Emirates Air Line, ask the UK’s first urban cable car, was officially launched today as the British capital gears up to host the London 2012 Olympics.

Dubai-based Emirates Airline signed an US$55.5m, ten-year sponsorship deal to rebrand the cable car service, the most expensive such system ever built, in October.

The 1.1km cable line, which crosses the River Thames, has the capacity to carry up to 2,500 passengers per hour in each direction and offers views across the City of London, Canary Wharf, Greenwich, the Thames Barrier and the Olympic Park.

Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, Emirates Airline president Tim Clark and London’s Transport Commissioner, Peter Hendy CBE, attended the first official flight.

European soccer’s governing body UEFA has stepped up its fight against corruption in the sport by approving the establishment of a network of integrity officers around Europe, while Ukraine’s preparations for Euro 2012 have again been called into question.

The news was announced on Monday, March 21, following the conclusion of UEFA’s latest Executive Committee meeting in Paris. Committee members approved the recommendations made by the working group on corruption/match-fixing which focus on establishing the network, which will involve all 53 national associations, and fostering collaboration with state authorities.

UEFA general secretary Gianni Infantino told reporters: “In the countries where it has been possible to fight effectively against match-fixing, it has been possible only thanks to the support of the authorities. We cannot do this by ourselves as we are only a sports organisation. But what we can do is act very strongly. If you don’t eradicate the cancer before it starts to grow, then it can become a danger, and we will not permit it to become a danger.”

In other news, Infantino also confirmed that stadia in Kiev and Lviv are unlikely to be completed by a June deadline for the tournament Ukraine is co-hosting with Poland. Despite Ukraine’s problems, UEFA’s general secretary has stated the delays in Kiev and Lviv will not affect preparations for the tournament.

Infantino added: “They (the stadia) will be ready by October at the latest and there will be enough time to test them from the month of October. We knew that it wasn’t going to be easy. But in the end it will be a magnificent celebration of European football.”

Sighthill in Glasgow has been selected as the preferred site for the Athlete’s Village if Glasgow win the bid for the 2018 Youth Olympic Games.

The village would house about 6,000 athletes and officials during the Games and according to the BBC, would be similar in size to the village currently being built in Dalmarnock where the 2014 Commonwealth Games are being held.

Glasgow City Council leader Gordon Matheson said: “The regeneration of the area was always a priority for the city but the bid means it can now happen much faster than ever envisaged.

“What’s great about this is that we need to start work on this regeneration before we know if we’ve won the bid. As a result Glasgow just bidding for the Games, people’s lives will be transformed. You’d struggle to find a bid anywhere in the world that delivers a legacy like that.”

Sport Minister Shona Robison said: “Bidding for the Youth Olympic Games could not only bring another world class event to Glasgow, it is a huge opportunity to put in place new facilities and infrastructure.”

Glasgow’s 2014 budget is 230 million pounds – 70 per cent of which will be funded by the Scottish government and Glasgow City Council will be responsible for the remainder.

The 2018 Youth Games host city will be announced by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in July 2013, following a short-listing process next February.

The London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) has today officially opened the Main Press Centre (MPC) which will host up to 6000 accredited press and photographic media during Games-time.

The MPC will provide 31, sales 000 square metres of office space across four floors of workspace for journalists, photographers, accredited non-rights holding broadcasters, as well as IOC and LOCOG staff during the Games. Across the Games it will be open for 52 days with the Catering Village serving an estimated 480,000 meals and 1.6 million cups of tea over 24 hours a day.

The MPC will become a ‘home from home’ for the world’s media with state-of-the-art media facilities to ensure media can report on the Games. A 200 metre-long High Street will feature a range of shops and services including a post office and dry cleaners, pharmacy and general store.

LOCOG Chair Sebastian Coe said: “Like the athletes competing at London 2012, the world’s writers and photographers who will be based in the MPC are at the top of their profession. We will offer them state of the art facilities so they can tell the extraordinary stories that will come out of the Games. This is our first venue on the Olympic Park to open for business and we are ready to welcome the world’s media as they come and set up their office.”

Having announced his candidacy for the FIFA presidential elections on Friday, March 18, Mohamed Bin Hammam has rejected claims that his could create a schism within world soccer’s governing body.

The Qatari national, head of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), confirmed long-running speculation that he would run against Sepp Blatter for FIFA’s top job after their formerly strong allegiances became strained.

Franz Beckenbauer, who is soon to step down as a member of the FIFA Executive Committee, has expressed his fear that the June 1 election could create a “dangerous situation” which could “split FIFA into two camps”.

Bin Hammam’s candidacy includes proposals that the 24-man Executive Committee should be replaced by a 41-member board, that a new transparency committee be established and FIFA’s income should be spread more evenly across the globe.

The AFC chief outlined his belief that the presidential battle will not lead to divisions within FIFA, stating: “I am a huge fan of Franz Beckenbauer. He is a football legend, one of my favourite people in life. But why should FIFA split if two candidates are running for the presidency?

“I always respect my competitors. President Blatter is a colleague and friend. I won’t create or encourage any environment that will divide the football family.”

Switzerland’s government has revealed it is planning to support a Davos and St. Moritz 2022 Winter Olympic Games bid, according to the Associated Press.

The Swiss Federal Council says public funds should cover $1.05 billion of the projected shortfall of a 2022 bid. According to a feasibility study the estimated costs are $2.9 billion and the income is $1.5 billion.

The seven-member executive body has suggested paying half the expected $62.6 million cost of bidding and has asked the federal sports ministry to report back to lawmakers.

Switzerland last staged the Olympics in 1948 at St. Moritz, which also hosted the Games in 1924.

The host city of the 2022 Winter Olympics will be selected by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 2015.

To mark the one month countdown to the Olympics, Giant Olympic rings were unveiled on Tower Bridge.

London 2012 chairman Lord Coe and mayor Boris Johnson were among the VIPs who watched as the rings were lowered into place on the central London landmark on the River Thames.

The rings, which weigh three tonnes and are 25 metres wide and 11.5 metres tall , cost £259,817 ($404,512) to produce and installing them is estimated to have cost £53,000 ($82.500).

All costs have been met from the £32 million ($49.8m) Look and Celebration budget, which will be used to back free cultural events across London.

The Yorkshire-made rings are attached to a modular aluminium grid which is 17m by 22m. Together they weigh about 13 tonnes.

Each of London’s famous bridges, from Hungerford Bridge to London Bridge, will be lit in “a dazzling display of colour” during the evenings, according to the mayor’s office.

Giant mobile Olympic rings will travel up and down past famous waterfront landmarks.