Seats A1 and A2 on the front row of 17.00 BA Flight 2012 from Athens attracted unusual levels of interest this afternoon. It was the occupants causing all the fuss - four golden lanterns, each bearing a little yellow portion of an Olympic Flame bound for Britain en route to the igniting of the London 2012 Games.

The last container of the Flame, which is traditionally split for the purposes of prudence and practicality, had been carried aboard from through the rain which had been drumming down upon the troubled land of Greece for two days. The bearer was the Princess Royal, described yesterday by Sport and Olympics Minister Hugh Robertson as "one of the unsung heroes" of British sport in general, and the London 2012 Games in particular.

The Royal progress up the steps to the yellow and orange liveried "Fire Fly" – or, as the Mayor of London called it at the previous night's post-ceremonial bash at the British Embassy, the "custard coloured comet" – was witnessed by a BBC news crew perched on a gantry, soaked in the line of duty.

As the Princess Royal took her place across the aisle from the precious cargo, the other VIPS, including Robertson, Boris Johnson, Sebastian Coe and that very antithesis of the unsung hero, David Beckham – plain David, not Sir, as the man on the tannoy had announced a little before time during the Handover ceremony  – packed their hand baggage into the overhead lockers, for all the world like ordinary mortals.

"Unless you happen to be an Olympic flame I'm afraid there's no smoking on this flight," japed the Captain as the plane prepared for the first of its destinations – RNAS Culdrose in Cornwall, whence the Torch would start on its 70-day journey towards the Olympic Stadium in Stratford, passing, according to the official information, within 10 miles of 95 per cent of the UK population.

It had been the Princess Royal sitting amidst her own and the Flame's dedicated Metropolitan Police guards clad in pale grey, Olympic branded tracksuits, who had received the Torch from the president of the Hellenic Olympic Committee in the marble marvel of the Panathenaic Stadium.

But it was the lean, tanned, smiling, super-coiffed figure sitting three rows behind her who would be involved in the significant Torch action at the other end – the man whom the British Ambassador had described ruefully the previous evening as "still more popular than anyone else in the country".

The very mention of Beckham's name had perked up the bedraggled Athenians who had attended the previous evening's ceremony, raising cheers that rose above the polite level accorded to all the other VIPs announced. It was nice to know the Greeks have forgiven him for that England free kick just over a decade ago.


His presence at the Embassy – silent, smiling – had set the marquee in which the VIP speeches had been made into a surging ferment. His exit was slowed by a mass of suited and booted attendees whose inhibitions about pushing, elbowing and taking lots of pictures on their mobile phones diminished in proportion to the patient superstar's distance from them.

A little later in the evening, one male guest maintained loudly to a group of others: "He was lovely with the kids, too..." There could surely have been only one person to whom that remark applied.

Earlier in the day, Beckham had visited children at the Experimental University School of Athens, which sounded like an artistic movement but was in fact a compact and relatively long-established educational establishment near the centre of the city.

Before his arrival, the media stood around in a courtyard playground surrounded by flats, cramped but sheltered from teeming rain under awnings and umbrellas. Children in red, yellow, blue and green shirts, all wearing white caps bearing the logo Olympic Truce, stood ready for football action with their famous guest. Inside the main school building, a group of young girls in dancing outfits awaited their own moment to shine.

After a while, the children started bouncing up and down on the spot, having given up any hope of remaining dry. Rain began to pool in the untenanted goal at the edge of the courtyard playground – and it was announced that all football and dancing was cancelled. What a shame.

A poster in one of the classrooms read: "Your friend from London, UK is coming to visit you in Greece. Make suggestions about things to do in Athens."

Sadly, their recently arrived friend, wearing an orange red t-shirt, tracksuit bottoms and the requisite adidas trainers had only one thing left to do once he had had a brief chat with them in their classroom, and that was to say goodbye and leave. But at least he could claim there was important work he needed to do.

He had confessed to the media during the trip that he was a little concerned about his forthcoming task of lighting the cauldron at the British end with the Torch. "I hope it doesn't go out," he said with an uneasy smile.

In the departure lounge at Athens airport, as the crew posed for a serious of increasingly athletic posed pictures with the golden Olympic Torch – empty, of course, at this point – one of the designers of those Torches, Gary Lansdowne of Tecosim, had explained how the special method by which the propane tank operated meant that would not happen.

"Once it's lit, you can wave it around like a Jedi sword and it won't go out," he said. "I've tried it."

On arrival at the location of RNAS Culdrose, the destination, the plane circled for a while to ensure perfect synchronisation with the plan – fitting for a Games that always seems to have had time to spare.

Now we were taxi-ing in. A small, very British crowd – excited young faces, waving hands, flags, a marquee, a brass band. The Princess and VIPs at the front made themselves ready for an exit that was going live to the nation via BBC. Beckham stood, gaunt under the tan, looking like a player in a tunnel.

Then the Princess Royal was out, with Nick Clegg waiting to greet her, and the noise – enthusiastic rather than overwhelming – rose. The Princess Royal stepped gingerly towards the waiting plinth and cauldron, bearing the lantern in her left hand like Florence Nightingale.

The flame looked perilously small. But none of Beckham's fears were realised as he first lit the torch, then the cauldron, before holding the lit torch up for general view. No upsets. Another moment for him to shine. A new moment for others...

Mike Rowbottom, one of Britain's most talented sportswriters, has covered the past five Summer and four Winter Olympics for The Independent. Previously he has worked for the Daily Mail, The Times, The Observer, the Sunday Correspondent and The Guardian. He is now chief feature writer for insidethegames. Rowbottom's Twitter feed can be accessed here. 

No-one escaped the downpour, not the Princess Royal, David Beckham or Lord Coe, But nothing could dampen the enthusiasm as London received the Olympic Flame in the Panathenaic Stadium where weightlifter Launceston Elliot became Britain's first Olympic champion all of 116 years ago.

Although London will host the Games for an unprecedented third time, this particular ceremony was a first for London. The  flame is traditionally taken to Athens before it is passed onto the next host city, but  this did not happen in 1948, because of civil unrest in Greece.

Although a stop in the Greek capital had originally  been planned, organisers were forced to cancel plans at the eleventh hour. The  flame therefore headed by sea from Katokolo to Corfu and then to the Italian port of Bari to begin its overland journey across Europe. Only once since has there not been a handover ceremony, curiously that was in 1984 after a dispute between the Greeks and the organisers of the Los Angeles Games who wanted to charge $3000 to run a kilometre.

Though some remain unhappy that runners in the UK will be charged to retain their torches, logistical details make it an expensive undertaking. For example, there were 16 vehicles in the convoy just in Greece.

Beneath darkening skies, the impressive Presidential guard of Evzones paraded into the stadium wearing the traditional Fustanella or pleated skirts. The Athens Philharmonic Band sounded the Presidential welcome for Karolos Papoulias and offered a pleasing link back to the first Games of the modern era. Their predecessors had been part of the massed orchestra which premiered the Olympic hymn by Spiros Samaras. Here it was performed by a children's choir.


Children were a key theme throughout, just as they had been in London's bid for the Games themselves. Local youngsters trooped giant Greek and Union flags into the stadium.

They were joined by five other Greek children, all of whom had participated in ceremonies at  Olympia. These including brothers Karolos and Errikos Tsezanas who presented olive branches to their British counterparts, before five white doves were released in a gesture to symbolise the desire for peace.

Given the conditions, it was probably a smart choice of the organisers to choice Greece's world lightweight rowing champions Christina Giatzitzidou and Alexandra Tsiavou to carry the flame into the stadium.

Hellenic Olympic Committee President Spyros Capralos might well have found his background as a water polo player of use, had conditions got any worse.

As it was, a rainbow appeared as legendary Greek weightlifter Pyrros Dimas joined China's triple Olympic gymnastics gold medallist Li Ning to light the cauldron. They had been chosen to symbolise the continuity from Athens to Beijing to London. This time, after his exploits on a trapeze to light the cauldron in the Birdsnest, Li Ning kept his feet on the ground.


The Princess Royal became the first member of the Royal family to hold a 2012 torch, though the Queen used the 1948 model to light the first celebratory beacon at her Silver Jubilee in 1977.

