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

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

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

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

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

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

London 2012 Olympics Tickets Tours and Hotels: When to book your London 2012 tour?

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"Got any rooms?" London 2012 is
turning out to be a tourist's nightmare.

I doubt there was this much conflict under the communist Chinese for Beijing 2008! If ever there were an example of excessive litigation, look no further than the London 2012 Olympics.

According to a recent report from Europe, advance-booking demand for hotels during the LondonOlympic Games is down by 80%, but hotels are still keeping rooms off the market. That report raises the classic dilemma of would-be Olympic Games visitors to the London Games next summer, July 27-August 12, and it leaves at least one reader in a quandary: If I want to take in the Games, should I buy now or wait for a bargain price?


As my colleague Christine Sarkis recently blogged, the ticket sale process has started through CoSport, the official reseller for Games tickets to residents of the U.S., Canada, Australia, and a bunch of European countries. The "ticket request phase" runs through April 22, and "hospitality package sales" started on March 15. So far, CoSport isn't showing any prices, but it is accepting registrations and requests. The official London-based Olympic ticket website specifically states that it will not sell to foreign visitors. However, if you have some friends in the U.K., you might have them inquire about buying tickets for you there.


In some prior Olympic Games, host-country and regional demand for tickets has fallen far short of expectations and national allocations. In those cases, local authorized sellers have released ticket inventory to foreign agencies and tour operators basically, to any outfit willing to buy them. In other years, Games admission has become the "hottest ticket in town." Whether U.K. demand will exceed or fail to meet expectations is anyone's guess. In any case, various U.S. ticket resellers, such as TicketCity are also taking requests for tickets, which may come either through CoSports or from initial allocations that originally went to other countries.


As always, as opening day approaches, you'll see a secondary market in event tickets: Will they go at scalper prices or distressed levels? That's the big question, with no answer yet in sight.Tour operators of all stripes are organizing Olympic packages, some through CoSports, some through sports tour specialists, some through mainline tour operators. So far, the only hard prices I've seen were from Roadtrips, which lists a four-night package starting at a mind-boggling $3,695 per person, excluding airfare and event tickets. I suspect that, at least early on, other package prices will also be very high.


As noted, London and nearby hotels are holding most of their room inventory out for Olympic packagers and direct sales. So far, none of the big hotel chain or online agency sites is even quoting prices more than a year in advance, so I can't give any examples. But you'll be able to check prices starting this July. Typically, host countries always anticipate a great shortage of accommodations during the Games, and they try to line up accommodations in student dormitories, private houses, and other places that don't usually cater to short-term visitors. London is doing this, as well, and you can look for special websites set up for accommodations searches.


If anyone believes airfares can be forecasted accurately more than a year in advance, I have some great bridges I'd sell him or her. Overall, the long-term trend in airfares is upward, as the world's major airlines do a better job of matching seats to demand than they've done in the past. And, at least so far, no transatlantic low-fare lines have emerged to challenge the quasi-monopoly of the giant lines from North America to London. Airlines don't post fares this far in advance, so you can't tell anything yet. And the onerous British "air-passenger duty" will continue to make London an unusually expensive ticket.

But the 800-pound gorilla in the airfare room is the price of oil. If oil remains at current levels, you can expect higher airfares in 2012, but an easing of oil prices will certainly ease airfare pressures.


London has spent a lot of time and money in beefing up transport services in and around the primary Olympic site on London's East Side. Expansions and improvements include the Docklands Light Railway to Stratford International, upgraded rail stops at Stratford and adjacent Stratford International to accommodate both conventional and high-speed trains, and expanded underground stations and platforms. Special high-speed trains will make the trip from St Pancras Station to Stratford International in seven minutes. Although the Olympic Park will host a majority of events, others will occur as far away as Greenwich to the east, and Wembley and Wimbledon to the west. As far as I can tell, all venues enjoy good public transport. Apparently, British ticket buyers will automatically receive a " Games Travel Card" providing for transport between the primary Game venues and all nine London transport zones. Presumably, foreign visitors will be able to buy similar cards.


