Rehearsals of Opening Ceremony of London Olympics:The Thames takes centre stage for the Olympic opening ceremony

London is Preparing itself for the opening Ceremony of the greatest event of sports i.e. London Olympics.The performers had been sworn to secrecy, rehearsals had taken place behind steel fencing and only a handful of people were privy to the full details.

But as preparations for the London 2012 Olympics opening ceremony got underway, organisers forgot one crucial detail – there is no roof on the Olympic stadium and the entire process was being filmed from above.

Yesterday, aerial images emerged of a ‘secret’ set design based on Britain’s longest running soap EastEnders.

The set appeared to be an exact replica of the opening credits from the BBC programme, including the bend on the River Thames and the web of city streets.

It comes just two days after organisers revealed that the £27m ceremony will open with a rural idyll, complete with real cows, sheep and a horse-drawn plough.

But despite announcing details of the opening scenes, artistic director Danny Boyle had hoped that the rest of the ceremony could be kept under wraps.

Mr Boyle, best known for directing hit film Slumdog Millionaire that was based on slums of Indian city Mumbai was quoted saying to daily mail,  that We want people to discover it for themselves on the night. 

'We want it to be a puzzle until the unveiling, so that people can experience it as it goes on.’

Also visible in the photographs is a recreation of the Glastonbury Thor and an enormous fake tree, which will appear in the first scene, entitled ‘green and pleasant land’.

The opener will include a cricket match, real horses pulling a plough and ducks paddling in a lake. 

There will even be an artificial cloud to produce rain, to reflect typical British weather.

Ceremonies executive producer Stephen Daldry, who directed film Billy Elliott, has already hinted that the rural scenes will ‘look unrecognisable’ by the end of the ceremony, and will be replaced by a more urban reflection of Britain.

The soap will strengthen its links with the Olympics in the coming weeks.

The Olympic Torch relay route will travel through the set of Albert Square as it makes its way through London to the Olympic Stadium for the opening ceremony on 27 July.

On July 23, EastEnders will feature live footage of character Billy Mitchell, played by Perry Fenwick, carrying the Olympic Flame while being cheered on by the famous residents of Albert Square.

Several minutes of the Olympic procession will be shown on the programme, while the rest of the episode will be filmed in advance.

Last night, a spokeswoman for organisers Locog said: ‘We have outlined details about the opening scene and we have nothing more to add.’

London Olympics 2012 to be streamed online for free

f you are wondering where to watch the Olympic, your problem is almost solved as the every moments of the London Olympic will streamed online in your Mobile or PC.There will not be one moment of the Olympics that is left untouched.

  

One undeniable trend about the Olympics over the last eight years is that its presence in online and mobile platforms has absolutely exploded. In 2004, NBC launched a mobile website dedicated to people wanting to check out the latest medal counts and breaking news on their phone, but it was little more than truncated text and a few tiny images. This year, you'll be able to watch every moment of the international sporting event from your phone and notebook.

At least, that's what the BBC is planning to do. In case you were wondering, that's more than 2,500 hours of content. The broadcaster will offer a special video player on its website, chock full of 24 different live high-definition video streams.

In 2008, the BBC offered six streams. During a media event, BBC general manager Phil Pearnley was quoted as describing the project by saying, "The biggest single event we’ve ever seen was in the World Cup when England played Slovenia. Take that and double it – that’s what we’ve been planning for the Olympics."

In addition to the Web-based video player, the BBC will offer special apps for the iPhone, iPad, and Android. It will also deliver a special app for Internet-connected TVs as well as the PS3, Tivo, and even other platforms that the company hasn't confirmed yet. On top of all this, it will also have constantly updated Twitter feeds so that users who don't have the time to launch a video player will be able to get instant updates. The BBC is calling it "the first proper digital Olympics."

Today, NBC gave an inch.

The network announced that it would stream every single event and sport live for the first time ever, on NBCOlympics.com. That’s more than 3,500 programming hours, including the awarding of all 302 medals.

Olympic Dream for women boxers of Nepal shattered in China

The last hope of Nepal in Olympic Qualifier has been shattered as Sarsawti Gurung and Dina Rana both loses their Bout in 7th AIBA world women's boxing championships 2012 being held on Qinhuangdaoof city ofChina . 