Stadium announcer Alexis Kostalas, a regular Greek television host of the Eurovision Song Contest, even conferred a knighthood on David Beckham who escorted the flame from the stadium, but no-one really minded.

Then to the sound of traditional Greek drums which recalled the Opening Ceremony of Athens 2004, former World and Olympic windsurfing champion Nikos Kaklamanakis led the crowd in a rallying call for the Greek Olympic team of 2012. They will lead all the other teams into the Olympic Stadium at the Opening ceremony in London, just as they have done every year since 1928.

Philip Barker, one of the world's most renowned sports historians, is the author of The History of the Olympic Torch, published by Amberley last month. To order a copy click here. 

There is a famous saying that goes: 'Only in America' and it is probably applicable when it came to the 2012 Team USA Media Summit in Dallas I have been attending over the last few days.

The gathering organised by the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) is basically a chance for the media to meet with the country's top Olympic and Paralympic athletes ahead of London 2012, but, America being America, there was unsurprisingly glitz, glamour and effortless razzmatazz out in force.

The first evidence of the above was the venue, the Hilton Anatole, which is quite simply so outrageously huge that it could rather easily be converted into a large airport.

After getting lost about three times in the giant hotel before eventually finding the registration desk, I was given a bag full of merchandise that included the schedule for the event.


The headline acts were no less than swimming icon Michael Phelps (pictured above) – the greatest Olympian ever with an astonishing collection featuring 14 gold medals – along with, for some reason, the First Lady of the United States Michelle Obama.

Only in America.

An evening reception at Media Bar and Grill kicked off proceedings before day one proved highly eventful.

First, a press conference featuring America's top athletes including Allyson Felix (pictured below), triple Olympic sprint medallist, who only 24 hours earlier at the Samsung Diamond League in Doha had defeated the combined Jamaican power of Olympic 100 metre champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and Olympic 200m champion Veronica Campbell-Brown in a meet record and personal best of 10.92sec.


After discussing her schedule, which will see her prioritise the 200m but maybe do the 100m after her remarkable triumph, the USOC leadership, headed by chairman Larry Probst and chief executive Scott Blackmun, took to the stage.

Nothing particularly new here, the duo reiterated the party line: America will not bid for the Olympics and Paralympics until their revenue-sharing agreement with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) is completed.

The USOC currently receives a 20 per cent share of global sponsorship revenue and a 12.75 per cent share of US broadcast rights deals but many international officials, including the IOC, think it is too big a portion.

"I am hopeful, in the not too distant future, that we will have some positive news," Blackmun said, although I don't think anyone will be holding their breath after hearing those words for well over a year.


Shortly after, pandemonium hit as Phelps strolled onto the stage with seemingly every single camera in America on him.

Luckily, Phelps has "found his passion again" just in time for London 2012 after there were times when he "just wouldn't come to practice".

"It didn't excite me, it wasn't interesting and I was just going through the motions," Phelps told us.

But now that he is back, he will be one of the biggest stars at London 2012 and the stage is set for him to face great rival and fellow American Ryan Lochte, the pair reportedly having a great dislike for each other.

"Ryan and I are going to have our hands full with each other this summer," Phelps said in perhaps the understatement of the century.

A delightful Team USA barbecue closed the day but there was no joking around the next morning when seemingly half the secret service was in place for the visit of the First Lady.

It took several security checks to get in, but before Obama, came a press conference from the delightfully engaging Mike Krzyzewski, the USA men's basketball head coach.

The 65-year-old from Chicago, who led his side to gold at Beijing 2008, told us that London 2012 will be his last Olympics, where he hopes the likes of Kobe Bryant and LeBron James will give him the perfect send off.


A long break to build anticipation and Obama (pictured above, centre) took to the stage, announcing a nationwide commitment to get over 1.7 million American children active as part of her Let's Move! initiative which aims to wage a war on childhood obesity.

"This summer, together with our children, we can support Team USA not just by cheering them on but by striving to live up to the example they set," said the First Lady, who will lead the Presidential Delegation to the London 2012 Olympic Opening Ceremony on July 27.

The highlight of the final day was a less glamorous but no less interesting press conference with some of America's top Paralympians, including Jerome Singleton, the man who handed Oscar Pistorius of South Africa his first defeat in Paralympic sport for seven years at the World Championships last year.

"Whether Oscar has all the fanfare and all the media, that doesn't really bother me all that much," Singleton (pictured below, left with Pistorius) said. "Hard work and dedication; that is what will bring you the gold medal, not media attention."


So there you have a snap-shot of the events. Fast-paced, breathless, showbiz but ultimately one of the most useful three days you can get as a journalist covering London 2012.

"This is a great event because it has 500 journalists from around the world," I was told by USOC chief communications and public affairs officer Patrick Sandusky.

"It is not just US journalists; it is BBC, AFP, insidethegames and many others.

"We have almost every major newspaper and broadcaster here and some very high profile guys like Piers Morgan with CNN.

"One spot, one weekend, some of our highest profile athletes, like Michael Phelps, so it has been a great event.

"This is a great opportunity for the world's media to get to know our athletes."

It would also be great to have something like this everywhere, certainly in Britain where it would be invaluable.

But it would be impossible to replicate this size, scale, calibre and glamour of this.

So perhaps it works here.

Only in America.

Tom Degun is a reporter for insidethegames

On Saturday July 14 renegade heavyweights Dereck Chisora and David Haye, both currently outlawed by the British Boxing Board of Control (BBBofC), will engage in their piratical punch-up-before a 40,000 crowd paying up to £1,000 ($1,600/€1,250) for a ringside eat at West Ham United's Upton Park ground (pictured below), just 13 days before the opening night of London's Olympics just down the road.

Many will see this as a tasteless curtain-raiser for Britain's biggest sports extravaganza, a snoot-cocking exercise in total contrast to the happenings in and around Stratford that are designed to reflect the true spirit of sport's governance.

Hardly the sort of fistic event to inspire those Olympic warriors who will do battle at the ring at the ExCeL.

That may be so. But as Chisora replied when I asked him if he considered himself a good role medal for Britain's young amateurs: "When was a black boxer a role model for anyone?"


As it happens I do not altogether share the apoplectic outrage of some of my colleagues that Chisora and Haye will lucratively settle a sordid squabble, which began when they brawled in February after Chisora's impressive, but abortive, WBC (World Boxing Council) world title challenge against Vitali Klitschko in Munich three months ago (pictured bottom).

For I long ago abandoned the notion that professional heavyweight boxing was anything but show business with blood. And so I can see where Frank Warren, boxing's ultimate showman, is coming from in orchestrating a blockbuster that, like it or not, the public will want to watch almost as much as the Olympics.

What I find intriguing is that a woman has been asked to step in as referee – not of the fight itself but the increasingly acrimonious verbal punch-up between Warren (pictured below alongside Chisora), who is Chisora's manager, and the BBBofC over the contentious staging of the scrap.

Both parties, locked in a combat as verbally brutal as anything we may see in the ring, have approached Tory MP Charlotte Leslie, who chairs Parliament's All-Party Boxing Group, to argue their respective corners for and against a contest which threatens an anarchic schism in the sport.


However, Leslie, a 33-year-old fight fan who regularly spars with amateur boxers in her Bristol North West constituency, will tell them there can be no Government intervention, a situation that will be endorsed by the Sports Minister, Hugh Robertson, who tells me they would only act if the police felt there was a threat to public order.

This will be a blow to the besieged Board, who are so determined to stop thwe sshowdowb between Chisora and Haye (pictured below, fighting Wladimir Klitschko) going ahead that they have also appealed to the Prime Minister of Luxembourg, Jean-Claude Juncker, whose boxing federation has legitimised a promotion that could be worth over £1 million ($1.6 million/€1.3 million) to it in sanctioning fees.

Warren appears to have the Board over a barrel, with half the seats already sold within 48 hours of announcing a fight that will be break all British records for gate receipts.

Things are likely to get even nastier. The Board warns licences will be withdrawn from all concerned with the promotion, but Warren has counter-punched with a letter threatening a lawsuit. "In no circumstances will I walk away from this," he insists.


