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

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

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


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


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


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

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

London 2012 Olympics Tickets 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 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 Hotels: Basketball's LeBron James Undecided About London Summer Games

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LeBron may be the only
person who can afford
London 2012 tickets.

As the world eagerly awaits London 2012 tickets to go on sale, organisers are hoping big-name stars will attract potential clients to purchase pricey tickets. Miami Heat star LeBron James has admitted that he still has a 'tough decision' to make before committing to the US Olympic team. James - who controversially swapped Cleveland for Miami last summer and skipped last year's World Championships, which was won by the United States - is the biggest name in basketball and had previously put his name forward for London 2012.


But the 26-year-old, who was an integral part of the US team that won Olympic gold in Beijing, admits he is reluctant to give an official thumbs up until his team-mates Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh reach their own conclusions. News of his potential absence will be a concern for London 2012 organisers, who are hoping that basketball will be one of the hottest tickets to go on sale next month, despite the fact Great Britain's involvement has yet to be ratified by world governing body Fiba. I'm eagerly awaiting the ticket backlash because the prices are going to be outrageous, particularly in the secondary (read: black) market.


"These two [Wade and Bosh] don't know if they're going yet and if they don't go then it's definitely a tougher decision for myself," James told national sports agency Sportsbeat. "I've got to roll with my guys, so we'll see what happens. "I've been to London before and it's a great city. Basketball is continuing to spread. Even though we know it's a huge soccer town, the game of basketball is getting bigger every day."


James had previously stated he would be available, if called on by US coach Mike Krzyzewski.
"Hopefully I'm healthy enough to be a part of that team. Coach K has my number," he said, last year. Wade was part of the Miami Heat team that visited London for an exhibition game against the New Jersey Nets in 2008 but the 29-year-old appears lukewarm about returning. "I think we have to see what the best opportunity is for us at that time and where we possibly fit in," he explained. "And it's about a lot of other things as well. It's an honour for us to even be considered for the team. We'll see. "London is awesome and I know they're going to put on a first class Olympics. I got the chance to go with Miami for the pre-season. The fans were amazing and we had a great time."


Spyns London 2012 tours will also include tickets to the basketball finals...with out without LeBron.

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

London 2012 Olympics Tickets Tours Hotels: 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 Tours and Hotels: Swimming Ian Thorpe Making Comeback

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Ian Thorpe's Comeback:
Manage your expectations.

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

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

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

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

London 2012 Summer Games Tickets Tours Hotels: Schedule for London 2012 Ticket Sales

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A priceless commodity

Tickets have long been the achilles heel of most summer Olympic Games. The Olympic playbook is always the same: save half of the tickets for Olympic Organising Committee members, corporate sponsors, and VIPs. The lowly single ticket holder often has to go without. Ticket problems plagued Atlanta, Sydney, and the Beijing games. Will the London 2012 summer games fare any better? Spyns London Summer Games clients wonder.

From tickets going on sale in March to the final lick of paint being administered to the Olympic Park, 2011 represents a key year in engaging the British public in a home Olympiad. What follows are some key days in the London 2012 ticketing calendar.

JANUARY
London 2012 organising committee will publish dates of Olympics and Paralympics tickets going on sale. Water polo, beach volleyball and handball are expected to find out their fate for 2012 inclusion from the British Olympic Association. Volleyball was granted an automatic spot last month, so it remains to be seen whether the BOA will take ahard line approach to the remaining sports. The full schedule of test events are also due to be announced in the first quarter of 2011 too.


FEBRUARY
The Olympic PR machine will crank up a few gears when full details of all the 650 separate sessions for the 26 Olympic sports are published. It will give the British public time to take in and plan when the stars are likely to be competing.


MARCH
Likely to be around March 15 – 500 days to go until the start of the Games – some 6.6 million tickets for all the Olympics sports will go on sale. A giant clock counting down the hours until the start will also be installed in Trafalgar Square. Around 2m people have already registered for tickets in preparation for the launch. Ticket prices will vary according to the demand for the sport and will range from £20 ($30) to £2012 ($3000) – the most expensive ticket at the opening ceremony. Ticket sales will not be a bun fight. It will be in ballot form, the idea being that families can plan their Olympic experience with preferences for sessions. The IOC co-ordination commission will also visit London to inspect preparations. They were last in town in December.

APRIL
London will be abuzz in the first week of the month when hundreds of chief execs and sponsors attend Sportaccord 2011, the annual convention which gels sport and business. Themed ‘Why Sport Matters’, the Park Plaza Hotel in Westminster will feature over 100 federations from 60 nations, including Sepp Blatter and Martin Sorrell. The International Olympic Committee’s executive board will also meet in the capital for the first time since the city was awarded the 2012 Games.

