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

http://www.london2012-tours.com/
http://www.london-olympiad.com/
http://www.london-tours-2012.com/

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

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

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

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

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

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

http://www.london-tours-2012.com/
http://www.london2012-tours.com/
http://www.london-olympiad.com/

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

http://www.london-tours-2012.com/
http://www.london2012-tours.com/
http://www.london-olympiad.com/

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: An Open Letter to Lord Coe

http://www.london-tours-2012.com/
http://www.london2012-tours.com/
http://www.london-olympiad.com/

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 Hotels: A Royal Start for Summer Games Cycling

http://www.london-tours-2012.com/
http://www.london2012-tours.com/

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

http://www.london-olympiad.com/


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 and Tours: David Beckham Olympic Gold for London Organising Committee

http://www.london-tours-2012.com/ http://www.london2012-tours.com
http://www.london-olympiad.com/

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 and Tours: Former White House Drug Czar Says Test Early to Prevent Doping

http://www.london2012-tours.com/
http://www.london-tours-2012.com/
http://www.london-olympiad.com/

Spyns clients agree the London 2012 games should remain drug-free. Former White House drug czar Robert Weiner believes testing for the London summer games should start early and frequently. Spyns is an active travel company offering trip packages to the London 2012 Olympic Games.

Weiner was spokesman for the White House National Drug Policy Office and directed WADA media outreach at the Salt Lake Olympics in 2002 and White House Olympics drug media at Sydney 2000. He assisted in creation of WADA and USADA. The 2002 Salt Lake City Games, the first Winter Games after formation of the World Anti-Doping Agency in 1999, was dramatically impacted by drug testing and the busts that occurred. To stop athletes from doping during the London Games in 2012, start the drug testing now. Testing the athletes before the Games, and not just on-site during the Games, is the lesson of the Salt Lake City Olympics.


With the 2012 summer Olympics less than two years away, it's time to prepare for an onslaught of illegal drug use during the Games. A review of the Salt Lake Games' drug history teaches an important lesson -- the world drug-testing apparatus must be fully prepared to keep the Games clean. Alain Baxter, an alpine skier who represented the United Kingdom, lost his bronze medal after testing positive for methamphetamine. Russia's Larisa Lazutina and Olga Danilova and Spain's Johann Mühlegg, all cross-country skiers, were found using the drug Darbepoetin and stripped of their medals. Belarusian ice hockey player Vasily Pankov was disqualified after testing positive for the steroid nandrolone. The Belarusian ice hockey doctor, Evgeni Lositski, was banned.


In a final embarrassment, following the Games, blood transfusion equipment was found in the rooms where the Austrian ski team stayed. Team officials claimed the equipment was to prevent the flu, and the world's media collectively laughed. The real question is how many cheating athletes were not caught before the Games, because most cheating occurs in training, not the competition itself. Olympic athletes also bypass drug disqualifications with waivers, called therapeutic use exemptions, or TUEs, or come at the last minute to international events to avoid early testing.


A therapeutic-use exemption allows an athlete to use a banned substance for treatment of an illness if a doctor "prescribes" it and if Olympic officials agree it's necessary for health. TUEs are legitimate for illnesses like cancer, but former World Anti-Doping Chair Dick Pound has sarcastically said that it's amazing the world's fittest athletes -- Olympians -- have six times the colds of the rest of humanity. TUEs are a huge loophole. Celebrity athletes have been caught up in recent drug scandals. Five-time Olympic medalist Marion Jones -- who had been considered the best female sprinter ever -- finally admitted to steroid use leading up to the Sydney Games.


Recent busts are coming fast and furious. In July 2009, five Beijing Olympians were banned and lost medals after two tests confirmed use of the blood-boosting drug Cera, including the 1,500-meter track champion. Thirty athletes were banned from the Vancouver Olympics and 70 from the Beijing Games. In January 2010, a Russian skier was dropped from the Olympic team after she tested positive for EPO. In March, a Polish skier's EPO use was confirmed and she was suspended. A Chinese judo performer tested positive for the muscle-building drug Clenbuterol in May, as did a Chinese swimmer and a British hurdler.

