- Title: JAPAN: OLYMPICS 2012 - British diplomats in Japan count down to London Olympics
- Date: 20th July 2012
- Summary: TOKYO, JAPAN (JULY 20, 2012) (REUTERS) (NIGHT SHOTS) BRITISH DIPLOMAT STARTING OLYMPIC COUNT-DOWN ILLUMINATION AT TOKYO EMBASSY EXTERIOR OF BRITISH EMBASSY IN TOKYO SIGN READING IN ENGLISH AND JAPANESE 'British Embassy Tokyo' VARIOUS OF DIPLOMATS TALKING IN FRONT OF ILLUMINATION ILLUMINATION COUNTING DOWN SECONDS TO OLYMPIC OPENING CEREMONY (SOUNDBITE) (English) BRITISH EMBASSY COMMUNICATION DIRECTOR, TOM BURN, SAYING: "The mood of excitement here in Japan is really building and we wanted to help build that even further. As people get closer and closer to the Olympics, they're really looking forward to what London has to offer." ILLUMINATION ON WINDOW OF EMBASSY MORE OF COUNT-DOWN ILLUMINATION ON EMBASSY VARIOUS OF PROJECTOR (SOUNDBITE) (English) BRITISH EMBASSY COMMUNICATION DIRECTOR, TOM BURN, SAYING: "By putting this big light-up display of a count-down clock on the outside of the embassy, everyone going past -- and this is such a busy, popular bit of Tokyo -- will see it's only a few days, a few hours, a few minutes and a few seconds to go." MORE OF ILLUMINATION ON EMBASSY (SOUNDBITE) (English) BRITISH EMBASSY COMMUNICATION DIRECTOR, TOM BURN, SAYING: "I know people here are looking forward, even though it's going to be really early in the morning here -- it's going to be I think 5 o'clock in the morning -- and I think there's going to be plenty of Japanese people who are going to get up really early in the morning to see that, because it's going to be a spectacle to remember." VARIOUS OF FLOWERS IN FRONT OF ILLUMINATION ON EMBASSY BUILDING VARIOUS OF ILLUMINATION ON EMBASSY
- Embargoed: 4th August 2012 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Japan
- Country: Japan
- Topics: Sports
- Reuters ID: LVA2WFKDGVIL7EWZTBQ6IH1VO8N9
- Story Text: Tokyo is thousands of miles away from London, but British diplomats were flying the Olympic flag on Friday (July 20).
Every evening until the opening ceremony on July 27, Tokyo embassy staff are lighting up their workplace with a giant illuminated clock, counting down to London 2012.
"The mood of excitement here in Japan is really building and we wanted to help build that even further. As people get closer and closer to the Olympics, they're really looking forward to what London has to offer," British embassy media officer Tom Burn told Reuters.
"By putting this big light-up display of a count-down clock on the outside of the embassy, everyone going past -- and this is such a busy, popular bit of Tokyo -- will see it's only a few days, a few hours, a few minutes and a few seconds to go."
The 27 million pound ($42 billion) opening ceremony is predicted to be viewed live by a worldwide TV audience of over a billion people.
It will open at 9 p.m. local time (2000 GMT) with the ringing of the largest harmonically tuned bell in the world, measuring two metres tall by three metres wide and weighing 23 metric tons (25.3 tons).
But for Japanese Olympics fans that means a very early rise.
"I know people here are looking forward, even though it's going to be really early in the morning here -- it's going to be I think 5 o'clock in the morning -- and I think there's going to be plenty of Japanese people who are going to get up really early in the morning to see that, because it's going to be a spectacle to remember," Burn said.
The opening ceremony, titled "Isles of Wonder", is expected to feature 12,956 props in over 15,000 square metres of staging.
Real farmyard animals including 12 horses, 3 cows, 2 goats, 10 chickens, 10 ducks, 9 geese, 70 sheep, and 3 sheep dogs are also due to make an appearance. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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