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Olympics in Britain |
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Olympics in Britain |
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 The Olympic Torch Photo Jon Candy |
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The Summer Olympic Games came to London |
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The Olympic Torch was lit in Greece on the 10th May, using only the power of the sun's rays. After arriving in the UK on the 18th, it began an 8000-mile journey across the country. Over 70 days, the flame travelled within 10 miles of 95% of the entire population. Its destination was London, the host city of the Summer Olympic Games in 2012. |
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This was the third time that Britain's capital has hosted the Games, after previous occasions in 1908 and 1948. 205 nations competed in 26 different sports, in a total of 300 events. The Paralympics were also an important part of the summer, with 147 participating countries. |
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Everything began on Friday 27th July, with an amazing opening ceremony. The Queen, supposedly parachuting into the stadium alongside James Bond, to watch as the athletes marched into the stadium, flying their nations' flags. British performers put on a magnificent and unique opening ceremony, showing off their skills and traditions, accompanied by plenty of British music. The show's artistic director was Danny Boyle, the Oscar-winning director of films like Slumdog Millionaire and Trainspotting. |
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The ceremony climaxed with the arrival of the torch, fresh from its long journey across the nation. It was transferred to the Olympic Cauldron by a group of youngsters, and kept burning for the entire length of the Games. The games lasted until 12th August, with the Paralympics following between 29th August and 9th September. |
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28 different venues were used during the course of the Games. Some were well-established London landmarks, like Wimbledon, the Millennium Dome and Wembley. The focus of the fortnight, however, is on the specially-constructed Olympic Park on the east side of London. This former industrial area was transformed into 250 acres of parkland, with 4,000 trees and 300,000 wetland plants. |
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The jewel in the park's crown was the Olympic Stadium. It sits on a man-made island, and access is via one of five bridges. 80,000 spectators squeezed in to watch the opening and closing ceremonies, as well as most of the athletic events, including Usain Bolt win the 100 metres and Mo Farah win the 10,000 metres. |
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Other venues in the park included purpose-built stadiums for cycling, aquatics and basketball. There were nine arenas altogether, some of which will be dismantled following the games. |
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The designers thought long and hard about the sustainability of the project, and what would happen when the Olympics were over. While some of the facilities were only temporary, others will become permanent parts of the community, and of London's sporting world. The Olympic Stadium, for example, will host the 2017 World Championships in Athletics. |
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The Olympic Park itself will become a permanent green space, with lasting benefits for tourism and the local community. Renewable energy is another concern, with solar panels, wind turbines and recyclable food packaging all being implemented. |
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The closing ceremony took place on Sunday 12th August 2012. The athletes again paraded through the Olympic Stadium, flying their flags and celebrating their achievements. The flame, which was burning steadily for the entire fortnight, was ceremonially extinguished, signalling the end of the competition for another four years. The Olympic flag was then presented to the major of Rio de Janeiro, in Brazil, whose city will host the next Summer Olympics in 2016. |
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