On Oct. 18, American sprinter LaShawn Merritt was banned from competing for 21 months. A medalist at Beijing and Berlin, he tested positive for DHEA (dehydroepiandrosterone), which he blames on over-the-counter Extenze. Enlarging body parts notwithstanding, Merritt is now slated to miss the London Olympics.Track and field and the Olympics are models -- they expel athletes who drug cheat, unlike major professional sports such as football, baseball, basketball, and hockey, which find excuses to let them compete after a wrist slap or a short token hiatus. Even a master sprinter over 35 competing only for honor, and not for the massive funding Olympic champions receive, gets banned. Val Barnwell, 52, was busted after testing positive for testosterone at the World Master Championships in 2009 in Italy and was barred when he showed up to race at the 2010 World Masters Indoors in Canada this March.

The athletes competing in London 2012 will be the best in the world. They should be the ones who put in the years of training and effort, not the competitors who use the most drugs.


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: "The Gift of London's Olympics"

http://www.london2012-tours.com/
http://www.london-tours-2012.com/ 

People across the UK were last night urged to make the most of “the gift of the Olympics” by running legend Sir Roger Bannister. Sir Roger was speaking at the launch of a new initiative by Oxfordshire 2012, which aims to ensure the county benefits from the Olympic Games in London. He was joined by local Olympic hopefuls at the Iffley Road Sports Ground, where he made history by running the first sub-four minute mile in 1954 (pictured here). Sir Roger said the games should leave a lasting legacy for Oxfordshire, extending far beyond sport to provide educational and tourism opportunities. He said: “There is a great opportunity for local sports facilities to be improved. We are offering Oxford as a site for competitors who want to come for pre-Olympic training. “While there will be those hoping to compete in the games from Oxfordshire, individuals can volunteer to become helpers, giving them perhaps a life-long link with the Olympic movement, and an understanding of its ethos.” Oxfordshire 2012 will look to involve young people in the Olympics as volunteers, organise local events and boost tourism.


Sir Roger said he hoped the games would spark a new enthusiasm for creating new sports facilities in the county, particularly for young people. But the news came as campaigners were delivering a petition to Downing Street, urging David Cameron to reverse a decision to axe funding for the School Sports Partnerships. Oxfordshire youngsters have been prominent in the campaign to save the partnership, which oversees the district’s 18,500 children in 56 schools, and runs teachers’ training, sports activities and competitions for ages five to 19. However, Sir Roger said there were grounds for hope the Government was ready to change its mind.


He said: “It is well known sports facilities in schools have to compete with science labs and computer centres and things geared towards getting better GCSE and academic results. We have heard the Government is thinking of withdrawing grants of £165m for School Sports Partnerships, that was ringfenced. But this is already being reconsidered.” Oxfordshire 2012 is backed by Oxford Inspires, Oxfordshire Sports Partnership, Oxfordshire County Council, Oxford University, Oxford City Council and Thames Valley Police.

Jon Roycroft, director of Oxford University Sport, said: “The Iffley Road sports complex is on the list of approved training sites for Olympics. We can offer facilities for track events and hockey teams.” Details of what Oxford has to offer is now being circulated to countries taking part. Mr Roycroft said there had been preliminary discussions with nothing yet settled on which countries will be coming to Oxford. Kathelene Weiss, director of Oxford Inspires, said: “The new website will show how people can get involved. It will encourage local business, education and sports communities to engage in projects.”


Andy Gardiner, the former greengrocer who broke into the Great Britain Disability Shooting squad, said: “Oxford has such a wide range of sporting talent. 2012is a great showcase for this. “We’ve got such rich history. Roger rewrote the rule book here in 1954, it would be great if a British athlete could repeat that.”

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

London 2012 Olympics Tickets and Tours: Athletes Demand Legacy for Stadium

http://www.london2012-tours.com/
http://www.london-tours-2012.com/ 

Artist's rendering of stadium once completed.

As Spyns clients gear up for the 2012 summer games in London, a mild controversy is building over plans for the Olympic Stadium.