At this point, I can provide only a few general suggestions for prospective visitors:

•If you prefer to lock in your experience, buy in early register for Games tickets, accommodations, or packages immediately and be prepared to pay top dollar.


•If you're willing to gamble, you may find some "sale" prices on tickets, accommodations, and packages as opening day approaches. But waiting runs the risk of paying top dollar. Don't adopt a waiting strategy unless you're willing to miss out entirely on the Games.


•No matter what, if you don't want to get involved with the Olympics, stay clear of London entirely. Visiting during that time and probably several weeks or so before and after is an open invitation for a royal fleecing.


Get fleeced or risk not going not an attractive choice. But nobody said life was fair.

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

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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: 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: An Open Letter to Lord Coe

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Dear Lord Coe:

Lord Coe praying people will
have enough hotel rooms.

As Chair of the London 2012 Olympics, the task of organising London's summer games must feel overwhelming at times. While your time is short, I have one simple request: let ordinary people enjoy the games as well. Sadly, you have your work cut out for you.

I understand millions of London 2012 tickets will go on sale in just a few weeks. While I believe you and your team are making genuine efforts to price tickets reasonably, once every has purchsed their tickets, they will have nowhere to stay. And I blame you.

As you are no doublt aware, for such a large city, London has a relatively small number of hotel rooms. Unfortunately, your organising committee has booked almost every hotel room for International Olympic Committee VIPs and sponsors. Sadly, this leaves almost no rooms for the average tourist to stay within London proper. This is unacceptable. If people cannot stay in London to enjoy the games by finding inexpensive accommodations, I fail to see the point of hosting the games at all.

You and your staff are of course aware of the problem. Unlike the Beijing games, my information suggests your organising committee is not building more hotels to provide the beds necessary to meet overwhelming demand. Compounding the issue is your unacceptable lock on every single hotel room in central London. I would therefore urge you and your staff to focus a bit more on this problem to ensure everyone, rather than just Olympic insiders, can enjoy this wonderful event.

I look forward to your timely reply.

Respectfully yours,

Ryan King

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

London 2012 Olympics Tickets Tours and Hotels: 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: Beware of London 2012 Big Brother

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

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

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

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

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

London 2012 Olympics Tickets Hotels and Tours: 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 Hotels and Tours: Cyber Attacks!

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

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


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


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


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




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


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

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

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

London 2012 Olympics Tickets and Tours: Former White House Drug Czar Says Test Early to Prevent Doping

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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"

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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: Organisers Say Security Won't Suffer Despite Cuts

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As Spyns' clients gear up for the London 2012 Summer Olympics, security and the terrorist threat remain on the main concerns for travel to Europe. With recent budget cuts, London 2012 organisers faced questions about inadequate funding for policing and security. In reply, London 2012 Olympic chiefs said on Tuesday they were confident a safe Games could be delivered despite the prospect of a 20 percent cut in its security budget.

The coalition government has made cuts across most departments to tackle a record peacetime budget deficit approaching 11 percent of national output. Paul Deighton, chief executive of LOCOG, responsible for staging the Games, said the revised figure was the result of getting into the "nitty gritty" of what was needed. "They are very focused on what the level of risk is and as a consequence will put in place the police support, the counter espionage support," he said. "All the work that goes on will be in response to their perception of the level of threat and what's needed to make it a safe and secure Games, and that is the driver." He said he was confident risks were being covered, despite not being party to all intelligence.

When the former Labour government set out its Olympic Safety and Security Strategy, experts suggested anti-terrorism measures could push the bill toward 1.5 billion pounds. The security budget for the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics rose five times above its bid estimate. London's original 600 million pound figure would still be available if required, Herbert said. A further 280 million pounds was earmarked for LOCOG to secure venues across the country, taken from the overall 9.3 billion pound Games budget.

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

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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.