Wordless Wednesday 112

After London... Rio de Janeiro!

In case you've not heard, Brazil will become the first South American country to host the Olympics after Rio de Janeiro was chosen to stage the 2016 Games. Parabéns Brazil!

I was kind of rooting for Chicago, but I have to admit, I like it that the Olympics are moving to a new continent. After all, Europe and the US have had their turn several times already.

What do you guys think?

Open air Wimbledon

Back in London, watching the women's doubles final on a big screen. The grass was a bit damp and there were no tables and chairs, but it was a nice exprerience nevertheless.

Serena Williams and sister Venus Williams retained their women's doubles title by beating Rennae Stubbs and Samantha Stosur 7-6 (7-4) 6-4.

Watching the Olympics al fresco

When: Thursday 14 August 2008 @ 7:30 PM

Where: Trafalgar Square, London

What: Londoners and tourists (those that were brave enough to sit around in the sub-summer temperatures) watching the coverage from the Beijing Olympics live on a giant screen.

The stands, lights, cordons etc. are in place for the Trafalgar Square Festival taking place at the end of each week during the Olympics, although I didn't see any performances while I was there.

Olympics by numbers

2,008 drummers pounded out the countdown to the Games

80 world leaders and 91,000 excited spectators in the majestic Bird's Nest stadium

$43 billion price tag

10,708 athletes from a record 204 nations chasing 302 gold medals in 28 sports

154 micrograms per cubic metre of polution (WHO safe level is 50)

5,000 years of history in opening ceremony and a 16-tonne crystal ball

100,000 police deployed to prevent attacks and protests

7,000,000 tickets sold

1 billion dollars spent on Olympic advertising on US network NBC

4 years prison sentence for housing activist Ye Guozhu who wanted to protest about Olympic evictions in Beijing

596 athletes in US team

5,000 yuan (480 €) for opening ceremony ticket

5ft 7in (1.70m) required height for performers

7ft 6in (2.28m) height of China's NBA basketball superstar

1,500 reported dead as Russian troops raid Tskhinvali

All shamelessly copied from today's edition of The Independent newspaper.

Zooooooom!

Fifteen minutes before the tour was due to depart Greenwich for Canterbury, I joined the crowds patiently waiting to cheer the cyclists on. The event was much more popular than I thought it'd be - I had to walk for a good 10 minutes along the route before I could find a little gap to squeeze in without having to climb on anything, stand on one foot or crouch.

At 11 AM on the dot, a colourful pack of 189 riders zooooooooomed past in no more than 10 seconds. They were followed by the distinctive team cars with spare bikes on their roofs, and a selection of cyclists who (I'm told) aren't competing, but simply follow the tour for fun.

The whole thing was over in just a few minutes and I think the crowd were stunned. The main event for which Londoners line the streets is the London marathon, and that goes on for hours on end. We weren't quite prepared for the speed of cycling, and standing so close to the start line certainly didn't help.

Oh well, I'll know to go further away next time!

Click here for more photos from Stage One.

Allez allez!

For the first time in its 104-year history, the Tour de France came to London this weekend. Luckily enough, the wet and miserable weather of the last couple of weeks appears to have eased off, so the 500,000 people that filled the streets to watch the prologue this morning were able to enjoy some beautiful (and much-awaited) sunshine. Thank God for that, as it could so easily have been a washout.

For the dedicated sun-seekers, it was possible to watch the race from the comfort of a lounger, as there were big screens dotted around London's parks.


This being a major world event, and the anniversary of the 7/7 London bombings, there was a lot of police around - both British and the French Gendarmerie, who looked quite impressive arriving en masse at Whitehall.


First, the sponsors' floats and random cyclists went through London.


Then the prologue (individual time trial) started at 3 pm. It was almost impossible to take decent pictures as the cyclists were literally wizzing past, competing for the top place and the maillot jaune - the leader's yellow jersey, which was won by Fabian Cancellara of Switzerland. You can see more photos here.


I wish I had a flat right on the route of the prologue, as this guy does. It's much more civilised than standing around on the sidelines.


Stage 1 will take place tomorrow with a 203km sprint & climb between Greenwich and Canterbury. Allez allez and good luck to all!

Photos from the Marathon

Personally, I'd never run a marathon. I just can't imagine anything more mind-numbing than running and running and running for hours on end at a steady pace. I can just about see the point in sprinting, but a marathon? No way. Still, it seems many would disagree with me - to be exact, 36391 people disagreed with me today alone. That's how many athletes started the London Marathon, a mix of professionals and amateurs.

Normally there's nothing that would convince me to go watch a marathon (I'd rather watch paint dry - seriously) but I was tempted by the people in fancy dress. I reckon these really do deserve to be cheered on, not just because they're amateurs who run for charity, but most importantly because they're willing to humiliate themselves in public. I mean, what man would ever run through London in a pink tutu or a Bob the Builder outfit out of choice? On a day like today, they deserved an extra cheer because of the weather conditions - it can't be fun running in a full bear/dog/camel/Scooby Doo costume in near-summer weather. I imagine those who opted for the Flintstones look must be very pleased indeed with their fortuitous outfit choices.

These are some of the pictures I took while cheering the runners on, all the while thinking smugly "rather them than me" but still admiring them for their determination and courage. Well done, guys and gals!