Queen's Birthday Honors; Canada Inspects Sochi; Germany Observes Olympic Day

Queen's Birthday Honorsfor Olympics Work

A review conducted by Around the Rings finds dozens of people will receive Queen’s Birthday Honors for their Olympics work.

Jonathan Andrew de Sievrac Stephens received a Knight Commander title for public service, especially to the 2012 London Games. The Knight Commander title is the second-highest rank in British chivalry.

Christopher John Allison and Dennis Vincent Hone will receive Commander of the British Empire titles for performing civil and security-related services during the London Games. Indian-born sculptor Anish Kapoor will also receive a CBE for his work, which includes the ArcelorMittal Orbit in the Olympic Park. Thomas Heatherwick, who designed the Olympic cauldron will also earn a CBE.

Those receiving OBEs for Olympic services were Robert James Broadhurst for public order policing services, Stephen Eley for public service, David Michael Gordon for broadcasting services, Shaun Patrick McCarthy for sustainability practices, and Kathryn Estelle Foster for border security.

Numerous others were honored for their Olympic work with OBEs and MBEs.

The list of more than 1,000 recipients was published recently.

Tokyo Tipped in 2020 Race, Japanese Media Report

Two IOC sources tell Japan’s Kyodo News Agency that Tokyo is favored to win the 2020 Olympics.

An "IOC veteran from Europe" and a "high-profile member with experience on the IOC Executive Board" both said Tokyo is the favorite due to emphasizing the bid’s safe nature – and if no more scandals pop up before the Sept. 7 vote.

Istanbul and Madrid are the other bid cities.

Canada Inspects Sochi

Officials with the Canadian Olympic Committee are making a 10-day inspection of Sochi 2014, hoping to repeat their success at the 2010 Olympics.

COC secretary general Chris Overholt is leading the delegation, which includes Chief Sport Officer Caroline Assalian, Chief Marketing Officer Derek Kent and COC Games Area Leads, that will be in Sochi through June 27.

A statement from the COC says the visit’s objective is to familiarize the COC with the Games environment, view construction progress, meet with key officials and gain knowledge to benefit the COC and marketing partners.

In Vancouver, Canada won 14 gold medals, more than any other team, and 26 overall.

Australia and Canada Sign Agreement

Australian Olympic Committee President John Coates and Canadian Olympic CommitteePresident Marcel Aubut signed a Memorandum of Understanding to increase training opportunities for athletes from both countries.

The agreement will allow National Federations to share Olympic preparation strategies in the lead-up to the 2014 Winter Olympics. A statement from the AOC said the partnership will continue after the 2016 Olympics as well.

Germany Holds Olympic Day Celebration

Around 10,000 schoolchildren took part in German Olympic Day festivities on June 14.

The youngsters tried out sports including fencing, handball, judo, rowing and trampoline at the Kassel Sports Festival in Kassel, Germany.

Olympic medalists helped coach the children in the sports.

Thomas Bach, president of the German Olympic committee, said: "Olympic Day is not just the chance to discover new sports but also the values Olympic sport offers to the world. The power of the Olympic movement is that its values and its rules are recognized universally. It is the IOC’s mission to safeguard and to spread these values to new generations and the Olympic Day is a great chance to do this."

Olympic Day is June 23, the day the IOC was founded in 1894.

Written by Ed Hula III.

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