Kelly Holmes and Daley Thompson are among a group of UK Olympians urging authorities to keep the Olympic Stadium running track after the 2012 Games. Plans by Premier League club Tottenham to relocate to the stadium would result in the running track being removed. "We urge the decision makers to ensure the track remains post 2012," the group wrote in an open letter. "[It would] bring to life a sporting promise made to a whole community for generations to come."


Tottenham's proposal has been submitted in collaboration with AEG, who manage the O2 Arena, and, together with West Ham United's plan, is one of two bids being considered by the Olympic Park Legacy Company (OPLC), the organisation responsible for the long-term management of the Stratford site. It would be unacceptable for the stadium to lose the track and effectively become an Olympic Stadium with NO Olympic connection or legacy


The Spurs proposal has been deemed "completely unacceptable" by UK Athletics (UKA) because their plans for an 80,000-seat stadium would involve ripping up the athletics track. That would break the original pledge for a world-class athletics venue after the 2012 Games. West Ham, however, want to create a 60,000-capacity arena for football, athletics, concerts and community use in a collaboration with Newham Council, a bid endorsed by UKA. Former Olympians Alan Wells, Steve Cram, Steve Backley, Roger Black, Jamie Baulch, Lynn Davies, Brendan Foster, Katharine Merry, David Moorcroft, Alan Pascoe, Wendy Sly, Ian Stewart and the Paralympian Tanni Grey-Thompson, added their weight to urge the OPLC to honour the 2005 pledge of "an athletics legacy in the form of a world-class stadium".


They wrote: "Here was a stadium that would see young athletes competing for an English schools title run on the same track as Usain Bolt, where Premiership footballers could play whilst club athletes train. "Here was somewhere that could play host to Twenty20 cricket one week and a pop concert the next. The whole idea of an Olympic legacy is that something tangible is left for the sport afterwards


"There is no doubt a legacy of bricks and mortar can work. Look to the Velodrome in Manchester, a true legacy of the 2002 Commonwealth Games that is paying dividends every time British cyclists compete on the world stage. "As Olympians we are all ardent sports fans and that is why we believe the Olympic legacy HAS to be the Olympic Stadium complete with track. "It would be unacceptable for the stadium to lose the track and effectively become an Olympic Stadium with NO Olympic connection or legacy." BBC commentator Cram, a silver medallist in the 1500m at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, said the Stratford stadium could host major international athletics meetings in the future. "If you are going to have a stadium of that size it needs to be used well, not only as a national centre for UK athletics but also to host major athletics events in the future," he told BBC Radio 5 live.


"While Britain has pulled out for bidding for the 2015 World Championships, there is an intention to bid for the 2017 Worlds - and then there are the future Europeans and Commonwealth Games too. "The whole idea of an Olympic legacy is that something tangible is left for the sport afterwards." However, London 2012 chairman Lord Coe told a Culture, Media and Sport committee on Tuesday that the organising committee is "not party" to the bids process by either Tottenham or West Ham. "I'm loath to get into this discussion," said Coe, who is also vice-president of the International Association of Athletics Federations. "It is not up to us. The OPLC are conducting the process of the stadium along the recognisable lines that commitments have been made on the basis of future use." Asked whether it would be a shame if the venue were to be pulled down, Coe replied: "I would agree with 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 Olympics, including hotels, tickets, and VIP access, please visit our websites http://www.london2012-tours.com/ and http://www.london-tours-2012.com/ or call us toll-free at 1.888.825.4720.

London 2012 Olympics: London Stadium Ahead of Schedule

http://www.london2012-tours.com/
http://www.london-tours-2012.com/



It's all doom and gloom in England these days. With the pound sinking and British economy in ruins, London is spending massive amounts of taxpayer money on Olympian development projects. Case in point: the Olympic stadium is going to cost double the initial estimate. There is a long history of cost overruns associated with hosting the summer Olympics and London's summer games are no exception. By my calculations, the games normally cost taxpayers 2 to 6 times initial estimates and sadly London's Olympic stadium is proving me right.

