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
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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: 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 and Tours: IOC Impressed with London's Progress

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Spyns clients planning to attend the 2012 London Olympics with us in a few years can take heart that preparations are proceeding on schedule.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) Coordination Commission (pictured right) for the London 2012 Summer Olympic Games ended its seventh visit to the city Friday, following three days of meetings with London 2012 representatives and its partners. The commission, led by Chairman Denis Oswald, visited several venues including Wembley Arena, Earls Court, Hadleigh Farm, the Royal Artillery Barracks and the new velodrome being built in the Olympic Park.

Oswald said, "we can see the pieces of the puzzle falling into place now, and the big picture is rapidly visible. Preparations are advancing at an astonishing rate and LOCOG, the ODA, and their partners should be congratulated for the high quality of the work they are producing across this complex project. The continued support of the British government for the Games has also been key to the progress made since our last visit, and they should be thanked for the efforts that they have made in these challenging times. This underlines the British people's strong connection to sport and to the Olympic Games in particular".


The commission also received updates on the London 2012 volunteer program and ticketing prices in recent months, and welcomed LOCOG's plans to ensure that families of athletes participating at the 2012 Games will be able to secure tickets to events featuring these athletes.


However London organizers refused to back down Friday on their decision to change the Olympic marathon route, but said they may have found a solution to restore a multimillion-dollar fabric wrap around the main stadium for the 2012 Games, reports The Associated Press. Sebastian Coe, head of London 2012, said potential sponsors have offered to pay for the more than half-mile long stadium wrap that was scrapped last month to save $11 million as part of government budget cuts in Britain. He said, "since the decision was made, we have had a number of commercial overtures to fund the wrap..." But sponsors won't be able to brand the wrap with its name or logo since venue advertising is banned at the Olympics.


As for changing the Olympic marathon route, Coe said he made the decision for "operational reasons" to avoid traffic congestion on what will be one of the busiest days of the Olympics.


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