When world-renowned photographer Rankin teamed up with London 2012 Organising Committee Chair Seb Coe and a host of Olympic and Paralympic athletes to mark the achievements of International Inspiration – London 2012’s international sports legacy programme – with a special photography exhibition, we were thrilled to bits. 

Inspired by Sport opens on the 2 May at the Museum of London and showcases athletes captured by Rankin including Seb Coe, Denise Lewis, Colin Jackson, Tanni Grey-Thompson, Louise Hazel and James Ellington. These photographs convey the inspirational power of sport and feature alongside images – taken by a host of international photographers – of young people around the world whose lives have been touched by the programme and inspired by sport.

To spread the word of Inspired by Sport we decided to ask some of sports most famous faces to tell us how sport has inspired their lives – and we were overwhelmed with the response!

Sports stars including David Beckham, Matthew Pinsent, Oscar Pistorius, Boris Becker, Ellen MacArthur and Anton Ferdinand had some amazing insights to share, along with many other athletes who contributed to our Inspired by Sport film. 

Watch the film here and if you’d like to tell us how you’ve been #InspiredBySport, you can join the conversation and share the word on Twitter.

Inspired by Sport is open to the public at the Museum of London from the 2-13 May. Entry is FREE.

This week London announced that millions of people around the UK are getting ready to welcome the world this summer. At Horse Guards Parade in central London, 260 Guardsmen from the Grenadier, Coldstream, Scots and Welsh Guards marked 100 days to go to the London 2012 Olympic Games by forming a giant number 100.

Also in celebration of 100 days to go, Olympic Rings were unveiled at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew! Inside the Rings are athletes' families, Torchbearers, Games Maker volunteers, London 2012 Festival participants and schoolchildren from Julians Primary School in Lambeth – all of them getting ready for the world's biggest sports events in a few months' time.

Weymouth and Portland – venue for the London 2012 Sailing – also pulled out all the stops to mark 100 days to go by  building a giant sand castle on Weymouth beach.

Also this week, Sebastian Coe and Torchbearer Michael Meyerstein were at Loughborough University for a test event of the London 2012 Olympic Torch Relay. The Olympic Flame will arrive on British soil on 17 May.

Finally, we saw another sport test event take place – this shot Great Britain beating Sweden 52– 51 in extra time in the group stages of the London International Invitational Wheelchair Rugby Tournament on the Olympic Park.

That's all this week folks! Have a great weekend whatever you end up doing...

]]> http://www.london2012wire.com/?feed=rss2&p=9158 20 http://www.london2012wire.com/?p=9157 http://www.london2012wire.com/?p=9157#comments Fri, 20 Apr 2012 11:00:00 +0000 http://www.london2012.com//blog/2012/04/dick-and-dom-get-messy-for-world-sport-day-.php On Wednesday, the whole of the UK excitedly marked 100 days until the Games begin. Well, London 2012 World Sport Day is even closer – just two months away! That means it’s time to start decking the halls in preparation for this celebration of the athletes and cultures of the world.

Getting ready to celebrate
As you may remember, London 2012 World Sport Day, presented by Lloyds TSB, takes place on Monday 25 June. Since January we have been releasing brilliant resources every month to help schools and communities prepare for this UK-wide celebration. Now that children across the country (and I) have mastered the Mascot Dance and planned their must-see flag moment , it’s time for the last piece of the puzzle.

Next week sees the launch of the final World Sport Day resource – the “We’re A Supporter Kit” – which gives schools everything they need to make their own World Sport Day decorations. Yesterday, the Year 6 children of Kew Riverside Primary School had the exclusive opportunity to test out these fantastic materials, as did two familiar faces…

Arts, crafts and some surprise guests
As the plan for the workshop was explained early on Thursday morning, there was a tangible buzz amongst the students. They eagerly made their way to their classrooms, where they set about making multi-coloured bunting, flags, placemats and maps, ready for World Sport Day.