Initial estimates put the Olympic stadium's pricetag at £270 million (approximately US$405 million) however the costs have, ahem, gone up somewhat. According to the Guardian, the stadium will now cost a staggering £537m (US$752m). The 80,000-seat stadium is located at Marshgate Lane in Stratford in the Lower Lea Valley. Organisers broke ground in mid 2007 although the official construction start date was scheduled for May 22, 2008. However piling works for the stadium's foundation unofficially began four weeks ahead of schedule.

Chief architect Rod Sheard, of HoK Sport, said the stadium would make a big impact, but not in the same way that previous Olympic stadia had. "This is not a stadium that's going to be screaming from the rooftops that it's bigger and more spectacular," he said. "This is just a cleverer building. This is a cleverer solution." The design is apparently modular but comes at a pricetag.

Unlike the profligate Chinese, London 2012 summer games organisers were at pains to reduce, re-use and recycle their various stadia. The design concept is for an 80,000-seat stadium for the summer games. Post-games, the stadium will convert to a smaller 25,000-seat structure that can be re-used for (paying) smaller venues. That was the concept. The reality is proving a bit more problematic. While London 2012's promotional video (see above) suggests a transformer-like switch from 80k seats to 25k, the conversion will eventually cost £100m which in Olympic parlance means £200m-£600m.

Regardless, I think the design is quite striking. Unlike the logo fiasco which does truly look like Lisa Simpson performing a lewd act, the stadium is beautiful. Unlike every other Olympic stadium, the Brits are keeping to a strict construction schedule and may even complete the stadium on time (an Olympic first). Hopefully the removable stadium seats won't collapse while Spyns' clients are watching the opening and closing ceremonies.

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

Spyns London 2012 Olympic Tours: Ballooning Costs an Olympic Tradition

http://www.london2012-tours.com/
http://www.spyns.com/

Why do countries so love grandeur? Nations vying for the games always fugdge the cost during the application process when the final bill is always double or triple the estimate. London has recently fallen victim to Olympian math. Here is a brief analysis of the estimates vs. actual costs for past summer games:

Beijing 2008 Summer Games
Estimate: $4.4 billion / Actual Cost: $58.5 billion* = Cost overrun $54 billion
These figures are difficult to confirm as the Communist Party of China isn't known for its transparancy.

Athens 2004 Summer Games:
Estimate: 4.5 billion euros / Actual Cost: 9 billion euros = Cost overrun 4.5 billion euros

Sydney 2000 Summer Games:
Estimate: AUS$3 billion / Actual Cost: AUS$6.6 billion = Cost overrun AUS$3.6 billion

Montreal 1976 Summer Games:
Esimate: CDN$310 million / Actual Cost: CDN$1.5 billion = Cost overrun CDN$1.2 billion

On average, it costs 6x the initial estimate to actually host the Olympics and London's 2012 Olympiad seems destined to follow this trend.

In keeping with Olympic tradition, Britain's Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell, who also has special responsibility for the games, revised cost estimates (ahem) upward. The Olympic organising committee originally budgeted 2.4£ billion. The Labour government now projects a total pricetag of 9.3£ billion (approximately US$14 billion). Based on historical averages, the final pricetag should be somewhere between 9-14£ billion or approximately 200£ for every single British citizen. That's quite a lot of cheddar. Here is a chronology of the uptick:

2003: Consultants Arup put total cost of building and staging the Games at £1.796bn
2003: Tessa Jowell launches bid in May telling MPs it will cost £2.375bn - including a 50% contingency
2005: Bid succeeds in July with "prudent" estimate of preparing for games of £2.4bn
2006: Tessa Jowell says Olympic Park costs up to £3.3bn
2007: Olympic Park budget now at £5.3bn - including regeneration and infrastructure
2007: Total budget, including contingency, security and tax, reaches £9.35bn

Why do countries host the games? From a financial standpoint, they can bankrupt a nation like Greece for example. Is seems nations are more than willing to open the public purse for that Olympic moment. Right Athens?

