My apologies for this being a bit late, but if you have not heard already I wanted to post to let know that Singapore has been selected to host the 1st Summer Youth Olympic Games in 2010! The youth games with run opposite of the regular games which means that these will be Summer Games, while Vancouver host the "regular" Winter Games in 2010. Congrats to Singapore, I'm looking forward to seeing what this step forward means to the Olympic movement.
From the IOC:
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) today announced that Singapore will host the first Summer Youth Olympic Games in 2010. The result was unveiled by the IOC President, Jacques Rogge, at the Olympic Museum in Lausanne. Singapore beat Moscow in the final by 53 votes to 44.
The 105 IOC members entitled to vote(1) had cast their votes by post over the last few weeks. The sealed envelope with the name of the winning city was delivered to the IOC President during the announcement ceremony by the independent and certified notary who oversaw the process to guarantee confidentiality.
“This is a key moment for the Olympic Movement”, said Rogge to the journalists present in Lausanne. “Singapore has put together a very exciting project. Hosting the Youth Olympic Games for the first time is a great responsibility, and I have every confidence in the team in Singapore. I have no doubt that their professionalism and enthusiasm will be instrumental in the staging of successful Youth Olympic Games in 2010”, he continued.
“The Youth Olympic Games are the flagship of the IOC’s determination to reach out to young people. These Games will not only be about competition. They will also be the platform through which youngsters will learn about the Olympic values and the benefits of sport, and will share their experiences with other communities around the globe. We are looking forward to joining in the celebration in Singapore in 2010”, Rogge added.
The IOC President thanked Moscow for its excellent efforts and the quality of its candidature. He also hoped that today’s disappointment would not discourage it from bidding again.
Rogge also paid tribute to the other seven Candidate Cities which took part in a candidature process that started in August 2007: Athens (Greece), Bangkok (Thailand), Debrecen (Hungary), Guatemala City (Guatemala), Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), Moscow (Russian Federation), Poznan (Poland), Singapore (Singapore) and Turin (Italy).
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Singapore to host the 1st Summer Youth Olympic Games in 2010
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Rio 2016 Desktop Wallpapers
Along with a very appealing redesign of their bid website, Rio 2016 has posted desktop wallpapers among other downloads for fans. I've included one above... swing by the site to see more..
Megan Romano: 200m to Gold
Yahoo has posted an interesting article on an up and coming swimmer named Megan Romano...
From Yahoo! Sports: Rivals High by Keith Niebuhr
Long before Megan Romano became a teenage phenom, a high school state champion, an athlete coveted by every elite college program and an Olympic hopeful, her mother noticed something unique.
At a young age, she had an uncanny competitive spirit.
"I knew something was up early on," Rhonda Romano said. "Her drive was crazy. She had to be the first one in the car. Had to be the first to put the seat belt on. And when we got home, she'd race everyone to the front door.
"It didn't matter what she was doing, she had to be first at everything."
Usually, in the pool, she was. "By the time I was 7 or 8, I was better than everyone else," Megan Romano said.
Almost a decade later, little has changed. Now 16 and a junior at St. Petersburg (Fla.) Northeast High, Romano is considered one of the country's top prep swimmers. Last fall, she broke a 10-year state record in the 100-yard backstroke, winning in 54.41 seconds. In the 200 freestyle, she clocked in at 1:46.70, less than a second off the national record.More impressive is this: Romano has qualified in six events – the 50-meter free, 100 free, 200 free, 400 free, 100 back and 200 back – for the U.S. Olympic swimming trials, which take place June 29-July 6 in Omaha.
"Megan," said Romano's coach, Fred Lewis, "has a lot of natural ability."
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Chicago 2016 Opens Online Store
From GamesBids.com:
Chicago 2016 opened its online store Tuesday selling the official merchandise of Chicago 2016’s Summer Olympic bid.
Patrick G. Ryan, Chairman and CEO of Chicago 2016 said, “this marks an exciting day for the city of Chicago and Chicago 2016. In an Olympic year people will be able to shows their support for our bid by wearing Chicago 2016 apparel”.
Among the store’s merchandise are T-shirts, coats, vests and hats available in various colours and sizes. Also athletes and fans of the bid will be able to support the bid while exercising along the lakefront in their Chicago 2016 Dri-Fit shirts, said a Chicago 2016 media release.
It’s also the first time Chicago 2016 apparel featuring the Chicago Star logo is available to the public. The six points on the star represent hope, respect, harmony, friendship, excellence and celebration.
Access to the online store is available on the official Chicago 2016 website at www.chicago2016.org.
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Spielberg quits as adviser to Olympics over Darfur
From Yahoo! Sports:
By Bob Tourtellotte and Paul Eckert
LOS ANGELES/WASHINGTON, Feb 12 (Reuters) - Oscar-winning film director Steven Spielberg withdrew on Tuesday as an artistic adviser to the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing over China's policy on the conflict in Sudan's Darfur region.
"I find that my conscience will not allow me to continue business as usual," Spielberg said in a statement issued on a day when Nobel Peace laureates sent a letter to China's president urging a change in policies toward its ally Sudan.
"At this point, my time and energy must be spent not on Olympic ceremonies, but on doing all I can to help bring an end to the unspeakable crimes against humanity that continue to be committed in Darfur," he added.
China is a leading oil customer and supplier of weapons to Sudan and is accused by critics of providing diplomatic cover for Khartoum as it stonewalls international efforts to send peacekeepers into Darfur.