 On the match played on 12th of may  Sarsawti rana  of Nepal on 60 kg category  loss her Bout against Beata Szabo of Hungary on the basis of points. She managed to score just seven points while her opponents scores 17points on total of four rounds.. sarsawti scored 3-2 in first round while she scores just 1 in all other three rounds while her opponents take the match on the grip by scoring 6,4,4 in other three rounds.

Dina Gurung (photo Nagarik)

Sarswati Rana(Photo  Nagarik)

In other bout played on the same day the Nepalese boxer who came from Britain named Dina Gurung lose against Edith Agu OGOKE of Nigeria on the first round on the RSC Basis.

Final countdown starts to London Olympics 2012

Kew Gardens on an English spring morning hosted the first in a series of celebrations on Wednesday to commemorate the 100 days` countdown to the London Olympics.

An oak tree was  planted to mark Britain`s role in the birth of the modern Olympic movement and giant Olympic rings made up of 25,000 flowers had  displayed.

A city steeped in theatre and pageantry will then be entertained in the early afternoon by members of West End theatre shows assisted by British athletes taking part in a "West End Warm-Up" performance in Trafalgar Square.

On the following day the 70-day Olympic torch relay begins at Land`s End.

Any initial trepidation about Britain`s ability to stage a major global event has long vanished and last month the London organising committee received a glowing endorsement from International Olympic Committee commission chairman Denis Oswald who proclaimed: "London is ready to welcome the world." "We can feel that London is feeling the fever of the Games," Oswald said. "We are in no doubt that this summer will be a summer like no other in Britain."

Ensuring a unforgettable Olympics for London and the thousands of athletes and visitors who will pour into Britain for the Games opening on July 27 is the ultimate responsibility of organising committee chairman Sebastian Coe.

A reminder of the disturbing ease with which big sporting events can be disrupted came this month when an intruder in the Thames disrupted the annual university boat race between Oxford and Cambridge.

In an interview with Reuters to mark the 100 days` landmark, Coe said there was a need to get a balance between the safeties of the competitors while ensuring spectators were not subjected to oppressive security measures.

"Competitors are doing something at the highest level, they have devoted over half their young lives to be there," he said.

"It is our responsibility to make sure they have a secure environment in which to compete but you do not want people coming to London feeling they have come to a siege town.

"We will get that balance right; we have to get that balance right. I am not being remotely cavalier or particularly sanguine about the nature of what we have to do but we will get this right."

Coe was also upbeat about London`s problematic transport system.

"At Games time things will be different," he said. "This is the first time a Games will have been on these shores for 64 years and there`s nobody in this room, there`s probably nobody sitting out there now that is going to is going to witness them again in their lifetime so it is a celebration. "The city will look different, it will be different, getting about it will be different."

Asked about criticisms of the high cost of a sports event in grim economic times, Coe said there would be some validity to the argument if the Olympics was just a sporting festival.

"But of course it isn`t," he said. "We have regenerated in the process a large part of east London, we`ve transformed the lives of many young people living in east London.

"More broadly we have an opportunity to showcase this country in front of four billion people not just in sport but in our cultural communities. We have the ability to host 200 countries.

Majority of music in Olympic opening and closing ceremonies will be pre-recorded

Headline acts performing at the opening and closing ceremonies of the Olympic Games will sing over pre-recorded backing tracks. 

Organisers have defended the move, claiming the British weather and the shape of the Olympic stadium mean it's 'not possible for the music in all the shows to be live'.

But it is likely to infuriate fans who have paid up to £2,000 to watch a star-studded line-up rumoured to include The Rolling Stones, Coldplay, The Who and Adele.

The line-ups for the opening ceremony on July 27 and the Olympics' farewell on August 12 are a closely guarded secret.

Rolling Stone expected to perform but audience have to listen mime 

But they are expected to feature a who's who of British music. Organisers have dubbed the shows a celebration of the best Britain has to offer, 'from Elgar to Adele.'

And there are expected to be starring roles for rock veterans The Rolling Stones and The Who, as well as Coldplay.

Adele is expected to perform in Closing Ceremony

In February, creative director Kim Gavin insisted there would be an emphasis on live performance. He said: 'The intention isn't to go out there and does a mime show.'

