London’s ‘porange’ fashion to take centre stage in the 2012 Olympic Games
So the London Olympic year is finally upon us and with it a whole host of excitement, frenzy and, of course, gossip. With no aspect of this year’s Olympic Games going unturned, even the fashion traits of its staff is being speculated.
In celebrating the “best of British sport, history and fashion,” the Game’s organisers’ uniforms have been designed by Adidas, which says they were, “inspired by the heritage and culture of the UK, with influences ranging from the Grenadier Guards uniform to Henley Regatta fashions.”
Although the ‘influence’ of the London 2012’s organisers’ uniforms, which sport a purple and orange tracksuit top, is being disputing, with some believing that they have been influenced by the shocking ‘porange’ trend of last summer.
The term ‘porange’ made its way into London’s fashion terminology last summer when the likes of Cheryl Cole, Kim Kardashian, Jessica Alba, and Nicole Scherzinger, all stepped out donning brightly coloured purple and orange outfits.
As with most celebrity-endorsed fashion statements, fashion designers, the high street brands and fashion victims quickly evolved the ‘porange’ look, by selling and wearing the distinctively coloured outfits.
And now the sports brand Adidas are carrying the ‘porange’ trend into 2012 by kitting the 70,000 volunteers and 6,000 Locog staff for the London 2012 Olympics in porange-inspired uniform.
Five training tips for the London Marathon 2012
“The essence of the London Marathon is the way it combines elite, fields and the community runner, the fund-raiser and the person who simply wants to complete the race… because it is something they want to do,” Seb Coe, 2006.
Since it was first held on 29 March 1981, when 6255 runners crossed to finishing line, to more than 35000 people participating in the 2011 race, The London Marathon is arguably the most famous and popular marathon in the world.
Being the year of the London Olympic Games, this year, the London Marathon is exuding even more excitement and prestige than ever before, being held just several months before the Games begin.
If you are participating in this year’s highly anticipated London Marathon, you may appreciate some training tips for the London marathon 2012, this world-renowned sporting event.
Give yourself a goal
Even if you have never run a race before in your life, it is important that you give yourself a goal other than merely ‘crossing the finishing line’. Make your goal of what you hope to complete the London Marathon in realistic, and stick to it on the day of the marathon, this way, you will be less likely to start too fast and slowdown in later stages of the race.
Adopt an ‘all-round’ approach to training
According to many fitness experts, the essence of improving fitness levels lies within practising different types of exercise regularly. Of course running is important as you train for the London Marathon, but be sure to undertake other means of exercise, such as yoga, cycling and swimming, to help increase your fitness levels to their optimum.
Avoid weekly long runs
Traditional marathon wisdom always advocated including a weekly run in marathon training, although this is no longer the case. Many coaches are now advising that going for a long run week in week out in the run up to a marathon will only leave you fatigued and more prone to injury. This advice now is typically to go on a long run once a week but take every third or fourth week off.
Head of the River Race 2012
Forget the London Olympic Games 2012’s rowing event, as London’s Head of the River Race is the largest continuous rowing event in the world. Taking place on March 17, 2012, this highly prestigious event will see 420 “eights”, that’s boats with eight rowers for the rowing-terminology uninformed, flock to the River Thames to participate in this extremely competitive event.
The Head of the River Race 2012 begins at Mortlake and takes rowers down the Thames for 6800 metres, that’s 4 and quarter miles, to Putney, where the race finishes – a challenge which makes the 2000 metre Olympic regatta look like child’s play in comparison!
This truly engaging race takes approximately two hours to finish and if weather conditions are a little on the harsh side, which they often can be in mid-March in the UK, it only adds to the exhilaration and dynamics of the event!
Being such an exciting sporting fixture, the River Thames banks are literally brimming with spectators on the day of the Head of the River Race, all eager to catch a glimpse of the rowers as the glide past.
With the best view of the race being at the northern part of Hammersmith Bridge, the crowds are particularly heavy here, which, of course, only adds to the atmosphere and excitement of this formidable annual sporting event.
McQ takes London alongside Stella McCartney ahead of the 2012 Olympic Games
The Alexander McQueen fashion house was founded by the late luxury fashion designer Alexander McQueen. The brand quickly became notorious for its controversial style, including the famous “bumster” hipsters, trousers so low that they left little to the imagination.
In July 2006, the company launched its McQ line, a more realistically priced diffusion of the Alexander McQueen fashion house, bringing the style, daringness and notoriety of the McQueen brand to the masses.
For the first time since the McQ line was launched, the brand will be presented at the London Fashion Week in February, exhibiting its autumn/winter 2012/2014 collection to the highly anticipated London Fashion Week catwalk.
The catwalk show will preview a snippet of what will be on sale in the first McQ store which will be opening in London sometime in the spring. The, some may argue, too long in coming store is going to be located in an impressive Georgian townhouse at 14 Dover Street in west London. The four-storey store will consist of 273 square meters of retailing heaven and will be the McQ’s first flagship store, offering both menswear, ladieswear and accessories.
Another famous name to be presented in the February London Fashion Week 2012 is Stella McCartney, who will be hosting a special fashion presentation on the evening of February 18, 2012.
London’s Olympic Park Garden
London’s Olympic Park Garden – Living proof of a truly green Olympics.
After two years of design, preparation and construction, the London Olympic Park garden is finally finished. The 2.5 kilometre site located in Stratford, east London, consists of many lush meadows and fields, containing more than 4,000 new trees.
The former brownfield industrial site is nectar-rich with 300,000 wetland plants, 4,000 semi-mature trees and a multitude of flowers designed to blossom whilst the 2012 Olympics are taking place. Blue Peter gardener, Chris Collins, put the final touches to the UK’s largest urban park by planting an English oak sapling, a poignant symbol of Englishness located within a truly international event.
The quarter of an acre riverside Olympic Park garden overlooks the Olympic Stadium, which has the capacity to hold 80000 people during the Games.
The amazing transformation of a barren, disused industrial estate into a vast urban park of meadows and fields brimming with natural life, is a pleasant feature of the London Olympic 2012’s commitment to be the greenest Olympic and Paralympic games to date. Talking about how the now completed urban Olympic park garden is going to help ensure London achieves its goal as being the greenest Olympics in history, Chris Collins said:
“What has been achieved on the site in turning it from brown to green is remarkable. Spectators will find it hard not to be blown away next summer as the effort put into creating a diverse and colourful park has already paid off.”
Earlier this year, London 2012 Olympic organisers published a statement that they were “on track to deliver the world’s first “truly sustainable” Olympic Games.”