In April, Spielberg wrote a letter to Chinese President Hu Jintao adding his voice to the chorus of people who have protested China's involvement with the Sudanese government over the crisis in Darfur. At that time, Spielberg had asked to meet with Hu, but the president failed to respond.
In his statement on Tuesday, Spielberg said Sudan's government shouldered the bulk of responsibility for "these ongoing crimes" in Darfur but said China "should be doing more to end the continuing human suffering there."
Earlier on Tuesday, nine Nobel Peace Prize laureates -- including Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Elie Wiesel and Jody Williams -- sent a letter to Hu urging China to uphold Olympic ideals by pressing Sudan to stop atrocities in Darfur.
"As the primary economic, military and political partner of the Government of Sudan, and as a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, China has both the opportunity and the responsibility to contribute to a just peace in Darfur," said the letter.
"Ongoing failure to rise to this responsibility amounts, in our view, to support for a government that continues to carry out atrocities against its own people," said the letter, released on a day of events by the Save Darfur Coalition.
The letter was also signed by U.S. politicians, Olympic medalists and entertainers and delivered to Chinese embassies and missions as part of events in the United States and Europe staged to mark six months before the Aug. 8-24 Olympics.
UNDERWRITING GENOCIDE
In more than four years of conflict in Sudan's western region of Darfur, 200,000 people have died and 2.5 million have been driven from their homes, according to estimates from international experts. Khartoum says 9,000 people have died.
Sudan's government, in its largest offensive in months, attacked three towns in Darfur on Friday, forcing about 200,000 people from their homes and leading thousands to flee into neighboring eastern Chad.
The United States pressed Sudan to stop the campaign.
U.S. actress Mia Farrow, who has led the coalition's global campaign to press China to change its policies, gathered a crowd outside the Chinese mission to the United Nations in New York as she tried to deliver the letter.
"China hopes that these games will be its post-Tiananmen Square coming out party. But how can Beijing host the Olympic Games at home and underwrite genocide in Darfur?" she said, stuffing the letter under the mission door after her knocks went unanswered.
The letter to Hu acknowledged Chinese support for a U.N. Security Council resolution calling for deployment of a U.N.-African Union peacekeeping force in Darfur.
"However, we note with dismay that the Chinese government worked to weaken the resolution before it passed," it said. The letter said China doubled its trade with Sudan in 2007 and continued its military relationship with the African country.
Jody Williams, a U.S. citizen who won the prize in 1997 for her campaign against land mines, said she and fellow female laureates had formed the Nobel Women's Initiative in 2006 to focus on conflicts and particularly their impact on women.
Mass rape has been a weapon of warfare in Darfur and in Myanmar, the former Burma, another Chinese-backed regime.
"In Darfur and in the case of Burma, China is the eight-jillion-ton elephant in the room and needs to use some of its weight in a positive way," Williams said by telephone from Virginia.
The Save Darfur Coalition said it staged similar events in Britain, Portugal and Italy on Tuesday and planned more protests in Nigeria, France, Australia and elsewhere.
The campaign has so far not called for a global boycott of the Beijing games, although activists advocate not attending or watching the Beijing Olympics on television.
China's Embassy had no immediate comment. But last month, the ruling Chinese Communist Party's flagship newspaper and foreign ministry said China would never submit to pressure from groups trying to use the Olympics to change Chinese policy. (Additional reporting by Edith Honan in New York; editing by Todd Eastham)
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
British Airways Fourth London 2012 Sponsor
From GamesBids.com:
British Airways has become the fourth domestic sponsor of the London 2012 Summer Olympic Games after signing a deal Tuesday worth an estimated 40 million pounds.
British Airways (BA) is joining sportswear manufacturer Adidas’ 100-million-pound sponsorship, British Bank Lloyds TSB that paid 80 million pounds, and energy firm EDF, which signed up for 50 million pounds.
Under the five-year agreement British Airways has exclusive marketing rights to the London Games and will fly British athletes to this year’s Beijing Olympics and the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver. The airline has also pledged to create a travel bursary for athletes and be involved with the 2012 volunteer training program.
BA will also extend community projects in west London to the east London areas where the 2012 Games will be staged, reports sportinglife.com.
London 2012 head Sebastian Coe said, “it is a great message about the commercial campaign that we are involved in. This company would not be getting involved if they didn’t share the vision. They’ve been through the bidding process as well. We welcome back a great friend to the table”.
Other sponsorship categories still vacant are in telecommunications, automotives, oil and gas, and clothing and home wear industries.
Olympics themed Warner Brother cookie jars
This is a bit of a blast form the past but I thought it would be a fun little tidbit I could share. While browsing my usual assortment of blogs I came across a post on Cartoon Brew about a former designer for the WB store who was starting up a blog to share his memories, designs, and concept art from the now defunct stores. I clicked the link to check it out and the most resent post includes the little gem pictured above. You can check out the full post for more details but here is what he had to say about them...
At around this time, WB had joined licenses with the Olympics Committee. The torch idea depicting the various Looney Tunes characters seemed like a perfect solution for a cookie jar. Although, I don't think this is exactly what the Greeks had in mind when they created the games. But hen again, I was the guy that had to draw poses of Izzy the Olympics mascot.
They're cute but far from something I'm dying to have. Anyway, I just thought I'd share!
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