UK: OLYMPICS: Thousands of bells, big and small, ring out across Britain as the country prepares for the London Olympics opening ceremony

Record ID: 187153

  • Title: UK: OLYMPICS: Thousands of bells, big and small, ring out across Britain as the country prepares for the London Olympics opening ceremony
  • Date: 27th July 2012
  • Summary: LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM (JULY 27, 2012) (REUTERS) OLYMPIC RINGS HANGING FROM TOWER BRIDGE / HMS BELFAST HMS BELFAST ON RIVER THAMES ON BOARD THE HMS BELFAST WITH PEOPLE STANDING ON TOP DECK / CHILDREN AND CREW SURROUNDING A BELL ON A LOWER DECK BRITISH CULTURE MINISTER JEREMY HUNT COUNTING DOWN TIME OF BELL RINGING / RINGS BELL BROWNIE RINGING A BELL GIRL GUIDES RINGING BELLS EMBLEM OF HMS BELFAST VARIOUS OF BELL RINGING HUNT LOOKING AT PHONE / CLOSE OF LONDON OLYMPIC PIN ON HIS LAPEL BELLS RINGING (SOUNDBITE) (English) BRITISH CULTURE SECRETARY JEREMY HUNT, ON U.S. REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE MITT ROMNEY'S COMMENTS THAT LONDON WAS NOT PREPARED FOR OLYMPICS, SAYING: "I prefer to listen to what Jacques Rogge says, the president of the IOC, and when we have the opening ceremony tonight, hopefully we'll be saying that Britain is responsible for eight of the top ten sports and the U.S. only two. And that will be a special message for Mitt Romney." DANCERS RINGING BELLS (SOUNDBITE) (English) SHANIA, 10, DANCER, SAYING: "It was really exciting and we just came here for the Olympics and we can't wait until it starts." REPORTER ASKING: Are you going to be watching the Olympics? SHANIA AND DANCERS, SAYING: "Yes." REPORTER ASKING: "Which ones?" SHANIA AND DANCERS, SAYING: "All of them." BROWNIES RINGING BELLS (SOUNDBITE) (English) REBECCA, 7, BROWNIE, SAYING: "I thought it was really fun and my favourite part was ringing the bells." REPORTER ASKING: "And will you be watching any games?" REBECCA, SAYING: "Um, I'm not sure." BOY RINGING BELL (SOUNDBITE) (English) HMS CHIEF YEOMAN (OPERATIONS MANAGER) KEVIN PRICE, SAYING: "We were approached by LOCOG (London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games) and they came up with this idea that we would perhaps start off bell ringing throughout the country and so they were going to use us as a centre piece, and we'd do the count down, and that's what transpired today so everybody was up nice and early, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed and off we went." BROWNIE YAWNING
  • Embargoed: 11th August 2012 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: United Kingdom
  • Country: United Kingdom
  • Topics: Sports
  • Reuters ID: LVA9IU7T937EN4V7Q7EH65Y1IE6O
  • Story Text: Big Ben and the HMS Belfast joined churches across the UK and British embassies around the world on Friday (July 27) for a bell-ringing extravaganza to prepare for the London Olympics opening ceremony later in the day.
    People were encouraged to ring any kind of bell -- from a church, a bicycle, a door and even a mobile phone as the harmonious ringing spread from Wales in the west to Weymouth in the south.
    One of the biggest bells taking part was London's Big Ben in parliament's clock tower, the first time it has rung outside its regular hours since the funeral of King George VI in 1952.
    It chimed about 40 times between 8:12 (0712 GMT) and 8:15 a.m. after special permission was granted by parliament.
    The ceremony was devised by artist Martin Creed as part of a 12-week programme of cultural events celebrating the arts alongside sport.
    Creed, whose won the famous Turner prize with an installation of lights going on and off in an empty room, created "Work No. 1197: All the bells in a country rung as quickly and as loudly as possible for three minutes."
    More than ten million listeners were expected to have tuned in to the live broadcasts shown on TV, radio and online.
    At an event on board HMS Belfast in London, British Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt joined in the bell-ringing.
    When asked about U.S. Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney's comments about questioning the readiness of the British capital to stage the Games, Hunt hit back with a playful jibe.

    "I prefer to listen to what Jacques Rogge says, the president of the IOC, and when we have the opening ceremony tonight, hopefully we'll be saying that Britain is responsible for eight of the top ten sports and the U.S. only two. And that will be a special message for Mitt Romney," he told Reuters Television.
    Three hundred children, including young dancers from the Asian community in London, girl guides and brownies, took part in the ceremony on board the ship.
    In Beijing, the British embassy rang its bell which was cast in 1897 for Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee while staff at the High Commission in Bangladesh rang rickshaw bells.
    In Brussels, the British ambassador rang the bell at the Belgian Stock Exchange to begin the day's trading.
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