While one may have sympathy with the Board, there is no doubt it has mishandled this messy affair by imposing an indefinite suspension of Chisora's domestic licence for his Munich misdemeanours, which still allows him to fight under another boxing authority, rather than a ban – a loophole which Warren and his BoxNation TV channel are legitimately exploiting.

For one thing, much as we deplore Chisora's behaviour in Germany, aided and abetted by Haye, I ask: was a sentence of an unlimited suspension from British boxing, a veritable restraint of his only trade, reasonable?

Will the English Football Association dare impose similar draconian punishment on QPR's Joey Barton (pictured below), a character of unmitigated nastiness on and off the field, whose latest malevolence at Manchester City on Sunday (May 13) was every bit as repellent, in my book, as Del Boy's?

However, there are certain issues arising from this unpleasant affair which could seriously affect the future of boxing in Britain.

One is that any idea of the professional and amateur bodies coming together as a single unified governing authority for the sport – which has been mooted and is successfully employed in several other countries – has been effectively ko'd for good.

Neither GB Boxing nor the ABA (Amateur Boxing Association) would now countenance such a move after this shambles.


There is no doubt the Board's authority has been torpedoed, and the damage is much of its own making.

In my view it may require more substantive leadership than it is getting at the moment. Questions must be raised about the stewardship of its chairman, Charles Giles, who has also installed himself as the Board's President, a post relinquished by the esteemed Labour peer Lord Jack Brooks.

Giles, a former Midlands meat trader, is frequently seen ringside at big fights both home and abroad, but is rarely heard.

Indeed, we have not had a peep from him on an issue that is the most serious challenge to the Board's authority in its 83-year history. It has been left to able and popular general secretary Robert Smith, an ex-pro fighter who knows the ropes – his late father, Andy, managed and trained heavyweight Joe Bugner – to apparently take the flak.

Giles' seeming reluctance to put his head above the parapet can be likened to the public anonymity of Geoff Thompson, the former FA chairman who became known in football circles as "The Invisible Man".

Warren, not slow to point out that he has come to the cash-strapped Board's financial rescue in the past, angrily complains that while Giles was present  in Munich's Olympiahalle and witnessed the provocative events leading up to the fracas, he was oddly absent from the subsequent disciplinary hearing and thus could not be questioned by Chisora's legal representative.

Expressions of discontent about the Board are now surfacing among some licence holders, and it would not surprise me if, once London 2012 is done and dusted,  there are moves to appoint an illustrious new figurehead – in the form of one Baron Coe of Ranmore.


A long-standing boxing aficianado, and, like British Olympic Association chair Lord Moynihan a former steward of the Board, once the Olympic flame flickers and dies Lord Coe may well be kicking his heels until 2015, when he hopes to be elected to the Presidency of the IAAF (International Association of Athletics Associations).

I think he would leap at the chance for a spot of administrative fisticuffs in the sport he loves most next to athletics.

Meantime, there is one way the current unseemly hiatus might be resolved. If Chisora goes ahead with a rescheduled appeal on July 2, the Board could lift the suspension and impose a retrospective ban of, say, four months, which would allow him to fight Haye – whose own application to be relicensed also would need approval – 12 days later.

The Board would lose face but sanctioning it is worth a hefty sum: four per cent of the gross receipts from potentially the richest fight in British boxing.

Unlikely perhaps. But, in boxing, money can speak louder than morality.

Alan Hubbard is an award-winning sports columnist for The Independent on Sunday and a former sports editor of The Observer. He has covered a total of 16 Summer and Winter Olympics, 10 Commonwealth Games, several football World Cups and world titles from Atlanta to Zaire.

Dame Kelly Holmes dropped in on the British Judo squad recently in her role as a Team GB Ambassador – and the result, according to European bronze medallist Sophie Cox, was "inspirational".

The double Olympic gold medallist (pictured below, with Sebastian Coe) is a former Army judo champion, and as she spoke to the prospective Olympians at the British Judo Performance Institute in Dartford, where final preparations were being made for the European Championships in Chelyabinsk, Russia, she was able to draw upon extra specialist knowledge to reinforce the message she was hoping to put across.

"It was great to see the players train during this crucial preparation phase," Holmes said. "I had a fabulous morning.

"During the players' break from training I had the opportunity to give a motivational talk to the squad. I drew on experience from my career, including competing at three Olympic Games and the home Commonwealth Games in Manchester in 2002, to pass on advice to assist them to prepare for London 2012.

"I was then happy to answer any of the judokas' questions and speak to some of them more informally. I also enjoyed catching up with some friends who had been part of Team GB with me at previous Games, such as Kate Howey, who I was privileged to see win her silver medal at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney."

Cox, who also claimed bronze in the Olympic test event at the London ExCeL Centre in December, is preparing to challenge for a medal in the -52 kilogramme category, eight years after making her Olympic debut as a 22-year-old at the Athens Games – a distinction which she followed by dropping out of the sport for almost five years to teach English at a school in Phuket, in Thailand.


"It was really inspirational to listen to Kelly," Cox told insidethegames. "She was talking about what it takes to get to the Games, and about all the problems she had with injuries and how she eventually overcame those."

Cox herself knows what this challenge is all about having recovered from shoulder and elbow injuries last year before winning her first ever Grand Prix medal, in Amsterdam, in November.

"I knew something about what she was saying because I had been to the Games before," Cox added. "But it was particularly good to hear her on the subject of preparing for the last 10 days or so before competition, and how you have to wrap yourself in cotton wool.

"People think it's just a matter of getting out there and doing your stuff at the Olympics, but you really do have to look at the way you prepare all the way to the day of your first competition.

"It varies from person to person, but for me the mental side of competition is huge. It's all about getting a balance of mental and physical strength.

"And Kelly was talking about the focus you have to have when you actually get down to the competition. She was asking each one of us how much we wanted success. It really brought it home to you.

"A lot of people don't really know what's involved in judo so it was really good that Kelly had such an understanding of the sport, She used a lot of judo references when she was talking to us – she was obviously a very capable judo player herself to be Army champion.

"She said how much she had enjoyed judo when she was in the Army – she has a lot of respect for the sport and was talking about the discipline, skill and coordination you need in judo.

"She also told us about her memories of the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, when the only other sport she watched apart from athletics was judo. She said she had felt really elated watching Kate Howey earn her silver medal."


Cox's departure from a sport in which she had earned her black belt as a 15-year-old caused something of a stir. It was not the first time she had raised eyebrows in sport, however.

As a 10-year-old living in Rochdale she was captain of her school's rugby league side and was due to play at Wembley in the traditional 'schoolboys' curtain-raiser to the Challenge Cup final – only to find her path blocked by the North West Counties Schools Rugby League board. Because she was not a boy...

Cox wrote a letter of protest to the Women's Sports Foundation, and earned coverage in the national media. After public outrage the ruling was rescinded, and she made Wembley history as the first female to play rugby league there, earning a mention in the Guinness Book of Records.

But if Cox was ready to step away from the sport, the gathering excitement of London 2012 was largely responsible for her return.

"I was drawn back to judo by the prospect of a home Olympics – and there was also a feeling of unfinished business," she said.

"For me, coming back to the sport after such a long time out has been like getting a new lease of life.

"Taking the time out made me realise how much I really loved the sport. I came back with a renewed hunger to do well. I understand the sport more now, and how I can help myself and others in the sport.

"It was satisfying to get a medal at the test event – it was a very good feeling inside to be doing well at the venue where the Olympics will be held. It felt like a very useful experience."

"It was great for the squad to be able to hear from someone like Kelly," a British Judo spokesman told insidethegames. "There was a big spread in terms of experience – some of our judo players have appeared at several Games while there were others like Hayley Willis, for whom it is all new."

Willis, from Dagenham, had to make an early exit from the training day to get back to school in Stratford – where she was due to sit a French exam.

Britain, as host nation, already has a full complement of 14 places in the Olympic judo discipline, but the selectors will still have some difficult choices to make in some weight categories, given that there will only be one representative in each at London 2012.

Cox, however, has made the -52kg category her own. And she intends to make the most of her second Olympic opportunity.

