"Big Mess" at Africa Village; Getty's Olympic Record; Brazil, NZ Win 100th Medals

"Big Mess" at Africa Village

Sources tell Around the Rings that Africa Village will not reopen after closing unexpectedly on Wednesday.

"It's a big mess," ATR is told.

Suppliers have not been paid, and the situation has been described as "very bad" for exhibitors. Attempts to rescue the project last week fell through when the money "did not apear in suppliers' bank accounts".

The project, located in Kensington Gardens near the Albert Memorial, attracted 80,000 visitors in the 12 days it was open. In addition to stands showcasing different countries' cultures, visitors could watch live entertainment and dine on African dishes.

Africa Village opened on July 27 and was supposed to run until Aug. 12. It was billed as the first time 53 National Olympic Committees of Africa had come together for a single hospitality house. South Africa did not participate.

Plans included celebrations for all African medalists and press conferences for the project's partners. The Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa (ANOCA) held its general assembly there on Saturday.

Capturing an Experience

Getty Images says it's broken its own Olympic record –shooting more than one million pictures of the London Games with several days still to go.

The official photo agency of the IOC says by day four, it had shot more images of London 2012 than the entirety of Beijing 2008. Driving the volume? New technology that produces more pictures at a faster rate.

But Getty officials say today’s viewers want more than just pictures.

Ken Mainardis, senior director of editorial services and events says, "At these Games, there is now a whole new shift towards interactivity where people want to spend more time in front of a single image. They don’t want to just sit in front of a regular picture, they want to be able to move it."

Case in point, visitors to Getty offices in the Main Press Center are drawn to both the 3D screen and a light box, where viewers can call up pictures by touching a big screen.

Pictures aren’t only focused on athletes. Games spectators can now see pictures of themselves at Olympic events. Getty’s 360-degree panoramic cameras allow spectators to look at an image of an event they attended, move the picture around and zoom into where they were sitting.

In addition to Getty’s corps of photographers, there are 10 "Robo-cams," cameras set up inside a robotic rig designed to shoot from places no photographer would be able to go, such as the floodlights in the Olympic Stadium. These cameras, operated by a photographer looking at a computer and using a joystick, are able to move 360 degrees to follow the action, wherever it leads.

Brazil, NZ Marks 100th Medals

The bronze medal won on Wednesday by the Brazilian athlete Adriana Araújo is the 100th Brazilian medal in the Olympic Games.

Araujo was competing in the -60kg boxing category. The Brazilian Olympic Committee (COB) say that of the 259 Brazilian athletes competing at London 2012, 123 of them are women.

"We are delighted with the bronze medal of Adriana Araújo in boxing. This achievement symbolizes the strengh and the talent of all Brazilian athletes and also can be seen as a beautiful tribute to the participation of Brazilian women in the Olympic Games," COB president Carlos Arthur Nuzman in a statement.

The first Brazilian medal won at London 2012 was also by a woman. Sarah Menezes won gold in the -48kg category in judo.

Also Wednesday, sailors Blair Tuke and Peter Burling won New Zealand's 100th Olympic medal to date, a silver in the 49er class.

"We're really proud to have done that and to get our name alongside the other people to have won medals for our country," Tuke was quoted by Kiwi media.

Kiwi House Fire

More than 300 mostly New Zealand fans were evacuated from Kiwi House near King's Cross after a gas canister exploded during a barbecue at the hospitality venue.

"We've had a rather large fire engulf the outdoor bbq area. Everyone is ok," New Zealand Olympic Committee officials said on Twitter. "We're closed till further notice. More updates as they happen."

Travel Report

There are late finishes in both football and basketball on Thursday, so Transport for London says the Jubilee line is expected to be busy until the end of service.

Central London will also be busy with the 10km women’s swimming marathon taking place in Hyde Park. Road closures will cause many diversions in the center of the city.

The beach volleyball competition is in the finals, so Horse Guards Parade is expected to see less traffic than it's had in the earlier rounds.

Thursday’s Medal Events

Athletics – Men’s 800m, Men’s Triple Jump, Men’s 200m, Men’s Decathlon, Women’s Javelin – Olympic Stadium

Beach Volleyball – Men’s – Horse Guards Parade

Boxing – Women’s 51kg, Women’s 60kg, Women’s 75kg – ExCeL

Canoe Sprint – Men’s Canoe Double 1000m, Men’s Kayak Four 1000m, Women’s Kayak Single 500m, Women’s Kayak Double 500m – Eton Dorney

Diving – Women’s 10m Platform – Aquatics Center

Equestrian – Individual Dressage – Greenwich Park

Football – Women’s – Wembley Stadium

Sailing – Men’s 470 – Weymouth and Portland

Swimming – Women’s 10km Marathon – Hyde Park

Taekwondo – Women’s -57kg, Men’s -68kg

Water Polo – Women’s – Water Polo Arena

Wrestling – Women’s 72kg Freestyle, Women’s 55kg Freestyle – ExCeL

Written and reported byChristian Radnedge and Kathy Kuzcka

For general comments or questions, click here

20 Years at #1: