They’re planning on building a tower to rival that of the Eiffel Tower that will sit on the site of the London 2012 Games.
Here’s a video about it:
I think it looks really cool and I can’t wait until we’re there in 2012 to climb to the top!
Dispatches from the North: Hartlepool Fights its Way to London 2012
March 31, 2010 By 2 Comments
From time to time I like to share a bit of local news from up here. Might seem insignificant when stacked up next to big stories coming out from the major national newspapers, but the point of this site is to help Anglophiles feel a bit more connected to life in Britain, so I hope my “small town” news updates are a welcome addition.
Back in August the IOC finally voted to open up the sport of boxing to women for the summer games (see the BBC article here), with the inaugural matches to take place at the London 2012 Olympic Summer Games. I can’t believe it has taken this long for this sport to become recognized as an Olympic Event, but I’m thrilled the door has finally opened to bring the sport of women’s boxing to the Olympic arena.
Since the announcement was made in August, the area has been abuzz with rumors about Hartlepudlians representing Team GB at that first event in the London games. This is a boxing town, and the local female boxers have a great following. Two local girls were named in the top twelve back in January and this week the national team has been whittled down from those twelve to the “magnificent seven” with both female boxers from Hartlepool making the cut. Savannah Marshall, age 18, is a contender for the middleweight under 75kg class and Amanda Coulson, age 27, is vying for a spot in the lightweight under 60kg class. No, the last name is no coincidence, Amanda is my husband’s cousin so we are very excited and thanks to Jonathan’s link last week I have already put in my interest for tickets to London 2012.
Hartlepool's own Amanda Coulson
Since the announcement was made last year, the local boxers have both set their sights on making the team. It would be so special for the town if two of our girls represented Team GB in the first ever women’s boxing event, and it is made even more special that they could be involved in marking this historic event on home turf here in Britain. In the coming months both girls will train hard and fight for their spots on the final national team roster. I wish both of them luck and hope they make the final team in 2012 and do this town proud. Watch this space for updates!
Express Your Interest in London 2012 Olympic Tickets NOW
March 23, 2010 By 1 Comment
Tickets for the London 2012 games won’t be going on sale until 2011 but the organizers have opened up an informational site to register your interest in tickets.
By registering you’ll be notified first of any related London 2012 ticketing news. This could end up being a great resource for those planning to attend. It lets you select the events that interest you so you’ll only find out about what you want.
We signed up. We plan to be there in London in 2012 and want to make sure we can get into the events we want!
UK Immigration: Inspired by Vancouver Olympics to Work for London 2012?
February 17, 2010 By 1 Comment
Has watching the Vancouver Olympics inspired you to want to work for London 2012? They’re on a hiring spree right now and will be for the next couple years as they ramp up for the games in London in August of 2012.
If they hope to fill all their open positions, they’ll need to recruit from abroad. So, I shot them an e-mail and asked them what their policy was on sponsoring qualified Americans for a UK Points System Tier 2 Visa.
This was their response:
Thank you for your email. Unfortunately, there is no short answer to your query – however, you should find the following useful:
VISAS
- British and EEA (and Swiss) Passport holders are eligible to work in the UK
- If you are Canadian or from a Commonwealth country e.g. Australian and have a Grandparent who was born in the UK, individual can apply for an Ancestry visa and qualify for UK working
- If you are Canadian and qualify for the Youth Mobility Visa, this is only valid for a maximum of 2 years and you cannot then switch to another UK immigration permission on an in-country basis. Therefore, this type of visa would only work for a 2 year time-frame, e.g. 2011 and 2012.
- In order for LOCOG to sponsor you to obtain a visa (points-based visa schemes), we need to satisfy a number of criteria to obtain the required number of points: e,g, satisfy the resident labour market test (e.g. prove we have advertised a role within the UK) and justify why we want to appoint someone who is not a British or EEA passport holder due to the specialised nature of the role requirements, minimum salary requirements, qualifications and knowledge of English language.
For further information visit the UK Border Agency’s website: http://www.bia.homeoffice.gov.uk/
Thanks,
HR & Recruitment team
The London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games Ltd
One Churchill Place, 22nd Floor
Canary Wharf
London
E14 5LN
www.london2012.com
So, essentially, they are open to sponsoring someone qualified for a certain position. However, they have to make sure there is no one in the UK who can do the job first. That means there’s a chance – a lot of the positions they’re looking to fill are very specific so the UK job market may not have someone suitable.
If you fancy giving it a go, check out the current London 2012 job openings here.
Good luck!
1,000 Days and Counting Until London 2012
October 31, 2009 By Leave a Comment
Today marks a milestone – 1,000 days until the London 2012 games. I’ve been pretty excited about the 2012 games since they were announced, which seems like ages ago.
Iconic London Blogger Diamond Geezer has a great post about the 2012 games today – the history of the bid, current construction status and the future.
Here’s a blog post from Visit London today about the milestone:
On Saturday, there are just 1,000 days to go until the opening ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games.
The London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) has released details suggesting more than 5 million people are now “involved” in the Games in one way or other.
So, if you’re reading this, chances are you’re either one of them, or you know someone who is!
Whether it’s the Inspire Programme looking at community projects, the Get Set programme in schools, the Cultural Olympiad, School Sports Week, or your company is working on the Games, it’s becoming clear than 2012 is having quite an impact.
So, tomorrow is time for London to celebrate this involvement in different ways:
- A Games-themed photography exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery, called The Road to 2012, featuring portraits of people working towards the Games
- A spectacular firework display from the BT Tower tomorrow night, including a huge LED banner count-down message on top of the tower. (Watch this from London’s hilltops – Primrose Hill, Parliament Hill or on the BBC Lottery programme from 8.45pm)
- The London 2012 Corgi-made replica London bus goes on sale tomorrow in Hamley’s
- The limited edition adidas t-shirt, with pictures representing all the Olympic sports is available to buy here
- The Royal Mail’s 2012 stamps go on saleWith just 1,000 days to go, all eyes are on the next step: the aquatic centre’s roof is due to be finished before the end of the year…
But, alongside London 2012, we want to know what you’re going to achieve in the next 1000 days? Let us know in the comments below, tell twitter @london2012team, or visit www.london2012.com
I plan to be there in 2012!
What about you?
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Anglotopia was founded by Jonathan and Jackie Thomas for people who love Britain - whether it's British TV, Culture, History or Travel - we cover it all. Anglotopia was started to get us back to the UK for a trip and it did that in 2009. Now, the goal is for Anglotopia to make our dream of living in the UK a reality.