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

London 2012 Olympics Tours: Tant Pis Paris

http://www.london2012-tours.com/
http://www.spyns.com/

Spyns is an active travel company based in Whistler, BC. We will be offering tours to the London 2010 Olympic games including hotels, sporting events tickets, and VIP access to the opening and closing ceremonies.

London won the games as we all know. I lived in France for a number of years, my wife is French, and my children speak French fluently but I'll be damned if I understand them. Case in point: Paris was the hands-down favourite for the 2012 games and yet lost to arch-rival London in a close 54-50 vote. Why? Nationwide strikes during an official International Olympic Committee visit to the French capital probably didn't hurt. Therein lies the story.

The French are non-conformists. While dining with French friends or family, I often delight in making sweeping generalizations like, "The French are all non-confirmists!" and titter when one of them takes the bait. "I disagree," said my Burgundian father-in-law. By disagreeing, he only proved by point. Whereas the Yanks, Canadians (Editor's Note: the author is Canadian), and Brits long to be loved, the French couldn't give a damn and this nonchalance eventually cost them the games. Most of France supported the games yet a few belligerent French unions saw another opportunity to stage nationwide strikes. What a shame.

Paris would have been the ideal host city - perhaps even better than London. The city of London is terribly overcrowded with creaky infranstructure. Paris on the other hand is a sprawling city with excellent infrastructure and an unparalelled transportation system. It all works remarkably well but devolves into utter chaos during the frequent transportation strikes. Such is France.

Case in point: I always enjoy skiing in France but the lift lines are complete and utter chaos. I'm always astonished at the French love of queue jumping. Everyone from well-to-do Parisian grandparents to helmet-sporting pre-schoolers crush skis in a bizarre attempt to get ahead of eachother. It's the same fiasco at any French airport, bus stop or taxi stand. For a nation founded on fraternité (brotherhood), I have never once had someone give me their parking space or say, "No please. After you." Not surprising then at the unions saw a golden opportunity to promote their agenda at the expense of Paris's failed bid.

And so London 2012 became a reality. Tant pis Paris.

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

O Boris Where Art Thou?

http://www.london2012-tours.com
http://www.london-tours-2012.com

What better way to start a blog about the London 2012 Olympics than with Boris Johnson (London's mayor). An unabashed Anglophile, I was thrilled when London bested arch-enemy Paris to win the 2012 summer Olympics. Then the world imploded but we'll get to that in another blog.

I've always enjoyed Johnson's politically incorrect television appearances. Things got better when he was elected mayor of London, perhaps because no one was more surprised at the win than Boris. Johnson is the quintessential dishevelled Etonian and is quite happy to play the buffoon in front of cameras. Therein lies his genius. Imagine my anticipation when he flew down to Beijing for the traditional "passing of the Olympic flag" at the 2008 Olympiad's closing ceremony. He did not disappoint.

Boris was smartly turned out for the closing ceremony. An unabashed colonialist who once suggested England could solve its overpopulation by repossessing northern France, he looked a little overwhelmed while waving the Olympic flag. But who wouldn't? To everyone's surprise, he was elected mayor of London and other than a few stints as a journalist in Brussels, had little experience in international affairs. Cut to the closing ceremony. A billion people were watching him so Johnson put down his gin & tonic and enthusiastically waved the Olympic flag. Mouth firmly shut, he did an excellent job but a storm was coming.

Following the ceremony, Johnson spoke at an impromptu press gathering and rambled on for a few minutes before declaring "ping pong is coming home". Prime Minister Gordon Brown fidgeted in the background. It was a masterful performance although the reference to ping poing, a rather obvious slight against China, was unfortunate. Hopefully Johnson will still be mayor in 2012.

Changing gears, my tour company (Spyns) will soon be launching its London 2010 tours website. We are setting a rather ambitious goal of 500+ clients for the next summer Olympiad. I've reserved http://www.london2012-tours.com/ as a website and fully expect some City trademark lawyer to threaten a lawsuit for using the terms "London 2012." Damn the torpedoes! Before the Olympics, I will also interview and have a photo taken with Sir Boris.

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