Mike Rowbottom, one of Britain's most talented sportswriters, has covered the past five Summer and four Winter Olympics for The Independent. Previously he has worked for the Daily Mail, The Times, The Observer, the Sunday Correspondent and The Guardian. He is now chief feature writer for insidethegames. Rowbottom's Twitter feed can be accessed here.

The Olympic Flame was lit last Thursday (May 10) amidst the ashes of Greece.

With the fiscal and economic crisis still wreaking havoc in Europe, you might expect these to be testing financial times for the Switzerland-based International Olympic Committee (IOC).

In fact, the Olympic Movement is nearing the end of a quadrennium of stunning financial growth.

It is four years since insidethegames first revealed that the Movement was on course to generate a remarkable $7 billion (£4 billion/€5 billion) over the four years culminating with the London Summer Games.

By this I mean the total amount generated by the Olympics' four main commercial revenue streams – broadcasting, sponsorship, ticketing and licensing.

I now believe that the actual figure might come in closer to $8 billion (£5 billion/€6 billion) than $7 billion (£4 billion/€5 billion).

Given that the equivalent figure for the 2005-2008 quadrennium was just $5.45 billion (£3.38 billion/€4.21 billion), this would amount to growth of 40 per cent or so – a truly astounding feat considering what many people have been living through for much of the relevant period.

How have they done it?

Partly by exploiting the seemingly insatiable desire of broadcasters for Olympic content.


Sums raised by selling Olympic broadcasting rights for 2009-2012 have surged to $3.91 billion (£2.43 billion/€3.02 billion) from $2.57 billion (£1.59 billion/€1.99 billion) in the four years to the Beijing 2008 Games.

Growth of the TOP worldwide sponsorship programme has been less impressive, with $957 million (£594 million/€739 million) raked in over the current quadrennium, up from $866 million (£537 million/€669 million) in 2005-2008.

And domestic sponsorship has done well to generate any growth at all after the impressive numbers racked up as a result of taking the Games to China.

With domestic sponsorship revenues from Vancouver 2010 reaching $688 million (£427 million/€532 million) and London 2012 hitting its £700 million ($1.13 billion/€871 million) target, I now estimate these should come in at around $1.8 billion (£1.1 billion/€1.4 billion).

This will clearly depend to a degree on the £/$ exchange rate used to convert London's figures; I have used the current rate of $1.617 = £1.

We should bear in mind too that sponsorship income is only partly in cash, with value-in-kind goods and services of assistance in putting on the Games comprising a big chunk of the overall figure.

Ticketing income, though not one of the bigger contributors, is another area where I expect strong growth.


Tickets for Vancouver 2010 yielded $250 million (£155 million/€193 million) of income and London should produce at least double that.

For the purposes of my calculations, I have used the $496 million (£308 million/€383 million) estimate referred to in the IOC Evaluation Commission's report on London's successful bid for the Games.

I would be surprised, though, if the final figure were not quite a lot more than that.

In its annual report for the year ended March 31 2011, London 2012 said it had "secured £266 million ($428 million/€331 million) of contractual hospitality ticketing income and client group ticket sales".

This was said to exclude income from public ticket sales "which has been received post year end".

Licensing, the smallest revenue centre, should at least match the $185 million (£115 million/€143 million) generated in the 2005-2008 cycle, in spite of the hard economic times that have eaten into family trinket-buying budgets in Britain and other parts of western Europe.


Vancouver, home of the red mitten, has already produced $51 million (£32 million/€40 million), more than double the $22 million (£14 million/€17 million) managed by Turin, the 2006 Winter Games host.

London 2012 expects income to be "in the region of £86 million ($138 million/€107 million)".

While you might wonder about that, given the depressed domestic economy, the 2010-2011 report said it had signed deals for licensed merchandise sales "which will generate a minimum guaranteed amount of £44 million ($71 million/€55 million)".

Totting all these up at that $1.617 exchange rate for sterling, I reach an overall figure for 2009-2012 somewhere to the north of $7.6 billion (£4.7 billion/€5.9 billion) – more than $2 billion (£1.2 billion/€1.5 billion) up on the prior four-year period.

I have to say, under present economic circumstances, if that is not a gold medal-winning financial performance, I don't know what is.

David Owen worked for 20 years for the Financial Times in the United States, Canada, France and the UK. He ended his FT career as sports editor after the 2006 World Cup and is now freelancing, including covering the 2008 Beijing Olympics and 2010 World Cup. Owen's Twitter feed can be accessed at here.

The media room ahead of a Samsung Diamond League meeting sees Olympic and world champions coming in and out like the tide. Here in Doha, it was no different from usual. First the Olympic 400 metres champion LaShawn Merritt arrived, sitting briefly alongside double Olympic 400m hurdles champion Angelo Taylor. The main press conference then saw the likes of former triple world 200m champion Allyson Felix, Olympic and world 200m champion Veronica Campbell-Brown and former world 100m record holder Asafa Powell have their quarter of an hour upon the stage.

Scheduled for later in the afternoon is Kenenisa Bekele, three times Olympic champion, five times world champion, eleven times gold medallist at the World Cross Country championships and multiple world record holder.


Little wonder, then, that Noor Hussein Al Malki (pictured above and below far left) should look a little reticent in such company. But while this 17-year-old sprinter from Doha has not yet produced performances remotely close to those of her illustrious fellow competitors – her personal best stands at 12.73sec – she has nevertheless made her mark upon athletics, and upon sport, as she – and swimmer Nada Arkaji (pictured below, second left) – have become the first Qatari women ever to be selected for a Olympic Games.

As if that were not enough of an honour to rest upon her slight shoulders, Al Malki has also been named as one of the Athlete Ambassadors for Qatar's bid for the 2020 Olympics. When I ask her whether she can imagine competing at the Doha Olympics, she rolls her eyes slightly towards her translator, but then responds gamely and with a beguiling sideways smile.

"I hope to take part in competition on my home soil in 2020," she said. "It would be an honour for me – and an honour for Qatar to host the Games."

For now, however, it is enough for Al Malki, to concentrate on her training within a 15-strong group of female Qatari athletes, operating now for five years. She is not about to be thrown to the lionesses – she will not be toeing the line in the upcoming meeting. Instead she is concentrating her energies on staying fit and improving her performance.

"I know I am not capable of sparkling performances in London," she said. "First I want to break my national record and become an Arab champion in the 100m, and then to see myself winning Asian and international competitions."

Al Malki may be breaking a sporting mould, but she insisted that she has not been made to feel an oddity in her home land. Asked what the general reaction is when she tells people here that she is a full-time athlete, she smiles and replies: "It's normal," adding that she has been constantly supported by both her mother and father.


She clarified her family position with another smile. She is the youngest of six daughters and six sons.

"My parents and my family have done everything for me," she said. "They organised my sports programmes, they were my early coaches." Her mother has been active in sport, albeit in a more traditional exercise context. One of her sisters has helped her by training with her.

It seems that for Al Malki, talent and undreamt off opportunity have all combined through propitious circumstance. Cometh the hour, cometh the woman.

"I am too much lucky," she said, very gravely. "To have this opportunity at this level. I am going to work very hard to make myself better in future."

Abdullah Al Zaini, President of the Qatar Association of Athletics Federation, commented: "Female athletes are supported by the Qatar Athletics Federation because women are very important to sport in Qatar and especially in athletics.

"Al Malki is very young and not so experienced so she will not expect to win in London, but she is showing to the people of the world that we are on the right path and encouraging females in sport and not just concentrating on the men in athletics."

In more recent times, Al Malki's sporting progress has been guided by Naima Ben Amara (pictured below right with Al Malki), a former international distance runner from Tunisia.


"Noor is a big talent," Ben Amara is reported as saying. "Since the day I met her she gave me the impression that one day she could become a professional athlete."

Although Al Malki's progress since she showed outstanding ability as a 12-year-old has not been completely smooth – she had to take two breaks from her sport, one lasting four months, was for personal reasons – she now appears well set in her historic lane.

Asked if she had any message for other Qatari girls or women who wanted to pursue sporting careers, she replied: "I want to tell all Qatari girls and women that sport is very good. I want to show all people that sport is very important and we should support all who want to take part in it."

She is happy to accept that she is now a symbol to others.

Inevitably, the question emerged: what would she want to say to regimes other than Qatar who continue to deny females the right to compete in sport as males do?

