The London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) today announced that the field of play in the Stadium will be transformed into the rolling British countryside for the opening ceremony, which is titled Isles of Wonder.

Work has started on installing the set for the opening scene, called Green and Pleasant.

The set will include meadows, fields and rivers, and feature families taking picnics, sport being played on the village green and farmers tilling the soil whilst real farmyard animals graze – including 12 horses, three cows, two goats, 10 chickens, 10 ducks, nine geese, 70 sheep, and three sheep dogs.

Each of the four nations will be represented by their national flower – the rose of England, the thistle of Scotland, the daffodil of Wales and flax from Northern Ireland.
To coincide with the announcement Danny Boyle, artistic director of the London 2012 Olympic Games opening ceremony, paid tribute to the ceremony’s 10,000 volunteers, cast and crew rehearsing.

He said: “The ceremony is an attempt to capture a picture of ourselves as a nation, where we have come from and where we want to be.
“The best part of telling that story has been working with our 10,000 volunteers.
“I’ve been astounded by the selfless dedication of the volunteers, they are the purest embodiment of the Olympic spirit and represent the best of who we are as a nation.”

There have already been 157 cast rehearsals for the ceremony, with volunteer performers giving up evenings and weekends to take part in 37 rehearsals at the new site in Barking and Dagenham.

At 3 Mills Studios, the production base for the London 2012 Ceremonies Team, work is being completed on 12,956 props. Staff in the costume department are working hard to produce 23,000 costumes for all four ceremonies, including sewing 24,570 buttons onto the costumes for one of the opening sequences of the Olympic Games opening ceremony.

Work will soon begin to install the lighting for the ceremonies, which includes 1,100 automated lamps, 1,000 conventional lamps, 500 LED fixtures, and 32 follow spots.
This will be accompanied by a million watt sounds system using more than 500 speakers and 50 tonnes of associated sound gear.

Seb Coe, LOCOG chairman, said: “With only 45 days to go to the London 2012 Olympic Games opening ceremony one of the biggest sets ever built for a show is beginning to develop in the Olympic Stadium.

“With a worldwide TV audience of a billion people and a cast of over 10,000 talented volunteers, I’m sure that Danny’s ceremony will be a fantastic celebration that will welcome the 10,500 athletes from around the world and make our nation proud.”

The opening of Ferrari World Abu Dhabi, the world’s largest indoor theme park, has been delayed due to the death of a ruler in another part of the United Arab Emirates, organisers said on Thursday.

The postponement until November 4 came after the ruler of the tiny but strategic emirate of Ras al-Khaimah, Sheikh Saqr bin Mohammed al-Qassimi, died on Wednesday at the age of 92.

The park had been due to be inaugurated on October 27, but it will still open more than a week before Abu Dhabi hosts the eagerly awaited final Grand Prix in this year’s tightly contested Formula One world championship.

Despite the delay, journalists were allowed inside the park which features a record-breaking roller coaster ride meant to emulate the feeling of being in a Ferrari F1 car.

Sitting next to the futuristic Yas Marina circuit that hosts the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, the theme park is housed under a massive triangular red roof on the 40-billion-dollar Yas Island development.

Ferrari World spreads about 86,000 square metres (925,696 square feet), while the red roof bearing the world’s largest logo of Ferrari’s prancing horse stretches about 200,000 square metres (2.15 million square feet).

Among its 20 attractions are two roller coasters, including the F1-themed Formula Rossa which is set to be the fastest ever reaching a top speed of 240 kilometres (150 miles) per hour.

Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates capital, hopes the park will help to draw tourists from around the globe along with several other ambitious projects including state-of-the-art branches of the Louvre and Guggenheim museums.

Source: AFP

LIV Sports, a division of Multi Screen Media, has acquired the the mobile and internet broadcast rights of the UEFA Euro 2016 Qualifiers for India.

The qualifying schedule is currently underway, starting September 2014 and will run through November 2015. LIV Sports will offer both live and video-on-demand match content with rich and informative statistics and analysis.

The digital destination will enable viewers to watch the live telecast of the qualifying tournament at a nominal rate of $3 per match. It will also offer video-on-demand (VOD) highlights. The VOD content on LIV sports will include match highlights, goals, penalties, red cards, free kicks and misses.

