London Olympic Games 2012

Woodlands Junior School is in the south-east corner of England

2012 Olympic Sports | 2012 Olympic Venues | 2012 Olympic Teaching Resources Symbols of the Olympic Games The build up to the 2012 London Olympics provides an excellent hook to engage students all round the world in learning about Britain. I have already written many pages on Britain and will be adding more and linking the resources to the Olympic theme. When will the London Olympics take place? The 2012 Summer Olympic Games will be held in London from 27 July to 12 August 2012, followed by the 2012 Paralympic Games from 29 August to 9 September. How many times has London hosted the Olympics? London hosted the Olympic games in 1908 and 1948. How many countries are expected to take part in the London 2012 Olympics? We expect 205 nations to take part in 300 events at the Olympic Games in 2012. 147 nations will take part in the Paralympic Games. The 26 Olympic sports at London 2012 will be:

Aquatics Archery Athletics Badminton Basketball Boxing Canoe and Kayak

Cycling Equestrian Fencing Football Gymnastics Handball Hockey Judo Modern Pentathlon Rowing Sailing Shooting Table Tennis Taekwondo Tennis Triathlon Volleyball Weightlifting Wrestling

The above 26 sports of the London Olympics 2012 will take place in 28 venues. The 20 Paralympic sports at London 2012 will be:

Boccia Football (5-a-side) Football (7-a-side) Goalball Paralympic Archery Paralympic Athletics Paralympic Cycling Paralympic Equestrian Paralympic Judo Paralympic Powerlifting Paralympic Rowing Paralympic Sailing Paralympic Shooting Paralympic Swimming

Paralympic Table Tennis Volleyball (sitting) Wheelchair Basketball Wheelchair Fencing Wheelchair Rugby Wheelchair Tennis

The sports will take place in 21 venues.

Olympic Park Venues

Aquatics Centre Sports - Swimming, diving, synchronised swimming, modern pentathlon (swimming) and water polo. Basketball Arena Sports - Basketball, handball finals Eton Manor Sports - Aquatics training, wheelchair tennis Facts - A new 130m-high wind turbine will also be located at Eton Manor. It will help provide power to the park during and after the Games, generating energy for the equivalent of 1,000 homes. Handball Arena Sports - Handball, goalball, modern pentathlon (fencing) Hockey Centre Sports - Hockey Olympic Stadium Sports - Athletics, opening and closing ceremonies. VeloPark Sports - Cycling Track, Cycling BMX

London Olympic Venues

Earls Court is in West London Sport: Volleyball About Earls Court - From exhibitions and conferences to live music, Earls Court holds hundreds of events each year attended by visitors from around the world. ExCeL London - is situated near London City Airport in east London's Royal Victoria Dock. Sport: Boxing, Fencing, Judo, Table Tennis, Taekwondo, Weightlifting, Wrestling, Boccia, Paralympic Table Tennis, Paralympic Judo, Paralympic Powerlifting, Volleyball (Sitting), Wheelchair Fencing Greenwich Park on the south bank of the River Thames in south east London. Sport: Equestrian events - Jumping, Dressage and Eventing, Paralympic Equestrian, Modern Pentathlon About Greenwich Park - Includes the Old Royal Naval College and National Maritime Museum, which, together with Greenwich Park, are part of a World Heritage Site. It is London's oldest Royal Park, dating back to 1433. It has been a World Heritage Site since 1997. Within the park is The Royal Observatory and the home of Greenwich Mean Time at Longitude 0. Horse Guards Parade in Whitehall, the political centre of the UK. Sport: Beach Volleyball About Horse Guards Parade - Dates from 1745 and takes its name from the soldiers who have provided protection for the monarch since the restoration of the monarchy in 1660. The parade ground lies at the heart of London's ceremonial life, and hosts the Trooping of the Colour event that takes place on the Queen's official birthday each year. Hyde Park in London's West End Sport: Triathlon, 10k Open Water Swim About Hyde Park - The largest of London's Royal Parks, Hyde Park has been open to the public since 1637. The park is home to a number of grassroots sports clubs, including the