Not an easy one for a 17-year-old, that one. She handled it with grace.

"Pray for me!" she responded.

"Noor", in Arabic, means "Light". Here is a girl living up to her name.

Mike Rowbottom, one of Britain's most talented sportswriters, has covered the past five Summer and four Winter Olympics for The Independent. Previously he has worked for the Daily Mail, The Times, The Observer, the Sunday Correspondent and The Guardian. He is now chief feature writer for insidethegames. Rowbottom's Twitter feed can be accessed here. 

Much of our work in the Research and Innovation team at UK Sport is about margins.

Ultimately, it's about winning margins that make the difference between gold, silver, bronze and "the rest", but over a four year Olympic and Paralympic cycle, some of the most crucial marginal gains are found in the daily training environment as opposed to equipment innovation; an hour less analysing performance data, a tweak in the order or content of a training regime or the desire to try something different, the use of modern technology to communicate and influence in a different way, two weeks less training missed through illness, a skill learned two months ahead of schedule to allow more time to perfect.

"Learning faster than the opposition", the mantra of business strategist Arie de Gues – who I have been known to plagiarise on occasion – is key to every aspect of making our athletes better, through better support of the coach.

Whether it's faster, more accurate and meaningful data feedback, a sounder knowledge and understanding of the causes of injury and illness or optimising the training equipment or nutritional demands of the modern athlete, our job is to cut through the wealth of literature and "popular science" out there these days, which quite frankly can be overwhelming in the "Twittersphere", and deliver evidence-based guidance and performance solutions to our coaches, practitioners and athletes so they know they are operating at the cutting edge of their sport.


This is an area in which I believe the UK has really capitalised on "home advantage".

Since the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games were announced, the heightened interest in British sport has allowed us access to some of the best expertise in British science and engineering through British academia and industry. The UK has a proud heritage of excellence in science and innovation, and to this day is second to only the USA worldwide in terms of our standing in the scientific sector, despite much less investment.

Our industrial strengths in defence, automotive, aerospace and IT all have real application to our athletes everyday lives, in training and competition, and are helping us, along with our partners at the BOA (British Olympic Association), BPA (British Paralympic Association) and EIS (English Institute of Sport), ensure our athletes will be among the best prepared in the world come London 2012.

For every £1 ($1.60/€1.20) invested by UK Sport in this area of work over the current Olympic cycle, we have secured match funding or value in kind to the value of £2 ($3.20/€2.40) to help us make our work go further – but, of course, the real benefit is in the much wider network of expertise to create a truly "blue sky thinking" environment.

Over this period we have managed to deliver 140 research and innovation projects across 25 different Olympic and Paralympic sports. In doing so, we believe we will have impacted on over 95 per cent of potential British medallists at London 2012 and, hopefully, made them better prepared through greater knowledge on their own performances: better coached, better equipped, better fuelled and better than the opposition.

UK Sport would like to thank our partners in industry and academia for their support. We couldn't possibly name everyone – there are more than 25 different academic groups that have contributed at some point in the past four years and more than 100 different companies from sole traders and SMEs (small and medium enterprises) to large organisations – but their expertise, insight and approach to supporting British athletes needs to be acknowledged.

For the inside track on some of the Research and Innovation projects behind British athletes' performances this year and a view on the future, you can follow Dr Scott Drawer, Head of Research and Innovation at UK Sport, on Twitter or visit our website. 

Had it been a Broadway show it would undoubtedly have received rave reviews. Against a backdrop of a cloudless blue sky, London's Olympic Flame was lit in the temple of Hera in Ancient Olympia.

It was a ceremony which touched everyone who saw it, including 2012 chairman Lord Coe. It was his first visit to Olympia since he came as a young man after competing in the European Junior Championships.

"I didn't go back with the team, but came down on the train from Athens and found myself and just wandered around and did the tourist bit," he said. "I'd never been back since until now."

This time Coe went for a dawn run in Olympia, hours before the Flame came to life.


"I've carried the torch twice, in South London in 2004 towards Athens and in Vancouver in 2010," he said. "The thing I remember is the stories I heard on the bus. We boarded at around 4 am on the day of the Opening Ceremony in Vancouver and listening to people who had really made big changes in their lives was exciting."

The first bars of the Olympic Anthem by Spiros Samaras rang out across the ancient stadium to begin the 2012 Flame ceremony. It was played at the Opening Ceremony of the first Olympics of the modern era in 1896. The King of Greece, no less, demanded an encore.

This piece of music has particular resonance for Coe. In the wake of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, it was played instead of "God Save the Queen" when he won his first Olympic 1500 metres gold medal in Moscow at the 1980 Games.

"It was an odd medal ceremony, we weren't involved in any of the ceremonial, the protocol for us was literally one representative in the Olympic Stadium at the Opening Ceremony which was [Chef de Mission] Dick Palmer, we didn't have a delegation walking in, no Union flags no national anthems, and medals were handed out to the strains of the Olympic Anthem."

The aim of the 2012 ceremony was an ethereal atmosphere which recalled  ancient civilisations and it certainly succeeded.


The priestesses performed a "Dance of the Nymphs". Then the 14 heralds took centre stage on the hillside for a Pyrrhic dance. In ancient times, such a dance would have been performed with weapons. Here to promote peace, there were none.

Musician Michalis Messinis had composed a special suite to accompany the dancing. He worked closely with ceremony director Artemis Igniatou over the last 18 months to painstakingly marry music to the choreography.

"We had many meetings and talked about what we were going to do over and over," he said. "We worked out some sequences using the flute, harp and cello. These instruments must be played in a particular way to achieve the sound of antiquity that we were looking for."

International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Jacques Rogge had received the freedom of Olympia on the eve of the ceremony. He was joined  by IOC Executive Board member Sir Craig Reedie, British Olympic Association chairman Colin Moynihan and Britain's London 2012 Chef de Mission Andy Hunt and deputy  Jan Paterson.

It was all a far cry from the ceremony in 1948 when Torch Relay organiser Bill Collins braved a civil war in Greece to reach Olympia. Organising Committee chairman Lord Burghley stayed in London and the ceremony was low key in the extreme.


Even before the first torch was lit, the 2012 flame briefly blew out whilst it was being carried toward the stadium by the senior priestess or Estiada Nefeli Mastradi . She was forced to beat a hasty retreat to replenish it. It was fortunate they always keep a flame in reserve for such contingencies. It made a curious parallel with the last time it headed for London in 1948 when it went out within minutes of arriving on British soil at Dover.. One torchbearer  back then described it as "a spring loaded firework".

Organisers will be hoping there is no repetition in 2012 when it touches down at RNAS Culdrose on May 18.

Rio 2016 Organising Committee President Carlos Nuzman had an opportunity to sample the special torch relay atmosphere at an early stage of London's torch relay. He was torchbearer number four.

"In four years we will be here to have our Flame, and to remember this moment very special," said Nuzman. "The Games really feel closer for us now. We'll get a lot of inspiration from London, not only for the design of the torch, but for everything."

Constantine, the former King of Greece and 1960 Olympic sailing champion  was also there to witness the departure of the flame. He was no stranger to Olympia,and had participated in the Flame ceremonies in both 1960 and 1964.

London is the first city to twice receive the flame from Olympia for the Summer Games.  Innsbruck also had a relay from here in 1964 and 1976 for the Winter Games. By a twist of fate, the Olympic flame burned in Innsbruck earlier this year for the Winter Youth Olympic Games.

Philip Barker, one of the world's most renowned sports historians, is the author of The History of the Olympic Torch, published by Amberley last month. To order a copy click here.

One of the biggest disappointments – not to say embarrassments - of Beijing 2008 was the failure of boxer Frankie Gavin, a hot tip for gold, to make the weight.

The Birmingham lightweight, Britain's first-ever world amateur champion, had to be ignominiously sent home early after tearfully admitting there was no way he could beat the scales and boil down to the 60 kilogrammes limit.

It was a controversial episode which may well have contributed to head coach Terry Edwards losing his job, such was the ire of the Amateur Boxing Association of England, despite Britain ending up with an historic three medals, including James DeGale's middleweight gold.

