Lincolnshire2012

Plans to create parks and play areas for residents who will move into homes in the Olympic Park after the 2012 Games have been unveiled.

Work on almost 3,000 homes in the Athletes' Village in east London will start once athletes and officials have moved out.

Ten hectares of parkland and wetlands, with more than 2,000 trees and 100,000 plants, will compliment the properties.

There will also be new cycling facilities, play and picnic areas.

Wildlife habitats

The Athletes' Village, which is adjacent to the Olympic Park, will accommodate athletes and officials during the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The first stage of landscaping works in the village is under way to create a 2.5 hectare wetlands park that will feature ponds and marshlands with pathways and seating areas.

Extensive planting and new trees will create a "green canopy" through the area and help create new wildlife habitats.

This is in addition to landscaping in the Olympic Park to create the largest urban park in the UK for more than a century.

Source
BBC NEWS LONDON

Ofcom aims to reserve frequencies in the 2.6GHz band, currently set aside for mobile broadband, for TV cameras at the London 2012 Olympics.

In a consultation paper issued on Monday, Ofcom said it believed few - if any - mobile network operators would be able to use frequencies in this band to be won in the so-called 4G mobile broadband spectrum auction due at the end of 2011.

This would allow the government to give the spectrum temporarily to TV broadcasters before and after the Olympics, which runs from 27 July to 9 September 2012.

Free of charge

An Ofcom spokesman confirmed that the broadcasters would not be charged to use the frequencies, even though it expected demand for access to spectrum suited to wireless camera applications to be "exceptionally high".

Ofcom published its 2012 Games spectrum plan in October 2009, but the Vancouver Winter Games this year revealed greater use of wireless cameras and a growing demand for 3D TV, which increased considerably the demand for spectrum.

One of the Olympic bid requirements is that the bidding country guarantees enough frequencies to satisfy broadcasters' needs.

The 2.6G band, which runs from 2500MHz to 2690MHz, was already earmarked for mobile broadband. Delays in running the auction meant that frequencies would not be allocated to network operators until very late in 2011, the spokesman said.

Stakeholder check

Ofcom wanted confirmation from stakeholders that reserving the spectrum temporarily for the Olympics would not delay the roll-out of mobile or broadband data services in case it imposed an opportunity cost on UK citizens and consumers, the regulator said in a statement.

"The government has guaranteed the International Olympic Committee that sufficient spectrum will be made available, but matching demand and supply remains challenging," it said.

It believed that network operators would rubber-stamp the deal, so it wanted replies within the month.

Source
By Ian Grant
www.computerweekly.com

Talks have begun to decide whether the Government can call its new schools sports competition, which is due to be launched on the eve of London 2012, the "School Olympics".

The nationwide Olympic and Paralympic-style competition is one of the pillars of the legacy plan for London 2012 proposed by the new Sports and Olympic Minister Hugh Robertson.

Politicians and sports officials have already dubbed it the "Schools Olympics" but, under British and international law which fiercely protects Olympic marks and symbols, they are unable to officially call it that without the permission of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

The subject has already been raised with Jacques Rogge, the President of the IOC, by Colin Moynihan, the chairman of the British Olympic Association (BOA), who are expected to help deliver the event in conjunction with Sport England.

Moynihan told insidethegames: "Both before and post-2012 the use of the 'O' word - the Olympic word - in whatever title is agreed needs the support of the International Olympic Committee.

"They have made it very clear that you cannot call it simply the 'School Olympics', otherwise every country in the world will be having a School Olympics.

"But we are in discussions about whether or not the 'O' word can be used in context with the Games.

"Obviously the British Olympic Association has the word Olympic in its title and that's one option [calling it the British Olympic Association School Games].

"We are also looking at other options."

Up to £10 million of National Lottery funding is expected to be spent on organising and promoting the new event, an idea first mooted by the Conservatives when in opposition, in a bid to get more youngsters involved in sport.

The scheme, announced by Culture, Media and Sports Secretary Jeremy Hunt and Schools Secretary Michael Gove, in June would encourage schools to take part in a local league, with the most talented primary and secondary school athletes going forward to county finals and then a national final to coincide with the 2012 London Olympics.

The rights to the Olympic marks and symbols are currently held, as organisers of the next Games, by London 2012 but revert to the BOA after the Olympics.

Moynihan, who has been visiting here to attend the inaugural Summer Youth Olympic Games, has held talks with senior IOC officials to try to persuade them to let Britain use the word Olympics.

He said: "It's early days and we have had no sign-off from the IOC on what the Games will be called.

"I would hope the word Olympic can be involved in the title - it is already recognised by the press as the School Olympics.

"We have to work with the Government to find out what the best name is.

"When Jacques Rogge came over to London recently we talked about it.

"We have set-up further meetings [with the IOC] in Lausanne and further meetings in London with Ministers to determine what it will be called."

Moynihan hopes a decision can be reached before the end of the year.

Source
By Duncan Mackay
www.insidethegames.biz

Supporting Lincolnshire Supporting the Games

Supporting Lincolnshire Sports Clubs to Support the London 2012 Games

The only place where success comes before the work is in the dictionary.
Over half of girls aged 11 to 16, would rather not do any Sport or Exercise!

Supporting Lincolnshire Supporting the Games

Supporting Lincolnshire Sports Clubs to Support the London 2012 Games

The only place where success comes before the work is in the dictionary. Over half of girls aged 11 to 16, would rather not do any Sport or Exercise!

The only place where success comes before the work is in the dictionary.
Over half of girls aged 11 to 16, would rather not do any Sport or Exercise!