Serpentine Swimming Club, whose members swim in the Serpentine Lake whatever the weather - even on Christmas Day. Lords Cricket Ground Sport: Archery Millennium Dome: The O2 in Greenwich - on the point of the Greenwich peninsula Arena 1- Sport: Artistic Gymnastics, Trampoline, Basketball, Wheelchair Basketball Arena 2 Sport: Badminton, Rhythmic Gymnastics Regents Park Sport: Road cycling About Regents Park - One of London's famous Royal Parks, the Regent's Park has been open to the public since 1845. As well as being home to London Zoo and the Open Air Theatre, the park is a much-loved sports venue for thousands of Londoners. The Royal Artillery Barracks on Woolwich Common in south east London Sport: Shooting, Paralympic Shooting, Paralympic Archery About the Royal Artillery Barracks - The London port of Woolwich has a long military history and the construction of the current Royal Artillery Barracks buildings began in 1776. Wembley Stadium in north west London, around six miles from the city centre. Sport: Football About Wembley - The new stadium's arch soars over 130m into the sky, more than four times the height of the towers of the old Wembley Stadium. Wimbledon in south west London Sport: Tennis About Wimbledon - Home of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club and the setting for the famous Wimbledon tennis tournament since 1877. It is the only remaining major grasscourt Tennis venue in the world.

Out of London Olympic Games venues

The Broxbourne White Water Canoe Centre in Hertfordshire Sport: Canoe Slalom Location - 30km north of the Olympic Park, on the edge of the 1,000-acre River Lee Country Park which is part of the 26-mile long, 10,000 acre Lee Valley Regional Park in Hertfordshire. Eton Dorney near Windsor Sport: Rowing, Paralympic Rowing, Canoe Sprint About Eton Dorney - The venue is a 2,200m, eight lane rowing course with a separate return lane constructed to international standards. It is set in a 400-acre park with a nature conservation area. Hadleigh Farmis to the east of London, in Essex. Sport: Mountain Bike Hampden Park in Glasgow is Scotland's national stadium. Sport: Football The Millennium Stadium in Cardiff is Wales' national stadium. Sport: Football Old Trafford in Manchester is home to Manchester United Football Club. Sport: Football St James Park in Newcastle-upon-Tyne in the north east of England Sport: Football Villa Park in the West Midlands Sport: Football Weymouth Bay and Portland Harbour in Dorset on England's south coast. Sport: Sailing, Paralympic Sailing

The Symbols of the Olympic Games

Woodlands Junior School is in the south-east corner of England

The Rings
The Olympic Rings are five interlocking rings that stand for the five original continents, (Africa, America, Asia, Australia, and Europe) and the athletes from around the world. The colours of the rings are blue, yellow, black, green, and red respectively. They were chosen because at least one of these colours is found on the flag of every nation.

The Flag
On the Olympic flag, the rings appear on a white background. At the Olympic Games, the flag is brought into the stadium during the opening ceremony. After its arrival, the flag is hoisted up the flagpole. It must fly in the stadium during the whole of the Games. When the flag is lowered at the closing ceremony, it signals the end of the Games.

Motto
The motto of th Olympic Games is "Swifter, Higher, Stronger". These three words encourage the athlete to give his or her best during competition, and to view this effort as a victory in itself. To better understand the motto, we can compare it with the following well-known phrase : The most important thing is not to win but to take part !

The Flame
The Olympic flame is one of the best-known features of the Games. From the moment the flame is lit to the moment it goes out, a very precise ritual is laid down : The lighting In memory of the Olympic Games origins, the flame is lit in Olympia, Greece, some months before the opening of the Games. The Olympic flame can only be lit by the suns rays. The relay route The torch is carried by relay from Olympia to the host city of the Games. Arrival at the stadium The day of the opening of the Games, the flame enters the stadium. With the lighting of the cauldron by the last relay runner the flame is transferred from the torch to the place where it will continue to burn for the entire length of the Games. The flame is extinguished on the final day of the Games at the closing ceremony.

