Here are the Olympic-related links we’ve been looking at over the last week from June 22nd through June 27th:
- BBC’s Olympic rights under threat from new TV deal | Sport | The Guardian – total, $3.91bn was raised from TV rights deals for the 2010 and 2012 Games, a significant increase on the $2.57bn raised from the previous four years. A further, more-modest increase is expected for 2014 and 2016.
- Distributing Cushions – The History | www.woolsack.org – In the middle of all this we had the request from British Olympic Association (BOA) to make red, white and blue cushions for Team GB athletes at the Winter Youth Olympic Games. Their plans to ship the cushions direct to the Village in Innsbruck were stopped by organisers there so BOA arranged for the young athletes to choose their cushions in the UK. They loved them so much that they let us know they were taking their cushions to Innsbruck and back in their personal luggage and we have had some lovely thank-you letters! It has been frustrating to have one after another agreed plan brought to an end by or through LOCOG, but inspired by the efforts the athletes are making to get selected for the Games, we are looking upon this as just another challenge to be met. Now we know how much the athletes love the cushions and want to have them, we will persevere and find ways meet their requests.
- Olympic torch route, day 37: the Games will leave no legacy in Moss Side | Sport | guardian.co.uk – I found it difficult to promote my
programme of workshops in schools because I
was not sanctioned by the council or the
Olympic committee. I was told I could not use
the word Olympic to describe or promote my
song, Olympic Flame, recorded with the Destiny
Africa children choir in Bridlington last autumn.
The proceeds will help make Kampala Children's
Centre self-sufficient by purchasing land for
them to farm. - A games for the people not the sponsors | lives; running – Testament to how London 2012 has purposefully chosen to ignore this counter-model is the Olympic Marathon. Every year the East End successfully hosts a decent chunk of the London Marathon route, but in the single minded desire to showcase the Central London landmarks which are already well-known to the world the route was moved to the centre. For those who would want to watch one of the very few free Olympic events this was also very bad news. Instead of a 26.2 mile route the whole length if the way, a four mile-circuit lapped six times will slash the space for the potential crowd who would have watched in enormous numbers by more than 75%. What might have been one of the most well-supported events of the Games has been reduced by a huge margin and for no reason other than to ensure that corporate control is maintained and the global image of a London Games as represented by Big Ben, the Mall, and Buckingham Palace is maintained.
- Olympics organizers aggressively guard trademarks – "When you bid to host an Olympic Games," says Simon Chadwick, a professor of sports business at Coventry University in England, "you must, and that's in capital letters, underlined, guarantee to pass legislation outlawing ambush marketing and protecting against any trademark infringement." Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2012/06/16/BUD11P21PJ.DTL#ixzz1yV7FQfUo
