London Busy As Ever; Tragedy Near Olympic Park; British Media Get Gold Fever

Record Numbers Coming To London, Says Hunt

Culture secretary Jeremy Hunt denies that London has been turned into a ghost-town because of Olympic ‘scaremongering’.

Hunt was speaking to reporters after a ministers meeting on Wednesday when he dismissed the notion that people had been put off shopping or going out in central London because of the constant warnings of Games-time transport congestion.

Many bars and shops had been reportedly complaining of a sharp drop in footfall over the past week.

"We are getting record numbers of people coming to London, and overall the picture in the East End of London is very encouraging," Hunt said.

He added that the Westfield shopping center in Stratford had an extra 40,000 visitors a day because of the Games and that they had "the same numbers of people coming into the West End as this time last year".

"It may not be quite as high as they hoped for, but there are businesses that are marketed really effectively around the Games that are seeing a big boost and actually the West End is doing very well in the evening as well."

Reports blamed Mayor of London Boris Johnson’s ‘scaremongering’ announcements on the London Underground warning commuters to not "get caught out during the Games". Transport for London (TFL) has now stopped playing them.

Tragedy Just Outside Olympic Park

In tragic circumstances, a cyclist died on Wednesday evening after a collision with a media bus just outside the London 2012 Main Press Center.

The collision happened on the slip road out of the complex as the bus was leaving the site. The 30-year-old rider has not been named.

A spokesman for LOCOG confirmed that the accident occurred with a Games bus.

"We can confirm that a cyclist tragically died as a result of a collision with a bus carrying media from the Olympic Park this evening," he added.

"The police are investigating the accident and our thoughts are with the cyclist's family."

The bus was travelling between the MPC and ExCeL at around 7:30 p.m.. It is believed the cyclist was not involved in the Olympics.

Travel Report

London’s transport network continues to counter the feared "chaos" that would arise once the Games started.

However, new events continue to pop up in the city with a technical rehearsal for the triathlon event taking place on Thursday morning. Hyde Park Corner station will be closed from the key hours of 5 a.m. to 9 a.m. with the rehearsal also affecting the Olympic Road Network (ORN).

Thursday is also the day before athletics events begin in the Olympic Park, where thousands will be flocking to East London at the same times. TFL will be experiencing the same numbers daily that came to see the opening ceremony on July 27.

Media Watch

The British newspapers on Thursday were not only celebrating Great Britain’s first gold medals of London 2012, but also of their newest most decorated Olympian.

Tour de France winner Bradley Wiggins achieved the title after winning gold in the cycling time trial on Wednesday. His tally is now seven medals, beating the six held by rower Steve Redgrave.

The Independent shows some relief with their headline "AT LAST: A GOLDEN DAY FOR BRITAIN" whereas the Guardian has the more simplified and succinct "PHEW!".

The Daily Mirror also lauds the other Team GB gold achieved in the women’s pairs rowing with the headline "GOLD RUSH!". Optimism is growing now among the British media, especially as the track cycling events begin today – events they dominated four years ago.

Medal Events for Thursday

Archery – Women’s Individual – Lord’s Cricket Ground

Canoe Slalom – Men’s Canoe Double, Women’s Kayak – Lee Valley White Water Center

Track Cycling – Men’s and Women’s Team Sprints – Velodrome

Fencing – Women’s Team Foil – ExCeL

Artistic Gymnastics – Women’s Individual All-Around – North Greenwich Arena

Judo – Women’s -78kg, Men’s -100kg – ExCeL

Rowing – Men’s Double Sculls, Men’s Lightweight Four, Women’s Eight

Shooting – Men’s Double Trap – Royal Artillery Barracks

Swimming – Women’s 200m Breast, Men’s 200m Back, Men’s 200m IM, Women’s 100m Free – Aquatics Center

Table Tennis – Men’s Singles – ExCeL

Reported by Christian Radnedge

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