London 2012 Olympics: 100 days to go - share your views

Wednesday marks 100 days to go until the beginning of the London Olympics and a series of special events are taking place around the UK and internationally to start the countdown.

It's a chance to look ahead to the games and all the activities planned around them for spectators, the public and visitors to the UK and tell us what you think of the build-up.

As the event draws closer we want to hear how this year's Olympics will affect you:

• Are you travelling to London to watch an event or soak up the atmosphere?

• Will you be keeping tabs on the torch relay if it comes to where you live?

• Are you concerned about plans for transport in London, security at the games or protests against them?

Tell us if there are events you are looking forward to in particular or if you are involved in something as part of the 100 days celebrations.

Alternatively, if the Olympics makes you want to run as far as you can in the opposite direction, tell us why and what aspects of the London games could have be changed to get you interested.

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Posted in: 2012,games,lo2012,London,London 2012,London Olympics,Olympic Games,Olympics,Olympics 2012

Celebrations mark 100 days until London 2012

London Olympic organisers will on Wednesday hold a series of events to kick off the Games' 100-day countdown as preparations for the showpiece event enter the final straight. 

The milestone will be marked across the country and internationally with a host of ceremonial activities and an array of test events to iron out any operational problems before the flame is lit on July 27. 

London 2012 chief executive Paul Deighton insisted that preparations were on course with dress rehearsals for Wheelchair Rugby, Synchronised Swimming and Shooting all set to begin on Wednesday. 

Olympic fever will spread beyond Britain's borders as expats around the globe join in the countdown. 

In the United States, former heavyweight boxing champion Lennox Lewis will lead one hundred cyclists and an open top London double decker bus on a ride down Miami's South Beach. 

One hundred British Embassies and High Commissions will hold events with Turkey, Venezuela and New Zealand all entering into the Olympic spirit, Britain's Foreign Office revealed on Tuesday. 

There will also be a series of 100 metre races at Berlin's Brandenburg Gate, the 1984 Olympic Stadium in Sarajevo and in the Palace Square in St Petersburg. 

"I'm delighted that British Embassies around the world have come together to mark 100 days to go to the opening ceremony of the greatest show on earth," said Foreign Office Minister for the Olympic and Paralympic Games Jeremy Browne. 

Organiser Deighton insisted the British capital was well-prepared to become the world's focal point. 

"We are absolutely where we want to be with 100 days to go - we are ready to welcome the world to London," he said. 

"Millions of people around the UK are getting ready to celebrate the biggest event in sport." 

Queen Elizabeth II will open the Games, giving London the honour of being the first city in the modern era to host the Olympics three times, having already held them in 1908 and 1948. 

The event is set to give Britain's ailing economy a much needed boost, but the general mood of austerity will be reflected in the Games, albeit to a far lesser extent than in 1948, when competitors were housed in military barracks and university dormitories. 

Organisers conceded long ago that, despite a budget of £9.3 billion ($14.8 billion, 11.2 billion euros), they would be unable to compete with the spectacle provided by the 2008 Beijing Olympics. 

Instead, the opening and closing ceremonies will bring to together the country's most creative minds to produce a celebration of Britishness. 

Responsibility for the opening ceremony lies with " Slumdog Millionaire" director Danny Boyle, who has promised a fitting curtain-raiser before 10,500 competitors from 204 countries do battle. 

However, two substantial hurdles still loom. 

Doubts remain about how London's already stretched transport system will cope with ferrying spectators and athletes around the congested city. 

Also, there are fears over whether Britain's security services will be able to prevent incidents such as the bloody hostage-taking of Israeli athletes at the 1972 Munich Olympics and the bombing of the 2004 Atlanta Games. 

Some £6.5 billion has been spent on modernising the transport system, including the world's oldest underground train system, and 48 kilometres (30 miles) of Olympic road lanes should help speed the travel of VIPs. 

Security has cast a shadow since the day after London was awarded the Games, when suicide bombers killed 52 people on the transport system. 

