Updated
There is outrage in London about the decision by Olympic Games organisers to have the London Symphony Orchestra mime its performance at the opening ceremony.
It has emerged the world renowned orchestra will pretend to perform while a recording made six weeks ago blasts out of the stadium speakers.
Considered to be one of the best orchestras in the world, it was awarded the contract for the 2012 Games.
But when the athletes walk in to the stadium in front of a worldwide audience of 4 billion people, the orchestra will in fact be pretending.
Twitter has been abuzz with outrage.
"What a bloody joke," one person said, "The London Symphony Orchestra told to mime at games opening."
"You'll see the London Symphony Orchestra at the Olympics, but you won't hear it - how ridiculous, what a farce," another posted.
The decision was made by the London Games organising committee, which is worried about the acoustics and the uncertainties of the British weather.
"Due to the complexity of everything involved in staging the ceremonies, it's not possible for all the music in all the shows to be live," a committee spokesperson said in a statement.
"There will be live musical elements, but many of the songs will be recorded to track in advance of the shows.
"This is standard practice for an event of this scale, and the performers have no issue with it."
The music to blare out of the stadium at the opening games ceremony was recorded at the famous Abbey road studios.
Melbourne Symphony Orchestra operations director Lou Oppenheim says the decision to pre-record the music is not unreasonable.
"Performances such as the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games are incredibly complex from an operational perspective," she said.
"The inter-relationships between a whole lot of different elements, including the musical elements, the pyrotechnics, the announcements, the lighting of the cauldron - everything has to be done to split-second timing."
Ms Oppenheim says a whole lot of different things can influence what can happen with the timing which is calculated to the tenth of a second.
"The wonderful thing obviously, the audiences will be still hearing the sounds of the fabulous London Symphony Orchestra, so it's not as if they're miming to, you know, another orchestra," she said.
"But if that's what's happening I would understand that that's possibly why that might be the case."
What might come as a surprise to many is that the Sydney Symphony Orchestra mimed its performance at the opening of the Sydney Games in 2000, and the backing tape was recorded, in part, by the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra.
Ms Oppenheim says live outdoor performances are difficult to manage and it is important that nothing is left to chance.
"I think it's important that we hear orchestras in the best fantastic light and if they've actually had to make a call that that's the way they've got to do it for this, I think you know, some understanding around that and to make sure that all of the elements of the ceremony can come together as smoothly as possible," she said.
Topics: music, olympics-summer, england
First posted
Source: www.abc.net.au
London teen pregnancies hit record low - BBC News
Free condoms have helped teenage pregnancies in the capital reach a record low, NHS London has said.
The was a total of 960 pregnancies among under 18s in London in the first quarter of 2011, according to latest Office for National Statistics figures.
This is the first time the figure has fallen below 1,000 since records began, NHS London said.
"In the last year more than 50,000 condoms have been handed out across the capital," NHS London said.
The number of pregnancies among under-18s fell from 1,158 in the same period in 2010.
The pregnancy rate per 1,000 girls between the ages of 15 and 17 fell by 16% in the first quarter of 2011, compared with the same period the previous year.
This brought the capital in line with the national average of 32.8 pregnancies per 1,000 girls for the first time, NHS London said.
NHS London director of public health Dr Simon Tanner said: "We have worked with primary care trusts in London to develop better sexual health provision for teenagers, to improve access to contraception and education for young people about safe sex.
"We have improved access to sexual health services at further education colleges, working with young people to understand what they need and how we can provide the best service for teenagers."
Havering, in east London, was the borough that achieved the greatest decline in teenage pregnancies - a fall of 46.9% over a one year period.
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
London 2012: Adam Gemili may give Olympics a miss despite fast time - The Guardian
Young sprinter Adam Gemili may skip the Olympics due to a fear that competing at the Games may harm his development.
The 18-year-old ran a time of 10.08sec at the Sparkassen Gala in Regensburg, Germany last weekend, putting him at the top of the British rankings and securing the Olympic A standard. But his coach, Michael Afilaka, said Gemili is still aiming for the World Junior Championships in Barcelona in July rather than London 2012.
Competing in both as it stands presents some difficulty as the trials are less than a week apart.
"If there is leeway to get us to the Olympics we'll consider it, but right now the aim is stick to going to the World Juniors," Afilaka told The Daily Telegraph. "The management of our junior guys is something I've been really concerned about. We don't manage them very well and we do too much too soon."