But organizers have been forced to concede all backing music will have to be laid down in the studio beforehand.

Plans for an all-live show were hampered by concerns about the unpredictability of the British weather, as well as technical issues with the shape and size of the Olympic Stadium in Stratford.

Veteran Rockers are also expected to perform

Organizers want to create a surround sound effect, but the bowl shape of the venue meant they were left with microphone feedback during sound tests.

A spokesman for organisers Locog insisted: 'Due to the complexity involved, it's just not possible for the music in all the shows to be live. There will be live musical elements, but many of the shows will be recorded in advance. This is standard procedure for an event of this scale.'

London Olympic Stadium where Opening and closing Ceremony will take place

Sandeep Powers India To London Olympics In Men's Hockey

 Sandeep Singh slammed five goals, including a hat-trick, as India qualified for London Olympics men’s hockey after missing out the 2008 edition by spanking France 8-1 in the final of the qualification tournament here today.

Coming into the game with the memories of Santiago debacle four years ago still fresh in their minds, the Indians ensured that there was no repeat of the blunder this time around and toyed with the French defence throughout the 70 minutes to score the goals at will.

Sandeep, who witnessed the Chile debacle from close quarters, continued his goal-scoring spree to not only help eight-time Olympic champions India keep its date with London, but also emerged as the highest scorer of the tournament with 16 goals.

The 18th ranked Frenchmen proved to be a mismatch for the erstwhile giants of the game as India scored three and five goals respectively in both the halves to dash the European team’s London dreams.

Sandeep Singh

The Indians were right on the money with their game plan today as France found it impossible to counter the home team’s consistent attacks.

The difference between the two teams can be gauged from the fact that both India and France earned as many as seven penalty corners each, but the visitors failed to utilise a single one while the hosts converted six.

The rout started with Birendra Lakra’s field goal in the 17th minute after which it was a one man show as Sandeep (19th, 26th, 38th, 49th and 51st) converted five successive penalty corners for India to floor France.

S V Sunil (43rd) and V R Raghunath (56th) were the other goal-getters for the hosts, while Simon Martin-Brisac (24th) scored the consolation goal for France.

With eyes firmly set on London, the Indians started the proceedings on the right earnest and controlled the game from the onset.

As their world rankings suggest, India were by far the better side on display for most part of the match and mounted continuous raids on the rival citadel from the very beginning.

India got their first scoring chance as early as in the third minute when they were awarded a penalty corner but Sandeep failed to convert it.

Manpreet Singh then came tantalisingly close to giving India the lead in the 16th minute but his reverse shot from top of a very crowded circle was blocked by an agile French goalkeeper Mathias Dierckens.

London Olympics Logo

India then scored two goals within a span of two minutes to take control of the match.

India finally broke the deadlock in the 17th minute when Lakra scored with a reverse hit after being fed by Manpreet’s cross from the right.

Sandeep then made the scoreline 2-0 from India’s second penalty corner following a video referral after Shivendra was brought down inside the French circle.

Down 0-2, the Frenchmen came up with a stunning field goal just five minutes later when Martin-Brisac beautifully deflected home Sebastien Jean-Jean’s quick cross from the right flank.

But France’s joy was shortlived as Sandeep scored his second goal of the match two minutes later from India’s third short corner.

If the first half saw somewhat a keen contest between the two teams, penalty corner conversion was the order of the day after resumption of play as Sandeep ripped apart the French defence with his precision drag-flicking.

Sandeep showed why he is considered as one of the best penalty corner specialists in the world, converting three consecutive set pieces in a span of 14 minutes to pocket the match and book India’s place in the London Olympics.

In between, an unmarked Sunil scored a field goal after he was set up by Tushar Khandker and Danish Mujtaba.

Raghunath drove the final nail on France’s coffin, converting India’s seventh short corner with a powerful flick to the top of the French goal.

It was completely a one-sided affair and India could have won the match by a bigger margin had they not wasted numerous scoring opportunities that came their way.

The win not only ensured India’s place in the London Games, but also made all the players richer by Rs 2 lakh each, while members of the support staff will pocket Rs one lakh each as promised by Hockey India and Lalit Group of Hotels.