Rahman to rock Olympics with Punjabi beats!

Sat Jun 30 2012 12:47:34 GMT+0530 (India Standard Time) by IANS

New Delhi, June 30 (IANS) A.R. Rahman is set to team up with Hollywood director Danny Boyle again - this time to compose a song for the London Olympics opening ceremony. The music maestro reveals it will be a Punjabi song celebrating Indian influence in Britain.

Clarifying the report on the Olympics track I am composing Its a track in Punjabi celebrating the Indian influence in the UK, Rahman, who worked with Boyle in Oscar-winning film Slumdog Millionaire and 127 Hours, posted on his Facebook page. Its a part of a medley in the Olympics opening ceremony, according to Danny Boyles creative wishes! he added. It has also been reported that music composer Ilayarajas composition Naanthaan ungappanda, from Kamal Hassans 1980 film Ram Lakshman will be a part of the opening ceremony too. The 2012 London Olympics will be held July 27 to Aug 12.

Indias Hopes at London Olympics

With the 2012 London Olympics less than a year away, we take a look at Indias chances and make a list of the realistic medal hopefuls.

By Adarsh Vinay There are two ways of looking at it. You can either say that the targeted tally of 12 medals at the 2012 Olympics shows a lack of ambition on the part of a country as populous and endowed as India. Or you could say that the same target is unrealistic considering that India has only won 20 medals since debuting in the modern Olympics in Paris in 1900. First things first, lets get the facts straight! Of the 20 aforementioned medals, 11 have come in hockey. 6 of those 11 came in successive Olympics between 1928 and 1956, a period where India dominated our supposedly national sport. Our first individual medal came only in 1952 when Khashaba Dadasaheb Jadhav took a bronze in the Mens freestyle bantamweight wrestling event. The second individual honour came much later, in 1996, when Leander Paes won bronze in Mens singles tennis. Having gone through all these stats, targeting 12 - which is more than half of what the country has amassed in over 110 years seems unrealistic. But obviously, there is a counter argument. That 1996 Leander Paes medal was a breakthrough of sorts. It was a harbinger of good things to come. Four years later in Sydney, weightlifter Karnam Malleshwari won bronze in the Womens 69 kg competition. Fast forward to 2004 and an Indian did what had never been done before - win an individual Olympic silver. Col. Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore came second in the Mens Double Trap shooting event. Four more years and the bar was raised further when Abhinav Bindra won the only individual gold India have ever won. He achieved the feat

in the Mens 10m Rifle shooting event. And that wasnt all, as Sushil Kumar and Vijender Singh won a bronze each in Mens 66 kg freestyle wrestling and Mens 75 kg boxing respectively. This ensured that India won three medals in a single Olympics for the very first time. Last years Commonwealth Games was a great success too. India finished second behind Australia and picked up 101 medals, 38 of which were gold. Going by all this and the genuine medal winners that India have at the moment, a tally of 12 doesnt seem so farfetched after all! Talking about the talent at hand, the first name to spring to mind is Vijender, who will be contesting in the Mens middleweight category. He resisted overtures to go professional so that he could remain in the amateur category, thus giving himself a better shot at gold in London. A dismal performance saw him pick up bronze at CWG but he made up for that with gold at the Asian Games. India have genuine hopes in shooting. Tejaswini Sawant and Gagan Narang, both 10 metres air rifle shooters are flanked by Ronjon Sondhi, who currently is No. 1 in the double trap ISSF rankings. Five-time world boxing champion Mary Kom also deserves a mention, though she is now competing in a higher weight category of 51 kg. Saina Nehwal was being touted as a potential medal winner in London just a year ago but a bad patch of form has seen the Indian badminton ace, who briefly flirted between second and third in the world rankings, fall to sixth. Despite her patchy form, there are many who are still optimistic that she will regain her form sooner than later. Though the next name might prompt some sneers, it should be remembered that Sania Mirza does have a genuine chance in the tennis mixed doubles event if she pairs up with Paes or Mahesh Bhupathi. In the team events, the womens recurve team and the gymnastics team are considered really talented. The latter team is currently training in London. The recent doping incidents that saw as many as eight Indian stars test positive for anabolic steroids may have taken some of the sheen off Indian athletics. The fiasco will see the world look at Indian athletes with some scepticism. But the right steps are being taken to prevent an encore. Sports Minister Ajay Maken has already sacked foreign coach Yuri Ogordonik. The Athletics Federation of India, the Sports Authority of India and the National Institute of Sports, Patiala are all under scrutiny. The whole episode is being treated as a much-needed wakeup