MAY/JUNE
Details on the London 2012 torch relay are expected to be announced. The relay will involve 8,000 runners, more than half of whom will be aged 24 or under, and will go to within an hour’s travel of 95 per cent of the population of the British isles.

JULY
Mark your cards for July 27 when celebrations will take place for exactly one year to go to the Olympics.


AUGUST
A month for fine-tuning. Test events for beach volleyball in Horse Guard’s Parade, sailing in Weymouth, open water on the Serpentine and rowing on Dorney Lake will all take place. Badminton’s World Championships at Wembley Arena will also act as a Locog test event. Meanwhile, events marking one year to go to the opening of the Paralympics will take place on Aug 29.


SEPTEMBER
Tickets for the Paralympics are expected to go on sale.

OCTOBER
The IOC co-ordination commission will make their second visit of the year to London to inspect preparations.

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER
The main venues including the Olympic Stadium, Aquatics Centre and Velodrome and the Olympic Park are due to be completed by this time and handed over to Locog to be fitted out for the Games. The main press centre is also likely to be finished.

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.

Tickets on Sale: London 2012 Summer Olympic Games

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Olympic organisers have started pre-registration to sell tickets to the London 2012 summer games. While signing up online does not guarantee a pass, it is a shortcut to the public ballot for 75 per cent of tickets. ‘Anyone who signs up will be in pole position,’ said Paul Deighton, London 2012 chief executive on Monday.

‘The aim is to make the process as easy as possible and get people thinking about which events they want to watch from all the different Olympic and Paralympic sports. We expect people to be more interested in tickets for some events than others. ‘There is no fairer way for people to get in line for those tickets than by public ballot.’ Originally, there were to be 7.7million tickets for the Olympics and 1.5million for the Paralympic Games but the figure has now risen to 8million and 2million, on sale from next spring. Mr Deighton stayed tight-lipped about prices but said there would be ‘millions of affordable and accessible tickets’. Critics have long bemoaned that tickets are generously distributed to sponsors, Olympic committee members, and government officials yet real fans receive few affordable tickets.

Sadly, hospitality tickets will account for less than one per cent of passes on sale. Paralympic swimming champion Ellie Simmonds said it was important true sports fans would be in the crowd, adding: ‘It will be good for the atmosphere. My friends are all interested in tickets and want to see me. I bet there will be lots of people who will want to see events at a home Olympics and Paralympics.’

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

London 2012 Olympics Tickets and Tours: Et tu sponsor?

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Since the Los Angeles games in 1983, or the McGames referring to over-sponsorship, London Summer Games Organisers have been at pains to balance much-needed sponsorship revenues with, well good taste. Enter Adidas.

Adidas became London 2012's third sponsor in a deal worth more than $201 million. Adidas becomes the official sportswear partner for the games and also will provide clothing for the 70,000 volunteers and officials. The deal also covered sponsorship for clothing and equipment used by British athletes for the 2008 Beijing Games, the recent 2010 Vancouver Games and 2012 London Games. "No other host city has made such progress in its domestic sponsorship five years out from the games," London 2012 chairman Sebastian Coe said.

Adidas flew in world champions Tyson Gay and Allyson Felix for a glossy London launch and the pair ran on a mock racing track on the Millennium Bridge over the River Thames to highlight the deal. The sponsorship announcement also featured five-time Olympic goal medalist Nadia Comeneci. England soccer star David Beckham also made an appearance via a hologram -- speaking of his joy competing in front of crowds in his native London. Adidas joins British bank Lloyds TSB, which has signed up as a banking and insurance partner, and EDF Energy, which has the utilities sponsorship. London hopes to name a fourth sponsor by Christmas. The other categories are telecoms, automotive, airline, oil and gas and a clothing and homeware manufacturer.

The top-tier sponsors will help raise $4 billion for the London Olympic organizing committee.
"It's a really important commercial message as well," Coe said. "It's not just the importance of coming to the table with serious help, in terms of helping us deliver our financial commitments. These are partners coming to the table that can bring other levels of expertise. A separate budget for venues, infrastructure and regeneration projects total $18.6 billion. Adidas chief executive officer Herbert Hainer said the sponsorship was the biggest single investment that the German company had made in the British market. He said he wanted Adidas to be the leading ports brand in Britain and the largest sportswear maker in Europe.

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.