Gemili, a former footballer who spent time in Chelsea's youth setup, has seen dramatic improvements since choosing to concentrate on athletics earlier this year and the teenager seemed keener than his coach on competing in London. He said: "My focus so far has been the World Juniors, but following this my coach and I will definitely be sitting down to discuss options. It's a great opportunity and a nice dilemma to have."
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
London Symphony to pretend to play for Olympics ceremony - Los Angeles Times
Reports from Britain state that the orchestra will mimic playing to prerecorded music due to concerns about the weather and the shape of the performing venue -- a large, oval-shaped arena whose scale would apparently make a live-music performance tricky.
The ceremony, which is set to take place at the new Olympic Stadium, is being overseen by Oscar-winner Danny Boyle, who serves as artistic director for the massive event.
The London Symphony has reportedly recorded the music that is scheduled to be played during the July 27 ceremony. The Daily Mail reports that Boyle wanted the orchestra to perform live, but that he was overruled by the organizing committee for the Games.
When viewers around the world tune in for the ceremony, they can expect to see the conductor and musicians from the renowned orchestra going through the motions while a soundtrack plays.
This wouldn't be the first time that the mimicking of live music was used at an Olympics ceremony. In 2008, a mini-controversy developed during the Beijing Games when it was revealed that a 9-year-old singer lip-synced to the voice of another young girl whom officials had deemed less telegenic.
Similarly, at President Obama's inauguration, the musical performance by cellist Yo-Yo Ma, violinist Itzhak Perlman, pianist Gabriella Montero and clarinetist Anthony McGill played, unamplified, to a recording. The decision to use a recording was made over fears that the cold weather that day could damage the instruments.
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Source: www.latimes.com
London 2012 Olympics: weather won't dampen British spirits but Locog could learn from Jubilee success - Daily Telegraph Blogs
Out in force: regardless of the dreary weather the Brits were smiling
If the magical festivities of the Queens Diamond Jubilee proved beyond doubt – and how could we have had any such doubts? – it is that Britons, deep down are happy people.
The London Olympics and Paralympics have always been a portent for a month of non-stop good times, but with this summer-long party having started in the most majestic of ways the Olympic concerns of transport, security and crowding are but just an annoying sideshow.
For while the economies of countries around Britain are tanking, the weather is bitterly cold, uninspiringly grey and sodden, the stiff backbone of the British character is shining at its brightest.
Who would have thought that the dismal weather actually enhanced the weekend celebrations?
The fear of Olympic organisers is for a fortnight of dreary conditions not unlike Sunday. Yet the Queen's steely resolve to stand and acknowledge the heaving riverbank masses of red, white and blue despite the damp elevated the river spectacle way beyond it being a simple I-have-to-be-there-moment with strangers cuddling close to keep warm.
Commentators have talked about crowds 20-deep along the Thames on Sunday, but I rode my bike the length of the parade on the south side and 50-deep was the norm. From my vantage point, underneath the Millennium Bridge where artists were painting the modern-day Canaletto panorama, there was British sparkling wine in plastic cups, crisps and chocolate (in the shape of the Union Jack) shared around, and a subtle shuffle of order when the pageant started so that the little ones could get a better view.
Tens of thousands of spectators then weaved their way back to the railway stations. A queue of colourful umbrellas 700-yards long – presumably with people underneath sheltering from the driving rain outside of Waterloo – transformed this drab part of the city in to an eclectic party scene. Even so, taking the bicycle turned out to be an inspired choice.
Railway chiefs will have noted the failures of the trains to cope with the thousands of passengers turned away at Birmingham and other major cities and the chaos at tube stations like Westminster and Vauxhall.
Seemingly the crowd – officially 1.2 million – was much bigger than organisers expected. But we have seen throughout the Olympic torch relay that everyone across the country wants to get outside and engage with their community.
This is the summer of wearing funny hats and getting to know neighbours (the things you learn at a street party: mine is that a neighbour is a member of a popular boy band).
Yet some of the pageant spectators were perturbed by the sight of police carrying assault weapons along the river, others were frustrated by the crowd control officers more concerned with getting their packed lunched and sliver of a vantage point, rather than assisting those that were struggling especially families with young children.
With the Olympics security force now above 42,000 (military, Met Police, G4S staff and Locog security volunteers) Games planners can learn much from the river pageant.
More carriages on the trains, more toilets, more entertainment near critical transport hubs to turn a wait into a more relaxed time should be top of the list.
Organisers will have also seen that the good-natured crowds will put up with nearly anything if the mood of those in uniform is happy and relaxed and there appears to be some semblance of progress. Keep Calm and Smile On.