With paper, glue, face-paints and lollypop sticks strewn across the tables, you would be forgiven for thinking you’d wandered into Santa’s Workshop. Blissfully unaware that the day would soon take a chaotic turn, contented smiles turned to raucous cheers as comedy duo Dick and Dom burst through the door. The children rushed to tell the celebrities all about their World Sport Day plans and show off all the goodies they’d been making. In true Dick and Dom style, the double act soon discovered that paperchains and bunting could be used to adorn people as well as buildings. Cue some madcap mayhem.

Needless to say, the day was a roaring success, and one that the children will not forget in a hurry. Furthermore, with armfuls of placemats, flags, posters and more, they’re now one step closer to being ready for World Sport Day!

Start making your decorations
From Wednesday 25 April you will be able to download the “We’re A Supporter Kit” materials from the World Sport Day website. However, this isn’t your only chance to dress the school for the occasion. Schools who have ordered their World Sport Day celebration pack, or who are in the Get Set network, will also receive lots of ready-made branded decorations in May – including posters, stickers, and certificates.

Schools can still order their FREE celebration pack, but not for long – don’t miss out! www.london2012.com/worldsportday

Following, humbly,  in his footsteps today, with exactly 100 days to go before our Games, feels not just fitting, but a genuine privilege – and especially so as I'm joining a unique project planting a ribbon of contemporary de Coubertin Oak Trees: five trees in Much Wenlock are the terminus for a line of some 40 oaks stretching down to Kew Gardens and on to the Olympic Park in London's Stratford.

Last seven days...

Weightlifting: The European Continental Olympic Qualification Event is currently taking place  in Turkey. There are seven slots on offer in the men’s competition and six in the women’s. You can follow the competition on the Championship website

Handball: Three men’s Olympic Qualification Tournaments were held over the weekend in Alicante, Gothenburg and Varazdin, with the top two teams at each earning their place in London. In Alicante Spain beat Serbia 33-22 in the final, while hosts Croatia beat Iceland 31-28 in Varazdin. In Gothenburg, Sweden beat Hungary 26-23. All six of these teams have earned themselves a spot at London 2012.

With all the teams now decided, the official draw for the men’s and women’s London 2012 Handball competition will take place on the 30 May at Crystal Palace Sports Centre. More information can be found on the IHF website

Water Polo: The men’s Olympic Qualifying Tournament wrapped up in Edmonton, Canada with teams competing to finish in the top four to gain a spot at London 2012. Montenegro won the competition, beating Spain 12-9 in the final, while Greece took bronze after beating Romania by 14-10. View the full results on the tournament website

Table Tennis: The 2012 European Olympic Qualification Tournament in Luxembourg concludes this weekend, with athletes from across the Europe looking to secure spots in both the men’s and women’s competitions. Keep up to date with the results on the ITTF tournament website

The week ahead...

Fencing: Four zonal qualifiers for the final places at London 2012 get underway next week. Athletes will be competing at the African, Asia and Oceania, European or Pan American qualifiers. The number of slots available in each discipline varies at each qualifier, and you can view the full details on the FIE website

Archery: The Americas Olympic Qualifying Tournament gets underway in Medellin, Colombia with three slots available in both the men’s and women’s singles competition. Follow the action on the World Archery website


Synchronised Swimming: The FINA Olympic Games Synchronised Swimming Qualification Presented by Visa begins on Wednesday and provides the final opportunity for synchronised swimmers to qualify for the London 2012 Games. There are 19 slots available at the Games in the Duet competition and three in the Team competition. More information can be found on the London Prepares website

Water Polo: The Women’s Olympic Qualification Tournament starts this weekend in Trieste, Italy. Teams from Italy, Russia, Hungary, Spain, Greece, Brazil, Canada, Kazakhstan and the Netherlands will compete for the three places available at the 2012 Games. Keep up to date with the latest news on the tournament website

Wrestling: The European Olympic Qualification Tournament starts next week in Sofia, Bulgaria. Both the men’s and women’s Freestyle and Greco-Roman events have two slots available in each of the weight categories. Results will be available on the FILA website

Two years ago Sean might not have felt as positive about his future. ‘I’ve really grown in self confidence and leadership skills over the last two years,’ the 18 year old from Hounslow, west London, tells me.