Security expert David Hunt, from the Exclusive Analysis think-tank, warned that the main threat by jihadist militants was likely to come from domestic, lone wolf actors. 

A combined force of more than 40,000 soldiers, police and private security guards will be mobilised for what Prime Minister David Cameron called the "biggest and most integrated security operation in mainland Britain in our peacetime history."

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Posted in: 2012,games,lo2012,London,London 2012,London Olympics,Olympic Games,Olympics,Olympics 2012

London 2012 Olympics diary: athletes help Mark Ronson find his rhythm

DJ and producer Mark Ronson,  famed for producing Amy Winehouse and Lily Allen, has collaborated with Katy B for Coca Cola's Olympic campaign.

Ronson recorded sounds athletes make, including the click clack of the ball hit by British table tennis player Darius Knight.

"But the sounds Darius creates, his grunts squeals and stuff are unusual and great," said Ronson, who has just one athlete left to record, the US hurdler David Oliver.

Ronson said he tempted Russian 400m runner Kseniya Vdovina onto a treadmill so he could accurately record her heartbeat at 120 beats per minute, the speed of the soundtrack.

Ronson said interesting sounds emanated from Mexican taekwondo athlete Maria Espinoza "when she kicks the crap out of people".

Coke erected a huge stage in the carpark of Forman's Fish Island, with the Olympic stadium as a backdrop, for the filming of a documentary about the ad. But no dieters here. Coke bottles and cans were everywhere, with the Diet Coke hidden out of sight.

Secret swim

Next Friday the British swim team members will have a swim in the Olympic Aquaticc Centre. But don't tell anybody. London olympic officials have told the swimmers the event is "top secret".

Televised? To who?

I'm just wondering what the Transport for London managing director Leon Daniels was doing during the Olympic road cycling test event.

Daniels has told the London Assembly that the event "was also a large,televised international event… it provided a number of benfits, not least of which was highlighting London as a cycling city to the world".

As Telegraph Sport readers know, the event wasn't televised anywhere except a few highlights a week later on the BBC.

Sky TV was specifically refused permission to film the race. Daniels also claimed "there was some very localised congestion".. but said it was "managed and minimised".

Hmm, some Surrey drivers stuck in five mile queues for five hours might beg to differ.

Drug cheats airbrushed from Games

LaShawn Merritt, the American runner infamous for use a 'male enhancement product' and testing positive to drugs will discover next Thursday if his appeal against the IOC's mandatory four year ban to the Court of Arbitration for Sport is successful.

If so, Britain's own drug users like David Millar and Dwain Chambers could stage their own legal battle to have the British Olympic Association's life ban similarly disregarded.

Still, that won't help Linford Christie's persona non grata status around Olympic circles. Locog chairman Sebastian Coe has a strict drug-free association for anyone working on the Games.

TV rules OK

What are the chances distance running great Haile Gebrselassie will force a re-think on the start time of the London 2012 Olympic marathon? Gebrselassie wants it two hours earlier at 9am, but broadcasters say that's way too early for the prime US audience.

What TV wants, TV gets: remember the bizarre morning finals for the swimming at the Beijing Olympics?

England's green and pleasant land

Fields In Trust, the authority that oversees the 471 King George's Fields across the country, is looking to expand the numbers of protected national playing fields, trails, play areas and gardens to a total of 2012 to honour the Queen Elizabeth II's diamond jubilee and the London Olympics.

Olympic legal sponsor Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer is helping to formalise the deals.

Day of destiny for 2017 bid

The world athletics body IAAF will be in London next week, running their eye over the city's bid to host the 2017 world track and field championships and signing off the red-coloured athletics track that has been laid at the Olympic stadium.

No surprise the Mayor of London Boris Johnson wanted an immediate response from Tottenham Hotspur to accept a £17 million funding package and drop their legal action against the Olympic Park Legacy Company.

The continual court threats are weighing heavily against the athletics bid.

