Johnson Launches BT London Live; LOCOG Unveils First Paralympic Torchbearers

(ATR) The newly reelected mayor of London says the British capital will enjoy a "summer like no other" as he launches BT London Live.

Boris Johnson was speaking to reporters at the top of the BT Tower in London when he addressed the BT London Live program, which will be a free celebration of the Olympic and Paralympic Games across three locations in the host city.

From July 27 Aug. 12 in Victoria Park, July 28 to Aug. 11 in Hyde Park and Aug. 29 to Sept. 9 in Trafalgar Square, BT London Live will welcome the general public and tourists to watch the Games beamed live into the venues and enjoy a variety of music and entertainment.

Johnson spoke excitedly about what was going to be on offer at each of the venues during the entirety of London 2012.

"There will be zip wires, zorbing, there’s going to be a BT 55-meter-tall observation tower in Victoria Park so you’ll be able to look straight into the Stratford site," he said. "There will be opportunities to try different sports, and many of dozens of gold medal-winning Team GB athletes will be coming to those live sites to share the excitement and for the crowds to applaud them.

"Above all, you will be able to watch the entire thing live on enormous BT TV screens. It will be absolutely fantastic and the atmosphere will be incredible. There will be entertainments of all kinds kicking off with a fantastic concert by Tom Jones on the 28th of July – all for free – Tom Jones for free in the live sites."

Sir Tom Jones will be performing in the Hyde Park site on July 28, and visitors will be able to watch all the action from the Games on four giant screens.

Johnson added: "I think you will agree these sites will showcase the best of British culinary skills, there will be hog roasts – I’ve just made that up – a fantastic family atmosphere with people coming from around the country and London; and it is all going to be absolutely free. We are going to have a summer like no other."

Dame Kelly Holmes was also at the briefing to support the launch, saying she liked the fact that the celebrations are all-encompassing – and that she hoped this would be another opportunity for foreign visitors to experience the best of British culture.

"It’s about connecting people from around the world, bringing communities and family and friends together. We all want to be a part of this extraordinary occasion. The best thing about it is that it is accessible from posh blokes like Boris Johnson to normal people like you and me," she said.

The controversial topic of security was also brought up Tuesday considering these sites would be far more open than the closed-off and gated Olympic Park.

Johnson sought to allay any fears by saying: "There will be security precautions taken around the live sites. There will be a check for people going into them; I hope that they won’t be too onerous or too difficult.

"But there will be airport-like checks going into the venues – that is absolutely essential."

All the BT London Live dates, except the two celebration concerts in Hyde Park on the days of the opening and closing ceremonies, will offer free access. Fans will be able to turn up on the day subject to capacity.

First Paralympic Torchbearers

LOCOG announced the first 332 Paralympic torchbearers on Tuesday.

The torchbearers were selected from nomination campaigns run by sponsors BT, Lloyds TSB and Sainsbury’s as well as the British Paralympic Association.

"Thank you to everyone who took the time to nominate someone in one of the three campaigns," said Sebastian Coe, LOCOG chairman.

"For the first time we get to hear some of the inspirational stories of the teams and individuals that have been selected to carry the Paralympic Flame. Whether they have been together for years or have been brought together around a common story, they have all demonstrated how they are living the Paralympic values of courage, determination, inspiration and equality."

The Paralympic Flame will be lit on Aug. 24.

Athletes Approve of Village

The London 2012 Athletes’ Committee gives its seal of approval to the Olympic Village.

"I believe the Olympic and Paralympic Village we have seen today ranks among the best at any previous Games," Committee chair Jonathan Edwards said Tuesday in a statement.

"The Village has been built around the very specific needs of modern performance athletes and I am confident they will benefit from some of the new features and initiatives the Athletes’ Committee have helped deliver," added the Olympic champion and world record-holding triple jumper.

LOCOG chair Sebastian Coe thanked Edwards for his work, saying: "The aim of the London 2012 Village has always been to provide a physical estate of beauty and convenience supported by athlete centred services which rank among the standards of the best hotels world-wide."

Armani Italian Uniforms

Designer Giorgio Armani recently unveiled the uniforms of the Italian Olympic team, drawing rave reviews.

Gianni Petrucchi, president of the Italian National Olympic Committee, seemed awed by the duds, declaring: "We have won the gold in elegance."

"The Azzurris" won’t deviate tradition, using blue as the primary color of the uniforms, made by EA7, Armani’s sportswear line.

To reflect the patriotism of Italian athletes, Armani says he worked the text of Italy’s national anthem, "Il Canto degli Italiani", into parts of the uniform including the inside of the jackets worn during the ceremonies and underneath the collar of their polo shirts.

"Sport is the most patriotic thing that there is and it inspires national pride," the designer said.

NBC En Espanol

NBC Universal, through its Spanish language network Telemundo, will broadcast its "most extensive" Olympics coverage in Spanish.

A statement from the broadcaster says "more than 173 hours" of Games coverage will air in the United States.

"In London 2012 we will present the most ambitious Olympic coverage in Telemundo’s history," said Jorge Hidalgo, Executive Vice President of Sports for Telemundo Media. "The experience gained by covering the Olympic Games since 2004, the caliber of our sports talent, the complete integration with the NBC Olympics team, and our commitment to our audience will make of London an unforgettable sports feast."

Telemundo’s coverage will focus on Hispanic athletes. As a result, football will be the primary focus of the network’s coverage, but Telemundo will also devote significant resources to basketball, boxing and swimming.

In addition to its traditional TV broadcasts, Telemundo’s cable network mun2 will have a daily half-hour behind-the-scenes program and nbcolympics.com/telemundo will have more than 200 hours of digital content.

Russian Hopefuls

Russian sports minister Vitaly Mutko claims 1000 Russians are hoping to join the Olympic team.

He made the comments to RIA Novosti, saying the team will compete in 25 disciplines.

"By the middle of July we will finish the selection and cut this number to 430-450 people," he said.

Russia sent 455 Olympians to Beijing.

With reporting byChristian Radnedge in London and Ed Hula III in Atlanta.

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