Another gold from "Funtime Frankie" (pictured below, on right with DeGale in centre), however, would have been the icing on the Olympic cake.

An unfortunate phrase, perhaps, in the circumstances...

Which is why the British Amateur Boxing Association, which has taken over as the umbrella body of the sport in the United Kingdom, has devised a plan to ensure nothing like the Gavin debacle can happen again.


What it means is that while Britain's boxing squad members – male and female – hope they can have their cake at London 2012, they certainly can't eat it!

It works like this: every Monday morning a large cardbox box is delivered to all the scrappers in the GB podium squads at the specially converted apartments block where they are housed right across  the road from their training base at the English Institute of Sport (EIS) in Sheffield.

Inside is another series of smaller boxes containing their food for the entire week, specially prepared according to their individual tastes and dietary requirements by the same dietician who organises a similar food supply system for the footballers of Manchester United.

The three-course menus, designed to cater not only for weight control but the boxers' well-being, are stored in refrigerators before being either microwaved or oven-cooked for breakfast, lunch and dinner daily.

This revolutionary culinary regime was explained to me last week by one of the three female boxers now preparing for the AIBA Women's World Championships in Qinhuangdao, China, the final qualification event for the Olympics, which start this weekend.

"It's simple really," said 28-year-old flyweight Nicola Adams (pictured below, in red). "We eat only the food provided for us in the boxes – no snacking between meals – and we are weighed every morning to make sure we have been sticking to it.

"Actually the food is very tasty – lots of lean meat, chicken, vegetables and fruit, all in measured portions according to our particular weight class and physique.

"There is even the occasional sweet treat – though no cakes of course!"


Leeds-born Adams, the tiniest member of all GB's elite boxers, is also Britain's best hope for gold when women's boxing makes it Olympic debut in London.

She is currently in China with lightweight team-mate Natasha Jonas from Liverpool and Hartlepool middleweight Savannah Marsh, aka "The Silent Assassin", who also have 2012 rostrum potential.

All three need to make the World Championship quarter-finals at least to ensure qualification for London.

The perky Adams has been something of a pioneer for the sport in this country and has an impressive ring pedigree – twice European champion and the current World Championship silver medallist.

Her Olympic hopes are high because, after losing to China's Ren Cancan in the last World Championships, she subsequently outpointed her in the Stanja Cup, a tight bout that was a battle of minds as well as fists.

The result catapulted Adams into second place in the world rankings.

"The truth is I'm in a fantastic position," she told me. "Training full-time at the EIS (pictured below) is brilliant – I haven't seen better facilities anywhere in the world and the back-up from our team of coaches, psychologists and nutritionists is fantastic."

Built more like a ballerina than a boxer, the svelte Adams has dedicated herself to the sport since her early teenage years. "My mum, who used to do aerobics, took me along to her gym where there were boxing classes – and that was it. I think I was a bit of a natural for the sport."


Now, each week from Monday to Thursday she gets up at 7am to go running with her team-mates up those steep Sheffield hills. "Then mid-afternoon we have an hour's strength and conditioning session that consists of bodyweight and free weights. Again, this varies by the day and week. In the evening we do a couple of hours of pads work, and sparring.

"In all we train four to five hours a day before I head back to my home gym on Friday. All the Team GB boxers – male and female – train together, and while boxing is an individual sport we have a real strong team bond.

"I do go in the ring with the boys – usually against Andrew Selby [the 2011 men's European flyweight champion] who is quicker than me so it helps my speed."

Adams has tiny hands which look somewhat fragile but even when cushioned by 10oz gloves they provide a powerful punch. She says she has never been hurt herself in the ring: "When I was younger I had a few gym wars, but I've never had a black eye or a bust lip. And nor do I have a classic boxer's nose. The worst I've suffered is a fractured knuckle and a broken thumb. I guess I'm too elusive!

"In the amateur game, particularly with the women, it is more about speed and technique, to take the point and get away before you get hit yourself."

She revealed her interest in the sport started because her step-father was such a big fight fan. "I used to sit in front of the TV with him and jump up and down with excitement when the fights were on," she recalled.

"My dad also had a lot of boxing videos and I used to love the Muhammad Ali and Sugar Ray Leonard fights.

"I saw one interview in which Sugar Ray was saying never really wanted to be a world champion, he just wanted to be special. It's the same with me: I want to do something special.

"I want to transform the sport and make it really something young females want to get into. I just love boxing so much, I live for it."

Although she is a fan of both Ali and Leonard, she bases her style more on that of Floyd Mayweather. "He's the master of defence and an excellent boxer, and that's more my game: hit and not get hit," she added, pointing to her unmarked face. "That was one of the first lessons my coach told me when I first started boxing, and that's what I try to do."

With National Lottery funding she is now a full-time fighter although she doubts she will actually turn pro after the Games because there is not that much demand for women's professional boxing in this country.

"I am thinking I will probably stay for another Olympics after London. Rio [2016] sounds really cool," said Adams.


She once harboured aspirations to be an actor and has had walk-on parts in both Emmerdale and Coronation Street (pictured above). "I'm usually the one you see walking up and down the street, sitting in the pub or in the background of a corner shop or cafe."

The acting began when she went for a part in My Parents Are Aliens. "I didn't get it but they asked me if I was interested in becoming an extra.

"In a few years' time I want to look back on my boxing career and say at least I enjoyed myself. But it's hard not to stop thinking about taking that step up to the podium in London. I think about it every day."

Food for thought, you might say, for a real performer who could turn out be a star at London 2012 – and not just a little extra.

Alan Hubbard is an award-winning sports columnist for The Independent on Sunday and a former sports editor of The Observer. He has covered 16 Summer and Winter Olympics, 10 Commonwealth Games, several football World Cups and world titles from Atlanta to Zaire.

Many of us have treasure boxes where we stash our souvenirs of life's precious moments. It may be an old shoebox in the attic or a spare space at the back of a drawer. Contents probably include awards, greeting cards, special event tickets and even oddments such as locks of hair, sentimental gifts and other symbols of special times, people and places.

Whatever the container or location, for those who have been lucky enough to attend an Olympic Games, there will always be a collection of Olympic pins in the mix.

Most Olympians, whether they attained an Olympic medal or not, will have their participation pin stashed alongside those gifted from their fellow competitors or new friends made.

Ask any Olympic journalist and they will all have a few tucked away that represent their time in an Olympic city, each having a story to tell. Games volunteers treasure their official workforce pin and the many others gifted from visitors as thank-yous for their hard work in delivering the Games, usually still attached to their accreditation lanyards.

Inside the Movement, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) members fine gold wire Five Ring Member pin remains a treasure for all, along with those exchanged by the many they have had contact with during their tenure.

The stories of the exchanges and circumstances that resulted in these small metal symbols becoming emblems of special times are as varied as the hundreds of thousands of designs that have been produced in the 100 years of Olympic spectator pins. In May 1912 the first spectator pin – a pure silver stick pin – was produced and offered for sale for the Stockholm Games.

In celebration of this 100th anniversary, we have compiled a few stories that demonstrate the significance of these small yet important pieces of metal and enamel that accompany every Olympic Games and hope to add to these with your pin experiences.

In Atlanta 1996, a Sydney 2000 Games employee was visiting the Reebok athlete outfitting centre. A proud and rather sombre lady standing across the huge tent was pointed out as one of Nadia Comaneci's coaches. Without thinking, the naive and highly enthusiastic Australian bounded across the area to gift a Sydney pin. "Please, Madam, promise you will come to the Sydney Games," she blurted, having been inspired most of her life by that achieved by the outstanding Romanian Olympian and her support team.


She was somewhat disappointed at the rather cold response and returned to her delegation undaunted and simply pleased to have shaken the hand of the wind beneath Nadia's wings.

A few minutes later as she was leaving, she received a tap on the shoulder and turned to see that Madam was standing there along with an interpreter who explained, "Madam was very embarrassed when you presented her with your kind and generous gift. The coaches of her team were not issued with any pins for these Games and she had nothing to offer you in return. However, she would like to give you this along with the promise that she will try to come to Sydney."