call and hopefully things will blow over with time. Instead of sending a mandatory contingent to ensure participation, India are this time focusing on the potential. Rahul Bhatnagar, joint secretary with Indias Sports Ministry, who is currently heading the International Sports Division says the focus is on core potential. This only bodes well for India. Maken recently announced that about Rs 258.39 crore would be spent on preparing the athletes for the mega event. This will include travel, lodging, nutrition and scientific support and daily allowances among other things. It is reassuring for the stars to know that they have the whole-hearted backing of the government.28 foreign coaches have been appointed to oversee the training with their national counterparts. 17 of them have already joined the various disciplines and the rest will be joining at the earliest. With almost a year left for the event, there is still plenty of time to prepare. Former India hockey captain and chief operating officer of the non-profit initiative Olympic Gold Quest (OGQ),Viren Rasquinha says India are targeting three gold in London. He says it will be increased to seven or eight gold in the 2016 event in Brazil. This is a day and age, when Indian sports is breaking new ground. When earlier sports bodies and teams ran on just passion and ambition, they now have the whole-hearted support of the government and one billion people. 12 medals might just be possible after all!

India's chances at London 2012

India will be represented by 80 athletes (57 men and 23 women), who will take part in 53 events across 13 disciplines, at the 2012 Summer Olympics which will be held in London from 27 July to 12 August 2012. We look at the sports and events in which India has the best chance of coming away with a medal.

Badminton: Saina Nehwal is a top contender for a medal finish at London as are Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa in the women's doubles. Jwala Gutta and V Diju are capable of a medal finish in the mixed doubles too. Athletics: India's medal chances in athletics rest on Vikas Gowda (Men's discus throw) and Krishna Poonia (Women's discus throw) Shooting: Abhinav Bindra, Ronjan Sodhi and Gagan Narang are the stars in India's 11-member shooting contingent for the London Olympic Games; and will be expected to win medals at the 2012 Summer Games. Manavjit Singh Sandhu and Heena Sidhu are capable of putting up good shows at London as well.

Tennis: After the ugly row over AITA's Olympics pairing, India's best hopes for a tennis medal are pinned on Sania Mirza and Leander Paes in the mixed doubles. Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna may come away with a medal in the men's doubles if luck and form go their way. Boxing: Mary Kom, Vijender Singh, Shiva Thapa and Vikas Krishan Yadav are serious contenders to come away with medals from the 2012 Summer Olympic Games. India has earned 8 quotas in boxing - Devendro Singh (Light flyweight); Shiva Thapa (Bantamweight); Jai Bhagwan (Lightweight); Manoj Kumar (Light welterweight); Vikas Krishan Yadav (Welterweight); Vijender Singh (Middleweight); Sumit Sangwan (Light heavyweight); Mary Kom (Women's Flyweight). Wrestling: Sushil Kumar will want to better his bronze medal winning performance at Beijing in 2008. Apart from Sushil Kumar, medals in wrestling could be expected from Yogeshwar Dutt (Men's 60 kg) and Geeta Phogat (Women's 55 kg) Archery: Deepika Kumari is favourite to win a medal in the women's individual category; while the men's recurve team stands a good chance of coming away with a medal from the 2012 Games. India has qualified a full team of 6 archers for London Olympics 2012 3 in women's recurve and 3 in men's recurve event. The archers are Jayanta Talukdar, Rahul Banerjee, Tarundeep Rai, Laishram Bombayla Devi, Deepika Kumari and Chekrovolu Swuro.