london 2012

This weekend saw an area in East London usually used for local football games taken over by some of the biggest names in music as part of Hackney Weekend. 100,000 lucky fans got free tickets to the two-day music festival which was part of the London 2012 Festival and organised by BBC Radio 1. They were treated to performances from Jay-Z, Rihanna and Dizzee Rascal among many others.

A Festival for Locals 

Hackney was chosen as the location after it became clear that many local people felt left out of the Olympics despite it being so close. BBC Radio 1 controller and head of the festival, Ben Cooper, explained:

"Here at Radio 1 and 1Xtra we wanted to make sure that we marked this in a way that would give young people from London and beyond, who might not necessarily be engaged with the Games, a chance to celebrate as part of Festival 2012."

Indeed, the opening act on the main stage on Saturday had a very local feel to it. Leona Lewis who grew up in nearby Islington kicked things off along side the Hackney Empire Community Choir and local rapper Wretch 32:

London is preparing for a truly international summer, as the world's attention begins to turn on the English capital. With a focus on European countries already prominent at Euro 2012, it will soon be time for the rest of world to join in with the Olympics.

This unique and very busy summer in London started with the truly British celebration that was the Queen's Diamond Jubilee. Thousands of Union Jack flags were put up around the Capital for the festivities, though they are now rapidly being replaced by flags of the world. Flags are adorning most streets in central London, with Regents Street looking particularly impressive as it prepares to welcome the nations of the world. The photo above is of Conduit Street, which is just off Regents Street and right outside the ForeignStudents.com offices.

A Summer of Sport

London is currently gripped by football fever (it's very contagious) with Euro 2012 building (or should that be breaking?) international relationships. With the group stages almost finished, the tournament is starting to take shape, and England will be hoping to win their final match against Ukraine tonight to take their place in the quarter-finals.

With just over a month until the start of the London 2012 Olympic Games, finishing touches are being made and excitement is growing. Stunning plans have been revealed about the opening ceremony, whilst the organising committee have announced that the Games have come in half a billion pounds under budget.

Unique Opening Ceremony

The director of the opening ceremony, Danny Boyle, yesterday unveiled elaborate plans that will transform the Olympic Stadium into the British countryside for one night only on 27th July. There will be meadows, rivers, an oak tree, fake clouds and even real farmyard animals (including 70(!) sheep), all alongside 10,000 (human) volunteers.

The show is called "Green and Pleasant" and is inspired by Shakespeare's play The Tempest. It will tell the tale of a land recovering from its industrial legacy, and will begin with the world's largest "harmonically-tuned" bell ringing in the stadium.

It is Day 3 of the Olympic torch's relay through the UK, and already over 250 people have carried the torch as part of its 70-day relay for the London Olympics 2012. Today the torch will be passed between 113 torchbearers, including triple jumper Jonathan Edwards and cricketer Marcus Trescothick, as it travels between Exeter and Taunton.

The Journey So Far

After travelling around Greece for a week, the lit torch was flown over to Britain in a special gold-painted plane with a rather unusual set of passengers. Amongst others, the passengers watching over the torch included London mayor Boris Johnson, Olympic organiser Lord Seb Coe, David Beckham and Princess Anne.

East London residents received an unusual letter last week, warning them that surface-to-air missiles may be placed on their roof during the Olympics. The Ministry of Defence (MoD) sent the leaflets out to 700 people living on an estate in Bow, many of whom were not best pleased.

In leaflets handed out and posters put up, the MoD revealed that an old water tower (above right) that now houses flats may well be used as a base for a "Higher Velocity Missile system". They explained that "the location has been chosen as it is situated close to the Olympic Park and offers an excellent view of the surrounding area and the entire sky above the Olympic Park".

Despite these warnings, it is still unclear whether the MoD will even deploy ground based air defence systems during the London Olympics 2012. Though they have been a common feature of a number of previous Games, the logistics of placing them are proving difficult. A spokesman described how these specific missiles are "designed to counter threats from very high performance, low-flying aircraft", though would only be used "in response to a confirmed and extreme security threat".