There are four official base colours, and another version of the logo for
the 2012 Summer Paralympics. The Paralympics logo [mixed colours left] and the four different official colour
combinations.
Venues for The London Olympics 2012
London will host the Olympic Games for the third time after previous
games in 1908 and 1948. This makes London the first city to host the
modern Olympics for a third time. The games are expected to be
close to downtown London around 20 min from 80% of the sporting events.
26 sports with a total of 39 disciplines feature in the 2012 London
Games. The Olympic Village will be based in Stratford, including
the newly built Olympic Stadium, Aquatics Centre, Hockey Centre,
Velodrome and a BMX track.
See more on the London Olympics locations.
When London hosts the Olympic Games in 2012, they will become the
first country to host the Games three times: 1908, 1948 and 2012.
The only Olympian ever to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize was Philip
Noel-Baker of Great Britain, who won the silver in the 1500 metres in
1920.
The first black athlete to compete at the Olympics was
Constantin Henriquez de Zubiera, competing for France in 1900.
At
the first modern Olympic Games in Athens in 1896, silver medals were
awarded to the winners and bronze to the second place getters.
Pigeon shooting was one of the sports on the program in Paris in 1900.
Fortunately this shooting event was short lived. It was the only time
animals were killed on purpose during an Olympic event.
I was not talented enough to run and
smile at the same time - Emil Zatopek, champion Czechoslovakian distance
runner, when asked about unusual facial expression when running.
The
swimming and diving were held in part of the old moat ... it was the
clammiest, darkest place and the water was frigid. It looked bottomless
and black - Alice Landon, American Diver, on facilities at the
Antwerp Games of 1920.
One shouldn't be afraid to lose; this is
sport. One day you win; another day you lose. Of course, everyone wants
to be the best. This is normal. This is what sport is about. This is why
I love it. - Oksana Baiul, Olympic Gold Medalist
All I've done is
run fast. I don't see why people should make much fuss about that -
Dutch sprinter Fanny Blankers-Koen, who won four gold medals at the 1948
Games
To anyone who has started out on a long campaign believing
that the gold medal was destined for him, the feeling when, all of a
sudden, the medal has gone somewhere else is quite indescribable. -
Sebastian Coe, after losing the 800m final in 1980.
The 2012 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the
XXX Olympiad, are scheduled to take place in London, United Kingdom,
from 27th July to 12th August 2012.
The Olympic Motto
In 1921, Pierre de Coubertin, founder of the modern Olympic Games,
borrowed a Latin phrase from his friend, Father Henri Didon, for the
Olympic motto: "Citius, Altius, Fortius" which translates as: Swifter,
Higher, Stronger.
The ancient Olympic Games as with the modern Olympic Games are
quadrennial events, meaning they are celebrated every four years.
This four year time-span is known as an Olympiad. Unfortunately,
this calendar was not used by every Greek city-state; indeed, there was
no common dating system in the ancient era because the Babylonians,
Hebrews, Greeks, and Romans used different calendars. However, as
they were conquered by the Romans, so they imposed the Julian calendar,
named after Julius Caesar; thus giving the world a common time base.
London 2012 Olympic Medals
85mm in diameter and 7mm thick medals, the medals weigh in at
375-400g
Created by metalwork designer David Watkins who has exhibited at
the V&A Museum, London
Some 2,100 medals will be presented during 302 victory
ceremonies in more than 30 venues
Sport and discipline of medal winners engraved on the rim of
every medal
Front depicts Greek goddess of victory, Nike, stepping from
Parthenon
Reverse features 2012 emblem as "architectural expression, a
metaphor for the modern city" on a dished background evocative of an
amphitheatre
A grid represents both "pulling together" and athletes radiating
energy, while the River Thames symbolises London.
See more about the
London Olympics.
Sculptor Willard
Wigan has created a model of diver Tom Daley on the end of an
eyelash.
Willard spent months painstakingly carving the extraordinary model
out of specks of gold so small even the pulse in his finger could crush
it.
For the sculpture, his smallest to date, he even painted Tom using a
hair from the leg of a fruit fly.
The Olympic Oath
Pierre de Coubertin wrote an oath for the athletes to recite at each
Olympic Games. During the opening ceremonies, one athlete recites the
oath on behalf of all the athletes. The Olympic oath was first taken
during the 1920 Olympic Games by Belgian fencer Victor Boin. The Olympic
Oath states, "In the name of all competitors, I promise that we shall
take part in these Olympic Games, respecting and abiding by the rules
that govern them, in the true spirit of sportsmanship, for the glory of
sport and the honour of our teams."
The Olympic Creed
Pierre de Coubertin got the idea for this phrase from a speech given
by Bishop Ethelbert Talbot at a service for Olympic champions during the
1908 Olympic Games. The Olympic Creed reads, "The most important thing
in the Olympic Games is not to win but to take part, just as the most
important thing in life is not the triumph but the struggle. The
essential thing is not to have conquered but to have fought well."
The Olympic flame is a practice continued from the ancient Olympic
Games. In Olympia [Greece], a flame was ignited by the sun and then kept
burning until the closing of the Olympic Games. The flame first appeared
in the modern Olympics at the 1928 Olympic Games in Amsterdam. The flame
itself represents a number of things, including purity and the endeavour
for perfection.
In 1936, the chairman of the organizing committee for
the 1936 Olympic Games, Carl Diem, suggested what is now the modern
Olympic Torch relay. The Olympic flame is lit at the ancient site of
Olympia by women wearing ancient-style robes and using a curved mirror
and the sun. The Olympic Torch is then passed from runner to runner from
the ancient site of Olympia to the Olympic stadium in the hosting city.
The flame is then kept alight until the Games have concluded. The
Olympic Torch relay represents a continuation from the ancient Olympic
Games to the modern Olympics.
Olympic Myths
»
Pelops, a prince from Lydia sought the hand of the daughter of King Oinomaos of Pisa, namely Hippodamia. Oinomaos had declared that his
daughter's suitors should compete with him in a chariot race; winning it
he gets Hippodamia as his wife; but on losing it, he would be beheaded.
Pelops with his charioteer Myrtilos secretly replaced the bronze
linchpins of the King's chariot with wax linchpins. During the race, the
wax melted and Oinomaos was thrown from his chariot and died. Pelops and
Hippodamia got married and Pelops celebrated his victory with the
Olympic Games.
According to another myth, poet Pindar, in his Olympian Ode, tells
the tale of how King Augeas of Elis reneged on his promise to reward
Herakles for cleaning his stables. Herakles attacked and sacked Elis and
started the Olympic Games in honour of his father Zeus.
The Olympic Hymn
The Olympic Hymn, played when the Olympic Flag is raised, was
composed by Spyros Samaras and the words added by Kostis Palamas. The
Olympic Hymn was first played at the 1896 Olympic Games in Athens but
wasn't declared the official hymn by the IOC [International Olympic
Committee] until 1957. Immortal spirit of antiquity, Father of
the true, beautiful and good, Descend, appear, shed over us thy light
Upon this ground and under this sky Which has first witnessed the
imperishable fame. Give life and animation to those noble games!
Throw wreaths of fadeless flowers to the victors In the race and in
the strife! Create in our breasts, hearts of steel! In thy light,
plains, mountains and seas Shine in a roseate hue and form a vast
temple To which all nations throng to adore thee, Oh immortal
spirit of antiquity!
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