boris Johnson said Monday that "it should come as no surprise that so many Londoners want the honor of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to represent their great city to our visitors in 2012."

While we've made light of the simulation, we at Spyns 2012 London Olympics Tours applaud the initiative. It makes up for Boris's "whiff whaff" speech in Beijing back in 2008! We've even come up with a slogan:

"London 2012, putting the 'Ass' back in 'Ambassador'". Catchy?

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: Olympic Stadium Fight Getting Nasty

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Artist's rendering of the completed
London 2012 Olympic stadium.

Who says the English lack passion? Spyns 2012 London Olympics clients are eagerly awaiting summer games ticket sales in March. As London 2012 organisers work dilligently to complete the Olympic Village, test computer systems, and prepare to sell roughly 8 million tickets, the battle over the Olympic stadium is turning rather nasty. 


Chairman of the 2012 London Olympics Lord Coe has slammed Tottenham's plans to occupy the Olympic Stadium in east London following the Games. Spurs are currently battling West Ham for the right to take control of the stadium and if successful, plan to knock the stadium down and replace it with one that they say is more suitable for hosting football. They do, however, state that they would redevelop the current athletics facilities at Crystal Palace.


However, Coe, who led the bid in 2005, isn't convinced and claims that Spurs' plans would undermine the Games' legacy. "It’s really serious we deliver on what we said we were going to deliver, unless we are prepared to trash our international reputation. "If we don’t, it would be difficult to be taken seriously in the corridors of world sport. I remember delivering a vision about a generation of young people being inspired to take up Olympic sports. I’m prepared to revisit my words that day but I genuinely don’t recall a whole heap about bulldozing down a publicly-funded facility, replacing it with a Premiership football club and inspiring a generation of Tottenham season-ticket holders.


"I find it inconceivable grandparents will take children back to a Premiership football ground and say somewhere among this lies dormant the memories of Jessica Ennis or Usain Bolt reaching the heights of sport. It just does not smell right." Meanwhile, West Ham vice-chairman Karren Brady has also furthered the debate, questioning Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp's impassioned call for Spurs' plans to go ahead. She said: "Harry has got his own agenda, no doubt given to him by his board to deliver. When he was asked before for his view of Tottenham moving to the Olympic Stadium, he said, 'That's West Ham territory, isn't it?' It's amazing what pressure can be put on you to change your opinion.


"Harry seems to have been briefed that we are simply moving our goalposts there. That is not true. This is being built by Westfield, an outstanding company, and one of the ideas is to move seats closer behind the goal. I'd be a lot more worried about Spurs filling their stadium because of all the demonstrations I have seen from the Tottenham supporters who are against moving. But this is much bigger than Harry's point of view. He is bordering on hysteria."

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.