Countdown to London Olympics

May 31

Tourists will flock to London for Games

London will be packed during the summer Olympics as the number of overseas visitors rises and Britons postpone holiday plans to stay home for the games, a study said on Wednesday. [Full story]

LOCOG promises to serve best food during Olympics

The London Organizing Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) on Wednesday revealed details of the food and drink that will be served to the millions of spectators and thousands of athletes during the Games this summer.[Full story]

May 29

Allen named Olympic Village "Mayor"

Charles Allen, a former television executive, has been appointed so-called "Mayor" of the London 2012 Olympic Village. Allen will act as a figurehead, welcoming and hosting dignitaries and maintaining a "visible and accessible" presence for residents throughout the Games period. [Full story]

China too good for its own good

Despite concerns about Asia's dominance of the badminton game and the slow development of the sport professionally, its governing body remains confident about its long-term survival in the Olympic program.[Full story]

May 28

Beijing 2008 Games a model of corruption prevention

China's top anti-corruption officials have vowed to share their experience of running "corruption-free" Beijing Olympic Games as a model to others in the country's battle against official greed.[Full story]

Six newcomers in US women's soccer squad

Six newcomers including high-scoring Sydney Leroux will join a veteran cast as the United States women's soccer team seeks its third consecutive Olympic gold medal, US Soccer said on Sunday.[Full story]

May 24

IOC names 3 finalists to host 2020 Games

The first full day of the 10th annual SportAccord Convention began in Canada's Quebec City Wednesday as 1,500 delegates from amateur sporting and Olympic federations from around the world waited for news on which cities are finalists to host the 2020 Summer Olympics. [Full story]

Lee needs 'miracle' to make London shuttle

World badminton number one Lee Chong-wei needs a miracle if he is to take part in the London Olympics after suffering an ankle injury, a top Malaysian official said on Thursday. [Full story]

China's Li Na to run torch relay

Defending French Open champion Li Na will run the Olympic torch relay on July 25. Li, China's first-ever Grand Slam champion, was chosen by Samsung, one of three main sponsors of the Olympic torch relay. [Full story]

May 23

Drogba and UK royal family the highlight at torch relay

Former world equestrian champion Zara Phillips carried the Olympic torch on horseback across the storied Cheltenham racecourse on Wednesday, as thousands of screaming fans watched her light the Olympic cauldron. [Full story]

Doha, Baku out of running for 2020 Games

The chase to host the 2020 Summer Games was reduced to a three horse race between Istanbul, Madrid and Tokyo after Doha and the Azerbaijan capital Baku were dropped from the running by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on Wednesday. [Full story]

May 22

Olympic Torch Relay begins across the UK

The Olympic flame went out on Monday for the first time during the torch relay around Britain ahead of the London Games because of a "malfunctioning burner", organizers said. [Full story]

London ticket grumbles seen as price of success

Complaints over elusive and expensive tickets for the 2012 Olympics are a product of unprecedented demand to see live action from Britons, the man behind the policy said on Monday. [Full story]

Buoyed by success

China's up-and-coming synchronized swimming squad wants to maintain its recent dominance over European rival Spain in the London Olympic pool. [Full story]

May 21

Canadian Olympic shuttlers of Chinese descent

Grace Gao started playing badminton at the age of 10 in Beijing. Twelve years later, she will be one of four badminton players who will represent Canada at the Summer Olympics in London just over two months from now.

The Hubei-born athlete joins Michelle Li and Tobias Ng - who are also of Chinese descent - and Alexandra Bruce, all of whom won medals at last year's Pan American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico.[Full story]

UK torchbearer seeks quick profit on eBay

One of the first participants in the London Olympic relay looked set to make a quick profit on Saturday after a torch and uniform went up for sale on auction website eBay within hours of the 70-day event starting.[Full story]

Liu Xiang looming large

After clocking his first sub-13 seconds result since 2007 at the 2012 Diamond League Shanghai stop on Saturday, China's star hurdler, Liu Xiang, appears to have taken a giant stride towards his Olympic dream.[Full story]

May 18

China unveils dragon dress for Olympians

The outfit for the Chinese delegation for the medals presentation ceremony at the London Games is on display at the 30th China Sport Show in Beijing on Thursday. The outfit is called the dragon dress of the champion, indicating the current Year of the Dragon in the Chinese zodiac. The dragon spirit is believed to help boost the morale of the athletes competing in London. [Full story]

London receives flame in rainy Athens

The flame for the London Olympics, which will start on July 27 after a 70-day torch relay around Britain, was handed over on Thursday at a damp ceremony in the marble stadium that hosted the first modern Games in 1896. [Full story]

China garment company gets Olympics order

A small-sized garment enterprise in East China's Zhejiang province has got a big order to manufacture 120,000 football jerseys for the upcoming London 2012 Olympic Games.[Full story]

 

May 17

Olympic Flame at Acropolis on handover eve

The Olympic Flame for the 2012 London Games was welcomed with great enthusiasm in Athens, as it reached the Acropolis hill on Wednesday, finishing its long trip across Greece on the eve of the handover ceremony. [Full story]

Beckham to help bring Olympic flame to Britain

David Beckham will help bring the Olympic flame back to Britain on a golden plane on Friday after he takes part in a formal handover ceremony in Athens, London 2012 organisers said. [Full story]

