Will there ever be a London Grand Prix again?
A London Grand Prix has not taken place since 1938. Although according to an announcement made by Formula One boss, Bernie Ecclestone, plans are in motion to return Formula One to the streets of London.
Under the £35 million scheme, Formula One cars would speed around the capital, with the likes of Alonso, Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton shooting past some of London’s most iconic landmarks, including the Ritz Hotel, Hyde Park Corner, Buckingham Palace, Parliament Square, the Embankment and Trafalgar Square.
The London Grand Prix proposals took place at the Royal Automobile Club in London. The exclusive automobile club was founded in 1897 and was designed to develop motoring in Britain. Today the Royal Automobile Club is one of the UK’s finest private motoring clubs and the London Grand Prix proposal event was a star-studded affair, which was hosted by two leading names in the world of motor racing – McLaren drivers, Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton.
The announcement that Formula One racing is to return to the British capital has, however, come under criticism, namely because similar plans were made eight years ago but failed to materialise.
In 2004 the former London mayor, Ken Livingstone, backed plans for a London Grand Prix to be re-introduced to London in 2007, plans which of course never took place.
Confident a Grand Prix will arrive in London this time, Ecclestone insists the race will surpass the Monaco Grand Prix in terms of glamour and prestige, which is of course currently the most high-status motor racing course in the world.
London is prepared for an onslaught of visitors for the London 2012 Olympics
With the London Olympics now just round the corner, London is fervently making last minute preparations for what is to be one of the biggest events in city has ever hosted.
According to recent research, it is predicted that an onslaught of hundreds of thousands of extra visitors are to arrive in the capital during the Olympic and Paralympic Games, despite earlier perceptions that potential visitors or even Londoners themselves may be put off by the prospect of being so close to the Olympic Games and there might even be fewer coming to London than normal.
In a report published by market researchers at Forward Data, the number of tourists arriving in London during the Olympic and Paralympic Games looks set to rise by approximately 30% over previous years, which equates to some 250,000 extra visitors.
In preparation for the unprecedented increase in visitors to London this August and September, Heathrow Airport is to recruit almost 500 new passport checkers.
City of London Police are Olympic title holders!
With there now being just weeks left until the start of the Olympic Games 2012, all eyes are on London and the athletes participating in the world’s biggest sporting event. As the world gears up to watch the likes of Tom Daley, Shanaze Read, Eleanor Simmonds and Shelly Woods, the police of London are also preparing for the salvo of people, action and excitement that is about to arrive at the British capital.
While London’s police force has a huge job to do this summer there is one lesser known trait of Her Majesty’s London constabulary that more than deserves to be mentioned.
In the London Olympics of 1908 the police force of London’s Square Mile, known as the City of London Police, won a gold medal at Tug of War. The triumphant team of ‘pullers’ did not stop at one medal as the crew also claimed silver in the Stockholm Olympics of 1912 and went on to be crowned champions at Tug of War in the Antwerp 1920 Olympic Games.
As the Tug of War event was withdrawn from the Olympics after the 1920 Games, London’s Square Mile police force remain reigning champions!
As well as the champion tug of war crew of officers remaining unsung Olympic heroes, London’s Square Mile police remain the London Metropolitan Police’s lesser known police force.
The London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games Medals Exhibition at the British Museum
‘Mine to Medals: The London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games Medals’ at the British Museum
“And, if we thrive, promise them such rewards as victors wear at the Olympian Games” – William Shakespeare Henry VI, Part 3 – Act II Scene III.
You have until 9 September 2012 to head on down to the British Museum and learn about the production of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, in an exhibition titled ‘Mine to Medals: The London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games Medals’.
This free exhibition is part of the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad.
From the design process of the medals made by David Watkins and Lin Cheung, to the mining of the actual metal by Rio Tinto, this unique exhibition provides visitors with unique insight into what has become the modern Olympic Games most poignant and well-recognised symbols.
Although it’s not just information about the history and production of the Olympic medals that is being focused on during the ‘Mine to Medals’ exhibition, as the exposition is also focused on the role Great Britain has played in the creation and development of the modern Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Samples of the gold, silver and bronze medals the top athletes will be awarded with this summer are on display at this rare and one-off event, ranging from the Games that took place in the small Shropshire town of Much Wenlock in 1850 to the medals given to the winning athletes of the Paralympic Games that took place from 1960 and 1984.
London 2012 Olympic Park Podcast Tour
With the London 2012 Olympic Games now just a matter of weeks away, you’ve not got that much time left to experience a London 2012 Olympic Park podcast Tour.
The fantastic audio tour enables visitors to get a real sense of how the Olympic athletes will spend their time at the Olympic Park this summer. It also provides viewers with up-to-the-minute and in-depth information about the Park, bringing greater knowledge and excitement about the forthcoming Olympics.
The podcast tour is narrated by Jonathon Edwards, the Olympic gold medallist long-jumper, who tells the fascinating story about the history of the Olympic Park area and how it has been transformed for the 2012 Games.
Starting from the beginning of their construction in 2007, Edwards provides listeners with the current progress on the Olympic 2012 various venues, all of which are now virtually complete.
This truly unique and absorbing tour is designed to be listened to when walking along The Greenway, the footpath that overlooks the whole of the Olympic Park, where listeners can witness for themselves all the different venues and parklands, which will soon be brimming with action from one of the biggest sporting events London has ever seen.
