UNITED KINGDOM: OLYMPICS - London Games organisers unveil giant Olympic rings made up of flowers at Kew Gardens as they celebrate the 100 day countdown

Record ID: 330661

  • Title: UNITED KINGDOM: OLYMPICS - London Games organisers unveil giant Olympic rings made up of flowers at Kew Gardens as they celebrate the 100 day countdown
  • Date: 19th April 2012
  • Summary: (SOUNDBITE) (English) JEREMY HUNT, MINISTER FOR CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT, SAYING: "In the end there will be people who come to these Games whose political views we disagree with and the point of the Olympic Games is to bring people together and it is not an endorsement of the positions people take on issues in their home countries. We will be keeping a very, very close watch on who is coming in and we will not allow people to come into the UK if they would be any kind of danger to national security. But at the same time we have to recognise the spirit of the Games, which is bringing countries together, in a way that doesn't happen in any other forum. We want to be true to that as well."
  • Embargoed: 4th May 2012 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: United Kingdom, United Kingdom
  • Country: United Kingdom
  • Topics: Environment,Politics,Sports
  • Reuters ID: LVAEKKGRP8EGYLATFIUJ6TK0KVSY
  • Story Text: London Games organisers on Wednesday (April 18) unveiled a giant set of Olympic rings made up of some 25,000 flowers in red, blue, yellow, red and black to celebrate the 100 day countdown until the Opening Ceremony on July 27.
    The event at Kew Gardens in west London was the first in a series of celebrations around the world.
    "I have rarely witnessed the level of excitement amongst National Olympic Committees, amongst media and certainly amongst the elite level of competitors who are going to come and dignify our Games in a hundred days time," said head of the London 2012 Games organising committee, Seb Coe.
    The floral rings took five days to plant and are made up of pansies, violas and apple mint to form the display which spans 50 metres (164 feet).
    Coe also planted an oak tree at the botanical gardens to mark Britain's role in the birth of the modern Olympic movement. The tree was grown from acorns from an oak in the English village of Much Wenlock. That tree was planted in 1890 in honour of Baron Pierre de Coubertin, who is widely recognised as the inspiration for the founding of the modern Olympic Games.
    At a news conference at Kew Gardens, London organisers and government ministers were asked about the presences of Syrian Olympic officials at the Games.
    Pressure is increasing on the UK for Syria to be banned from this summer's event. The president of Syria's National Olympic Committee (NOC), General Mowaffak Joumaa, has recently vowed Syria will take part.
    The presence of the Syrian delegation at the Games starting in July is set to be controversial.
    Syrian opposition activists quoted in the British media have urged Britain to ban the NOC's Joumaa and other officials regarded as close to Assad from the Olympics British Prime Minister David Cameron said that Syrian athletes will be able to take part in the London Olympics but any of the country's officials covered by a European Union travel ban will not be welcome.
    Minister for Culture, Media and Sport, Jeremy Hunt said the Games are not the right arena to fight political battles.
    "We will be keeping a very, very close watch on who is coming in and we will not allow people to come into the UK if they would be any kind of danger to national security," said Hunt But at the same time we have to recognise the spirit of the Games, which is bringing countries together, in a way that doesn't happen in any other forum. We want to be true to that as well," said Hunt.
    Security and transport remain the biggest challenges facing Games organisers. Last year the government boosted the security budget, to include more military involvement in securing venues.
    Minister for Sport, Hugh Robertson, said he was confident the UK has done all it can to protect against any attack.
    "We work very, very closely with the Metropolitan Police and the security services. I am absolutely as confident as I possibly can be a hundred days out that we will deliver a safe and secure Games," he said.
    Coe addressed the problems facing the Greek Track and Field team, which had events suspended in the wake of funding shortfalls. It's an embarrassment for the country that hosted the Games in 2004 and is the birthplace of the ancient and Games.
    In his capacity as council member of the IAAF (International Association of Athletics Federation), Coe said he sincerely hopes Greece will be able to send its best athletes to London to perform.
    "The Greek issue is a serious issue," he said. "As the president of an organising committee in delivering the Games I want the best teams that can possibly be, be there and I want athletes being given the opportunity to be there."
    "I know conversations have taken place in Monaco at the headquarters, with the Greek Track and Field Federation, and yes, we want the best teams in the world, but most importantly we want athletes that have been working not just for four years, but probably for half their lives to be given that opportunity of getting to the Games."
    In a recent visit to London IOC chiefs declared London as ready to host the Games, with building of the venues complete. In the coming weeks the temporary structures still need to be built and 200,000 temporary seats installed in locations such as Greenwich Park for equestrian events and at Horse Guards Parade in Westminster for the beach volleyball.
    At the 100 day countdown Kew Gardens launch, organisers unveiled the 2012 motto - "Inspire a Generation" saying they want a new generation of youngsters to get inspired by the Games and follow a more active life or even aim to become professional athletes themselves.
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