Friday, August 10, 2012

Olympics: London set for Games weekend finale

Olympic Stadium

Crowds are expected to line the streets over the weekend to watch the walking races and men's marathon as athletics concludes in the Olympic Stadium.

Organiser Locog said a number of extra closing ceremony tickets could be made available before Sunday's spectacular.

Team GB are seeking to boost their best medal haul for 104 years but were unable to secure wins in the BMX.

Shanaze Reade finished sixth in women's final and Liam Phillips fell in the men's race.

Britain has so far won a total of 54 medals, with 25 gold.

With three days of competition still remaining, the team has already eclipsed their Beijing Olympics total of 19 golds and registered the best medal haul since the 1908 London Olympics.

Thousands of spectators are expected on the streets of central London to watch the walking races and men's marathon, which are free to attend and set to take place on Saturday and Sunday respectively.

The action in the Olympic stadium will end on Saturday with Team GB's Mo Farah competing in the 5000m final and Jamaica's Usain Bolt attempting to win a third gold medal when he runs in the 100m relay.

Team GB's Tom Daley is hoping to compete in men's 10m individual platform diving final.

On Sunday, the final day of the Games, athletes will compete for 15 gold medals in events including mountain biking, boxing and basketball.

The final weekend of the Games are expected to be bathed in sunshine, with forecasters predicting temperatures of up to 26C.

In other developments on Friday:

Politicians have been keen to comment on the legacy of the Games and calls for more school sport after Paul Deighton, chief Executive of the London 2012 organising committee, said investment in school sports was vital.

Earlier, Labour Leader Ed Miliband backed calls for political consensus to get more children involved in sport after the Olympics. He said he agreed with Dame Tessa Jowell, former Labour Olympics minister, who has appealed for a non-partisan 10 year plan to build on the legacy of the games.

The government has insisted that it is committed to building on Britain's Olympic success.

Prime Minister David Cameron, who also spoke to the BBC earlier, said it was time for a "change of culture" in schools to promote competitive sport, rather than setting targets for the number of hours of physical education completed.

He said there was a need to hold people who are responsible for education policy to account to "capitalise" on the inspiration provided by the Games.

Locog's director of communications Jackie Brock-Doyle said organisers will know whether more closing ceremony tickets will be available for sale when the set is moved into the stadium on Saturday night.

The ceremony's musical director, David Arnold, has said the spectacle would reflect Great Britain as a whole.

The composer, who has written music for Bond films, said it would be based around 30 classic pieces of British music.

George Michael has already confirmed his participation and the Spice Girls and Tinie Tempah are among acts reported to be performing.

On Monday, Heathrow is expected to see one of its busiest-ever days when thousands of athletes and officials leave the UK after the end of the Games.

A guard of honour made up of Heathrow volunteers will applaud athletes as they pass through a specially-constructed Games terminal. The site will be decommissioned after three days and returned to its original use as a staff car park.

Meanwhile, reports suggest the Olympics have prompted a rush of marriage proposals.

The venue for Olympic Park big screens, is believed to have seen 25 proposals since the Games began.

That works out at an average of two every day.

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Source & Image : BBC

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