Sony Entertainment Network executive vice president and digital head Uday Sodhi commented: “We are excited to bring to you the qualifying matches for the 15th European Championship for men’s national football teams – Euro 2016.

“Since our inception as the official mobile and internet broadcaster for the 2014 FIFA World Cup  Brazil, the idea behind LIV Sports was to offer quality content that is mass inclusive and not designed to cater only to ardent sports fans. We are committed to keep every cross section of our consumers actively engaged through quality interactive sports content.”

Yorkshire’s bid to host the start of the 2016 Tour de France has been handed a boost after French President François Hollande indicated his support.

The Yorkshire bid team were in Paris at the weekend as Bradley Wiggins became the first Briton to win cycling’s greatest event.

They have already had over 150,000 pledges of support and the Telegraph reports President Hollande offering his support during a meeting in Paris with Labour leader Ed Miliband, who is MP for Doncaster North.

Mr Miliband raised Bradley Wiggins’ triumph in the Tour and the bid by Yorkshire to bring the bike race to the North of England with President Hollande.

“The president was ‘very supportive’,” Mr Miliband was quoted as saying afterwards by the Telegraph, adding: “It would be a good thing for Yorkshire. It would be a great thing for my constituency. I am backing le bid.”

Gary Verity, chief executive of Welcome to Yorkshire, who is leading the bid to bring the Tour de France to the county was understandably delighted by the news, told Sky Sports: “We have strong cross-party political support within the county to make this happen and now we have the support of President François Hollande, which is great news for our bid.

“Yorkshire is seen by many as the spiritual heartland of cycling in the UK, we have the cycling heritage, we have the champions and we are race ready to host Le Tour. It would be an honour to bring the race back to England and host it in our great county and we are working hard to make that happen.”

Heathrow Airport staff are set to receive £700 for working during the Olympic Games and the Paralympics, herbal next month. 

It is another victory for Rail and Maritime Transport Union. 

Critics of the award of Olympic ‘bonuses’ for transport staff claim they are nothing more than bribes. 

RMT general secretary Bob Crow said: “This is another important agreement secured by our negotiators which recognises the crucial role that Heathrow Express staff will play throughout the Games period. 

“Our members deserve every extra penny for helping to deliver services throughout the biggest transport challenge that London has ever faced over the coming weeks.” 

The award is an incentive, insisted a Heathrow Express spokeswoman. 
“Heathrow Express has put in place a ‘Games Incentive Reward Scheme’ which pays out if additional passenger volumes and revenues occur on specific ‘peak’ days during the 2012 Games period. 

“The incentive rewards the additional effort required to deliver a great service to all our customers during the 2012 Games.” 

Transport workers in the capital have won a series of deals for an Olympic bonus, although thousands of bus drivers and other employees have voted to go on strike over a claim for a payment of £500.

New Zealand Prime Minister John Key has unveiled plans for a $9.8 million redevelopment of Queens Wharf, click which will become the centre of Rugby World Cup 2011 (RWC 2011) festivities in Auckland.

In 2011, patient Queens Wharf will be the largest of Auckland’s four RWC 2011 Fanzones, featuring open areas and a multi-purpose temporary facility named “The Cloud”.

“For six weeks next year Queens Wharf will be a hub of activity for our international visitors and New Zealanders. It will be a place where we watch Rugby games, enjoy live music and festival events, wow international guests and media with views of Auckland’s stunning harbour, and showcase the best of New Zealand with displays and events,” said Mr Key.

Made from steel, timber, glass and opaque PVC, the structure will be 180 metres long and 4,430m2 , with space to hold around 6,000 people.

“This is an exciting design, which alongside developments in the [area], will do a great job opening up the Auckland waterfront to the public and the 85,000 overseas visitors that will travel here for RWC 2011.”

Events scheduled to be held at the venue include a New Zealand food and beverage show, textile and agritech displays and fashion shows. A mezzanine space would be used to host VIPs and as an international media lounge.

The building will also include a Tourism New Zealand i-Site, where trained staff will help to promote the REAL New Zealand Festival, staged alongside RWC 2011, as well as regional and national tourist attractions.

Queens Wharf was purchased in 2009 by the New Zealand Government and Auckland Regional Council for $40 million with the long term view of opening up the area for the people of Auckland. The historic Shed 10 will be refurbished and remain on site.