May 16

US set for battle to top London medal table

The United States Olympic Committee's media summit wrapped up on Tuesday with no bold predictions but plenty of expectations as American athletes again look to top the medal table in London. [Full story]

Sand queens set to stand and deliver

China's women's beach volleyball pairs shone on home sand at the Beijing Olympics, bagging silver and bronze medals. However, there was some regret too, as the country, who then boasted the No 2 and No 4 ranked pairs in the world, is still short of an Olympic gold in the sport. [Full story]

May 11

London torch relay begins in Greece

The flame for the London 2012 Olympic Games was lit on Thursday in a ritual ceremony held at Olympia, the birthplace of the Olympic Games more than 2,000 years ago. [Full story]

China replaces Guo with Ding in Olympics

Chinese table tennis squad have confirmed to replace veteran Guo Yan with current world No 1 Ding Ning for the upcoming London Olympic Games. [Full story]

May 10

10 stars to watch at the London Games

The world's greatest athletes descend on London in July for the 2012 Olympics. Reuters highlights 10 stars to watch when the Games get underway: Usain Bolt, Yelena Isinbayeva, Michael Phelps... [Full story]

Sun god reigns over torch-lighting rehearsal

Priestesses in pleated robes swayed under a scorching sun at the birthplace of the ancient Olympics on Wednesday in the final rehearsal to light the flame that will burn at the London Games. [Full story]

The golden age may be over

China's national gymnastics teams have already accepted that they won't repeat the dominant Olympics they enjoyed in Beijing, as retirements and injuries are taking their toll. [Full story]

May 9

London Olympic contingency tickets to on sale

Some 900,000 Olympic Games contingency tickets will go on sale on Friday, confirmed by the London Organizing Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (LOCOG).

About 20,000 people, who were unsuccessful in the initial Olympic ballot application and then again failed in the second round of sales, will be given priority to have access to the tickets 31 hours earlier than the rest of the eligible applicants, starting from 11 am on May 11 to 6 pm on 12 May. [Full story]

London Games venues opened to 'Babes in Arms'

Babies will be allowed into London Olympic venues without a ticket if they are firmly fastened to an adult, organisers said on Tuesday in a climbdown after complaints from angry mothers.

Tickets for the Games first went on sale in March last year, since when some of those lucky enough to secure seats in the ballots have given birth. [Full story]

May 8

London Stadium ready to welcome the world

The Olympic stadium, the beating heart of the Games when the world's greatest athletes come to London in 82 days' time, was formally opened on Saturday by a nine-year-old girl who lives down the road. [Full story]

Chambers confident of making London team

An emotional Dwain Chambers said on Monday he had learned from a doping ban and was confident he could qualify for the London Olympics after a British ban on drug offenders was over-ruled last week.

"At this day and age, with the current crop of athletes and sprinters, you know that's (qualifying) becoming harder and harder," said the 34-year-old Londoner. [Full story]

Sole boxer to represent Kenya in London Olympics

National Olympic Committee Kenya chair, Kipchoge Keino avers supremacy wrangles in the Amateur Boxing Association (ABA) resulted in the country's only one pugilist qualifying for the London Olympics.

Commonwealth silver medallist, Ben Gicharu will be the only flag bearer for the nation after coming through as a losing finalist in the flyweight division at the Africa qualifiers that concluded in Algiers, Algeria over the weekend. [Full story]

May 7

Bolt speeds to year's fastest 100m

Jamaican Olympic champion Usain Bolt held his nerve afte

r two false starts by competitors and powered to the year's fastest 100 metres at the Jamaica International Invitational on Saturday.[Full story]

Paper smuggles fake bomb into London Games park

A newspaper embarrassed the organisers of the 2012 Olympic Games on Sunday by disclosing it had smuggled a fake bomb past two security checkpoints into the London complex housing the sporting festival's main stadiums.[Full story]

May 4

Olympic hockey surface defended after injury

London 2012 officials have defended the preparation of the Olympic hockey pitch after one of Australia's players picked up an injury on the artificial blue surface that ruled him out of the Games.[Full story]

British wrestler suspended after positive test

Britain's top Olympic hope in Greco-Roman wrestling, Ukraine-born Myroslav Dykun, has been suspended and risks missing London 2012 after failing a dope test, British Wrestling said on Thursday. [Full story]

May 3

Wang's Olympic dream at risk

Wang Yimei, a top attacker in China's national women's volleyball team, injured her right ankle during training in Ningbo, Zhengjiang province, and was transferred to Beijing for treatment on April 30, 2012. [Full story]

London Games organisers braced for biggest test yet

London 2012 organisers braced themselves for their biggest test of the Olympic Park on Wednesday while assuring spectators that airport-style security would not mean hours of queuing to get in.

Six test events are taking place at five venues over the next week with 11,000 staff, including volunteer 'Games Makers', learning the ropes and seeking to iron out any problems before the July 27 opening ceremony. [Full story]

May 2

BOA urged to get back in step with doping fight

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) warned the British Olympic Association (BOA) to get back in step with the rest of the world on Tuesday after its appeal over a lifetime Olympic ban for drug cheats was rejected by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). [Full story]

May 1

UK to deploy missiles for Olympics

The British Ministry of Defense (MOD) on Monday revealed that it had identified six sites in the east of London for deployment of ground-to-air missile batteries to protect the Olympic and Paralympic Games which come to the city this summer. [Full story]