In Madam's hand was a woven cloth badge of her country's emblem, and glancing at the coach's jacket the Aussie noticed the remains of the stitches on the pocket where this identity was formerly attached. Hugs were exchanged, thank-yous shared through the interpreter, and this little piece of cloth became a much loved treasure and a symbol of the Olympic Spirit.

In Albertville 1992, a Games volunteer turning up for their first day on the job was embarrassed to be offered a pin from a tiny little Argentinian girl. She did not yet have any pins to offer in return. Undaunted the little princess rugged up warm against the biting cold simply smiled and in pidgin French replied, "A smile is all I ask".

Patricia Rosenbrock-Coles, wife of Australian IOC Member Phil Coles, reported without hesitation that one of her favourite pins was issued in Lillehammer at the sponsor hospitality facility. The Lillehammer 1994 emblem is embellished with the quirky statement of fact "I visited the Sponsor Loos" – no further explanation needed.

A pilot of the United Nations stationed in North West Africa purchased some Sydney 2000 pins at Sydney airport on his way back to his tour of duty. One day when ferrying a West African dignitary he offered up a pin as a gift. When returning to collect him two days later he was somewhat astounded to find a sheep and goat tethered at the side of the runway as a return thank-you. It remains to this day one of the most unusual pin trades reported.

Olympic pins are not only produced for the Games but also surrounding Olympic-related happenings and milestones. Speak to anyone on the Salzburg 2014 Winter Games Olympic Bid and they will confess that the Salzburg logo pin, with the words "thank you" attached, that was issued to them for their efforts, although unsuccessful, remains a bittersweet memento.

A group of Atlanta 1996 sponsors dining out in Barcelona during the 1992 Games jokingly enquired of their waiter how many drinks could be bought for an Atlanta Olympic pin. The friendly Catalan thought about it for a moment and scurried away. They were shocked when he returned with seven large jugs of sangria, one for each guest in return for a single pin. At the 1995 test events for the Atlanta Games, a group of Australian sponsors claimed they exceeded this trade with 13 margaritas for a single Sydney bid pin. This ongoing competition among Games and the unofficial currency value of Olympic pins continues although most of the claims cannot (or should not) be verified.

From Olympic truck pins whose wheels rotate to pins that swivel to tell a story, from countdown days to Ceremonies, Games-specific roles and venues, such as broadcast, Olympic Villages, hospitality and catering through to National Olympic Committee Emblems. The list of Olympic stories and favourite designs is almost endless. From pins that project humour to graphics commemorating moments, attendance, achievements or simply the small offerings given in return for Olympic pins, the tradition continues.

Nominations received for the most popular designs to date include: the Lillehammer 1994 anti-doping pin, sleeps to go for Sydney 2000, the Swatch Atlanta 1996 mini-watch pin collection, the Rio 2016 3D gold staff pin, the London 2012 gender pin (pictured above), the Beijing 2008 ethnic collection and the Nagano 1998 Snowlet curling pin (pictured above).

What is your favourite pin or pin story? In celebration of the 100th anniversary of Olympic spectator pins, we want to hear your anecdotes or simply your favourite design.

To celebrate insidethegames' partnership with pin manufacturers Honav UK, insidethegames and insidegamescollecting are giving readers the opportunity to win a collection of stunning London 2012 pins by entering our exclusive competition; My Favourite Pin Story. For more details click here.

Noah Chamberlain works for Honav UK, the exclusive licensee of commemorative lapel pins for London 2012.

I am one of the many saddened to hear that the once beautiful QEII Stadium in Christchurch, New Zealand, will soon be completely demolished because of the irreparable damage it suffered at the hands of a devastating earthquake in February 2011 that killed more than 150 people.

The 20,000-capacity venue was built for the 1974 Commonwealth Games, but given that those Games happened some time before I was born, I remember the venue primarily for the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) World Athletics Championships that took place in January 2011.

I spent the best part of a month covering that event, which was actually thrown in to severe doubt when a major 7.1 magnitude earthquake struck the area just four months before the start of the event.

Another three earthquakes – measuring 5.1, 3.4 and 4.0 on the Richter scale – again rocked Christchurch - and me in my bed at a pleasant Christchurch hotel - the day before the championships began on January 20.

But the event still went ahead as planned and was hosted successfully.

I have many fond memories of my few weeks in the picturesque city, not least a chance meeting with the New Zealand Prime Minister John Key following the Opening Ceremony, but it was the QEII Stadium that was undoubtedly my favourite of the many fantastic locations in the city.


It was quite unlike many other athletics stadiums in that it was relatively intimate with just one small stand featuring bright blue seats.

It was also located in the middle of the countryside, the sort of place that you might strangely stumble across if you got lost down a deserted backstreet lane.

But there was an atmosphere in there like no other when it was full and when I think back to my time there, no race will stand out more than the stunning T44 100 metre showdown between South Africa's four-time Paralympic gold medallist Oscar Pistorius (pictured below second right) and American sensation Jerome Singleton (pictured below, left).

Unsurprisingly, Pistorius was the poster boy of the event and was seen signing autographs, undertaking interviews or posing for pictures at every turn.

Singleton meanwhile, was slightly under the radar and went about his business quietly.

But what followed was not only the best race in the history of Paralympic sporting competition, but quite possibly the best race the QEII has ever witnessed.


Anticipation reached a fevered pitch before the start of the race and as the gun went off, a fired up Singleton exploded out of the blocks.

The one leg amputee from America was well up on Pistorius at the halfway stage but suddenly, the South African's famous "blades" went into overdrive and he began to reel in his man.

I was seated right on the finish line with a perfect view when I saw Pistorius inch ahead of his man in the closing five metres.

But Singleton, clearly sensing something dramatic was needed to hold off his great rival, suddenly dived forward, face first over the line, landing heavily on his front.

There was complete confusion about who had actually won the race and after an agonising few minutes, the giant screen revealed that the American had piped the South African by 0.01sec to deliver Pistorius his first defeat in disability competition in seven years and avenge his narrow defeat to the same man at the Beijing 2008 Paralympics.

After the race, Singleton showed me his blood-stained hands that had taken the brunt of the impact from his spectacular dive but with an enormous smile, the likeable American said it was more than worth the pain.


It has perfectly set up what will be the blue riband race of the London 2012 Paralympics and organisers can only hope that the action at the Olympic Stadium in Stratford is nearly half as dramatic as the great race at the QEII Stadium.

There were many other stunning moments at that Championships, including Britain's David Weir (pictured above, front) storming to three gold medals on the track, but just days after we all jumped on a plane to leave Christchurch, that devastating earthquake hit to end tragically the lives of so many and render the QEII Stadium obsolete.

Fortunately, the courageous people of Christchurch have managed to slowly rebuild their lives following the disaster, but the QEII Stadium is irreparable.

Obviously, it is only really expensive bricks and cement, far less important than lives, but it holds so much history that it is hard not to let nostalgia creep in with the knowledge that the IPC World Athletics Championships were the last major event to be held at the QEII Stadium.

But while the bulldozers will be able to tear down the remaining bricks, the great memories will remain and thanks to Pistorius and Singleton, we can be safe in the knowledge that the great venue got a fitting farewell that will not be forgotten.

Tom Degun is a reporter for insidethegames and insideworldparasport.

It was awkward. The seven modern pentathletes who had been selected for individual places in Britain's team at the forthcoming World Championships were in demand from the media as they took a break from training at their base at the University of Bath. Each of the four women and three men who will be making the trip to Rome for the event which runs from May 7 until 13 took their turn to be interviewed before gathering in the centre of the hall for an artfully arranged group photo. The camera light flashed, again, and again.

And at the far end of the hall, again and again, came the sound of pistol shots as the three members of the squad who had not earned individual places in Rome – and hence had foregone any chance of qualifying for the London 2012 Olympics – were training on determinedly in order to optimise their chances in the relay event at the Worlds.

For Katy Livingston, a Beijing 2008 Olympian, and her colleagues Katy Burke and Kate French, it must have been a trying occasion. Before being ushered into the main hall, our little media throng waited outside an office from which Livingston emerged. One of our number enquired if she was going to be at the press event. "I'm not involved," she said with a brave grin. Ouch.


Talking to Livingston (pictured above) later in the afternoon I was struck by her honesty over what must have been a stomach-churning reverse. Since competing in Beijing, this graduate in coach education and sports development has been devoting her life in quest of an Olympic return on home ground – in common with the rest of a hugely talented squad.