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Posted in: London 2012,London 2012 Olympics,Olympics

Wimbledon Way project launched for Olympics 2012 tennis

A project to turn the route from Wimbledon station to the All England Club into a walking tourist attraction would bring the community together and give the borough a lasting Olympic legacy, it has been claimed.

The chief executive of Merton Chamber of Commerce, (MCoC) Diana Sterck, made the comments as she launched the Wimbledon Way proposal at the home the All England Club, but warned there was “only a year to do it”.

She said visitors would be guided along a marked route – which goes from the station to Wimbledon High Street and in to Church Lane – with “interpretation boards” along the way providing them with history, news and other information as they walk through three different zones.

Ms Sterck said the project – part of which must be completed in time for next year’s Olympics – would “bring the community together to embrace our heritage, the arts and the town’s connection with tennis”.

She said: “With an estimated 500,000 visitors to London, south London should benefit by providing a strong offer in relation to its accommodation, attractions and history and heritage.”

One of the zones, Victory Walk, would celebrate tennis events and personalities, she said adding the route could be dotted with public art installations and used year-round for events.

MCoC has secured some project funding from Young’s brewery, which has three pubs along the route – the Alexandra, Dog and Fox and the Fire Stables – and the Wimbledon Village Business Association.

It is also in the process of submitting a bid to the Heritage Lottery Fund for extra cash.

The Wimbledon Society and Wimbledon Film have also agreed to provide content and the group said it had support from the council and politicians.

Ms Sterck said: “With the support of Merton Council I know we can establish the Wimbledon Way as a permanent feature in SW19 and achieve the Olympic legacy for Wimbledon and south-west London.”

For further information visit wimbledongoingforgold.co.uk.

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Posted in: London 2012,London 2012 Olympic,London 2012 Olympic Coins,London 2012 Olympic Games,London 2012 Olympics,London 2012 Olympics Tickets,London 2012 Ticket Sales,Olympic 2012,Olympic Ticket,Olympics,Olympics 2012 Tennis,Wimbledon

London 2012 Olympics stadium lights on

London Olympic Stadium Shines!

To make any event look spectacular and dazzling, lighting is very essential.  With Olympics being the biggest and most spectacular event on earth, it is obvious that the lighting arrangements are going to be massive.  One of the major attractions of the opening ceremonies in all the Olympics have been the colorful and dazzling lights flooding the entire stadium and London Olympics is no different.  The London Olympics promises to display one of the finest lighting arrangements ever.

This was quite evident, when the British Prime Minister David Cameron, turned on all the lights at the wonderful London 2012 Olympic stadium, much to the delight of all.  This is indeed a historic moment for entire Britain and definitely a moment to rejoice.  The Prime Minister was accompanied by the Chief of the Organizing committee Lord Coe and by the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson.  It was a special ceremony at the beautiful stadium which was covered with snow.

You would be surprised to know that a massive five hundred and thirty two bulbs were lit together and everyone is waiting for that special moment to be repeated at the London 2012 Olympic Games.  In all, there would be a good fourteen lighting towers and each tower would be a good seventy meters above the area where the sporting events are held.  It takes a good eight minutes for all the lights to reach their full illumination.  A lot of effort and planning has gone in to the lighting arrangements.

To witness this event, a crowd of four hundred were invited which included school children and the builders of the 2012 Olympics stadium.  It was announced that the most spectacular show on earth would arrive in seven days, seven months and in one year at East London.  All the works were being carried out on time and adhered to the budget allocated for the Olympics.  In fact, the works were getting completed much ahead of the schedule.

There were also talks of changing the plans wherein a good one hundred and sixty two million pounds were to be cut from school sports.  The education department has decided to fund the sport partnerships between schools till the end of 2011 summer term, which would cost around forty seven million pounds.  This has come as welcome news as sports and sporting activities in general has received a great boost.  Definitely, the arrival of Olympics has renewed the interest in sports and sporting activities.

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Posted in: 2012 Olympics,2012 Olympics Progress,London Olympics Stadium,Olympics