Source: blogs.telegraph.co.uk
London Olympics 2012: Shawn Johnson Retires From Gymnastics - International Business Times
"It's been a constant fight. It came down to there wasn't enough time left to heal," Johnson said. "I couldn't push myself any further. My knee physically wouldn't let me do anymore."
Although it was quite a difficult decision for Johnson to retire just weeks ahead of the 2012 London Olympics, Johnson appears upbeat. She plans to attend the games and root on her former teammates, as well as her training partner Gabby Douglas, who is expected to make the team.
She also plans to attend college in 2013, but is still deciding between Vanderbilt and Stanford. Beyond that she doesn't know exactly what she'll do without gymnastics in her life, but she's excited about the possibilities.
"It's hard to accept that the one thing you had your entire life is no longer there," she said. "I'm scared to death to know what the future holds. It's a road I never thought about. I'm excited as well, ready to start the new journey."
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Source: www.ibtimes.com
New East Kent Access Road causes traffic hell for drivers - Kent News
East Kent Access Road
By Marijke Cox, Reporter
Sunday, June 3, 2012
10:05 AM
Drivers report long delays caused by new traffic lights and road system
Hellish traffic jams, huge delays and frustrated motorists – so is the new East Kent Access Road worth the £86m it cost to build?
Long-suffering drivers who for years have faced congestion coming in and out of Thanet had hoped problems would be over once the new road network – expected to help boost the east Kent economy by improving access – was completed.
But little more than an hour after it was fully opened by transport minister Norman Baker last week, drivers were bumper to bumper, stuck for long-periods in the sweltering heat as motorists attempted to navigate their way around the new network.
And despite hopes it was simply teething problems, the congestion has continued, with drivers reporting long delays over the past week.
It is being blamed on the introduction of traffic lights at the Lord of the Manor roundabout, which control traffic from the new road which is linked to another part of the access road near the old Richborough power station site.
The junction coming from the old Cliffsend road, however, has no signals meaning drivers have to try and dart out and cut into traffic controlled by the new lights.
In addition, more lanes have been added, but these cut down into single file, resulting in a bottleneck.
A Kent County Council spokeswoman blamed the problems on traffic continuing to use the old road by the Viking ship in Cliffsend instead of the new one running parallel.
“It is intended that the majority of traffic will use the new road,” she said.
“As drivers become accustomed to the new layout and change their route, it is expected that the junction will begin to operate as planned.
“The timings of the traffic light signals are based on predicted traffic flows and as traffic settles down to a regular pattern they will be adjusted.
“We will continue to monitor the flows and any queues over the coming days with a view to making any adjustments in the next few weeks.”
Drivers have reported queues stretching past the Viking ship, and what should be five minute journeys taking as long as half an hour.
One frustrated driver Samantha Smith, who uses the road system every day to get to and from work, called it a “nightmare”.
“Normally I would get to the roundabout and there would be three or four cars in front of me – last week I had a 20 minute wait to get from the Viking ship to the roundabout,” she said.
This distance is about half a mile.
She said: “Coming back into Ramsgate along the new road puts you into two lanes, but as soon as you are across the other side it is straight back into one lane, meaning everyone is trying to cut in front.
“(It’s an) absolute nightmare, as people haven’t got a clue which lane to be in or what lights to look at.
“I have now been using the new road both ways, but it is still a nightmare with sitting halfway round the roundabout with the lights on red, with no cars actually going, and traffic just backing up behind, stopping other cars being able to move.”
Other drivers have told KoS the situation is unbearable and instead of improving access has turned the traffic hot-spot – one of the main routes into Thanet from Dover and London – into a no-go area.
The new road and junction changes were built by KCC with £81.25m funding from the Department for Transport and £5.75m from KCC.
It formed part of a programme of improvements, with almost five miles of the A256 and A299 upgraded to dual carriageway and changes at the Lord of the Manor junction.
The East Kent Access Road scheme was developed to improve access to boost economic growth and help create new jobs in the area.
Transport minister Norman Baker joined KCC leader Paul Carter and MP for South Thanet Laura Sandys for the opening last week.
At the time Ms Sandys said the road would see journey times greatly reduced.
She stressed it would show investors east Kent is open for business.
But with the current problems faced by drivers – who also struggle with severely congested traffic just up the road outside Westwood Cross shopping complex – it is yet to be seen whether this will be the case.
A KCC spokeswoman stressed it would not be beneficial to make adjustments to the traffic light timings at this early stage to try and tackle the problem.
“In the meantime we will ensure that there are temporary signs in place stating that the new road is open to try to encourage vehicles to use this excellent new road,” she said.
Source: www.kentnews.co.uk
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