"I would have loved it to be me, but I haven't performed well enough to get there," she told me.

But then the maths is against too many happy endings here. With only two Olympic places available for both the men and the women, there are going to be two more disappointed women members of the squad, and one heartbroken man. Such will be the human cost of a calculating pursuit of maximum medal impact at a home Games.

While Livingston continues her Olympic year in a spirit of true sportsmanship – "I hope to be around for the two girls that are selected for the Games," she said – other Olympic aspirants are still proceeding in hope. And in the case of Isobel Pooley, who stands well over six feet tall, those are high hopes. In the high jump, naturally.

Pooley, 19, has just finished the first year of her degree in Animal Sciences at Nottingham University, and she has been in Stratford this week preparing for what she describes as "the biggest test of my life so far".

This Saturday (May 5), Pooley will seek to press her claim for an Olympic place by jumping either the A qualifying standard of 1.95 metres or the B standard of 1.92m. Given that the personal best she set in Sheffield's indoor arena on February 4 was 1.88m, that is something of an ask. But it is an ask which will take place in a uniquely inspiring environment – the London 2012 Olympic Stadium.


Pooley (pictured above) is taking part in the British Universities and Colleges Sport's (BUCS) annual Outdoor Athletics Championships, supported by Visa, which this year acts as the Olympic athletics test event – and will be watched by a sell-out crowd of 46,000 people.

Speaking at the Olympic Park View Tube, just across the way from the centrepiece of the 2012 Games, at the launch of Universities Week, Pooley told insidethegames all about her rising sense of excitement.

"I was able to train in the Olympic Stadium yesterday and to high jump on the bed that will be used at the Games. The atmosphere was absolutely unbelievable – with no people there. So I can't imagine what it will be like when the competition has started.

"My high jump final is due to take place on Saturday night, when the stadium is due to have more than 40,000 people in it. I can't wait – it is so exciting.


"I have done 1.88m, and I need to get a qualifying height for London of 1.95m, or a B standard of 1.92 by the end of June.  So this weekend is going to be a huge opportunity for me to jump that.

"Most people in my event reach their peak at around 25 or 26, so at 19 I could be thinking I was too young for 2012 and be looking instead towards the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, and the 2016 Olympics in Rio.

"But I have only got another four centimetres to jump to have a chance of making the Games and I honestly believe that could happen. If the 2012 Games were being held somewhere else then maybe I would be looking more at 2016. But because it is here in my home country I am working doubly hard to try and make it."

Having achieved her 1.88m at Sheffield's indoor arena in February, Pooley – who lives in Fleet, Hampshire and competes for Aldershot and Farnham AC – found herself moving down in the rankings only a week later as her 26-year-old training partner under coach Fayyaz Ahmed, Emma Perkins, managed a centimetre more to put herself second in the British rankings behind the 1.91m set at the same event by Jessica Ennis, otherwise occupied with the heptathlon this season.

The following month, however, Pooley beat her Olympic rival to the indoor British Universities' title. It is going to be a testing season for her...

She will be drawing inspiration in the meantime from the example of her uncle, Guy Pooley, who rowed for Cambridge in four Boat Races, and represented Britain at the 1992 and the 1996 Olympic Games in the quadruple scull and double scull respectively.


"I've got competition pretty much every week for a couple of months," she added. "But to kick off the season with such a huge event as this Saturday's is unbelievable. It's going to be the biggest test of my life so far. I am hoping to reach the London Olympics, so jumping in the Olympic Stadium seems like a good place..."

Mike Rowbottom, one of Britain's most talented sportswriters, has covered the past five Summer and four Winter Olympics for The Independent. Previously he has worked for the Daily Mail, The Times, The Observer, the Sunday Correspondent and The Guardian. He is now chief feature writer for insidethegames. Rowbottom's Twitter feed can be accessed here.

I was listening to a ding-dong argument on a BBC Radio 5 Live phone-in recently about whether the Olympic Games would have a positive impact on the rest of the country or would all the rewards fall to London.

Opinion was divided about 50-50 but there was a lot of moaning that every area except the capital risked being left out. That set me off. I was desperate to get through. I tried phoning a dozen times, hitting the redial button every few seconds like a teenager voting on Britain's Got Talent, but it was constantly engaged.

The reason I was desperate is because they're wrong, those people who think that the Games is London-centric. I want to tell the whole country that our sport is creating a genuine legacy from London 2012.

I cannot speak for the other sports but hockey is activating the biggest engagement programme across Great Britain in its history with the aim of raising its profile and inspiring more people, of any age, to take up the sport. We have been planning this legacy for the last five years and have already connected with thousands of people of every age through our player visits to schools and the NPower Big Dribble initiative alone.

By the time we reach September the Have-a-Go activities we are offering during Gamestime will have reached over a quarter of a million people.

We will have thousands of new participants too. Our plan has been to create great new ways to play the game, and a fantastic number of hockey clubs and other providers will be offering new and traditional ways to play. All this alongside the best promotion of our sport with hockey on TV, radio, in newspapers and online every day for two whole weeks from 8.30am till 10.30pm. It's the best shop window for a hugely entertaining sport we have ever known and we have been determined to be ready.

In February and March this year our international players visited 250 schools across Great Britain and had face-to-face contact with 5,000 young people – inspiring the next generation. The response we had from schoolteachers, parents and, importantly, the youngsters was fantastic.

We are also midway through the NPower Big Dribble – taking a giant hockey ball to 40 cities across the country from Edinburgh to Wrexham, Plymouth, Norwich, Leamington Spa, Manchester and Glasgow – inside 18 days. 


We're taking our Hockey Roadshow to areas of high footfall where we can give people the opportunity to have a go, meet international hockey players and be part of our collective effort to try and dribble a record 2012 kilometres to raise money for the WellChild charity, which exists to help sick children and their families.  We have already had thousands of people taking part – including a bride in her wedding dress! – and we are turning this interest into people then attending local sessions on a regular basis.

We are investing huge amounts of money and time in letting the nation see for themselves how much fun hockey can be.

During Games time we have a whole range of initiatives to get people involved:

The 5-week frenzy:  For five weeks we have our clubs and other hockey providers all over the country putting on Have-A-Go and coaching sessions for adults and young people so we can capture that immediate interest in the sport and make people realise how much fun and how easy it is to play our sport. You don't have to have ever played before; you can just turn up and join in and we will make sure everyone has a really entertaining time trying our great game.

New versions of the game: Not everyone wants to join a club so we have developed new versions like Rush Hockey, a five-a-side, just-turn-up-and-play version for adults; Back to Hockey, aimed at women aged 30 to 55 who haven't played since school and fancy getting back into it without having to join a club; and Quicksticks, for primary school aged kids and In2Hockey for secondary school age kids.

Hockey houses: For people who want to watch the sport rather than play, and are not going to London, we have formed a partnership with the brewery company, Mitchells & Butlers, which owns All Bar One and O'Neill's; we are turning a load of their pubs into "Hockey Houses" during the Games all decked out with GB bunting and life-size cardboard cut-outs of our players so that people can have the hockey Olympic experience close to home.

Wear RED campaign: Some 630,000 people will have hockey tickets for the games – and we want everyone supporting GB to wear red. The idea is to let our hockey players look  into the stands and see a wall of red to know that our country is right behind their quest to make the podium at the one and only home Olympics of their lifetime.

FRE Flyers: We're 100 per cent behind a joint initiative with the Tennis Foundation to establish a multi-sports club for children in the East End of London, thanks to the brilliant work our GB men's team has done in becoming coaches, and 'big brothers', to an enthusiastic and determined group of young people from Newham and Tower Hamlets.

That's what I'd have said on Radio 5 Live, if I'd got through that day. Although I see the problem. I'd probably need my own show to say it all...

Find out more about the Hockey Nation programme and the forthcoming Investec London Cup featuring GB, Netherlands, Germany, Australia, South Africa and Ireland at www.greatbritainhockey.co.uk.

Sally Munday is the chief executive of Great Britain and England Hockey. She has worked in the sport since 1998 and, following various senior management roles, was appointed to the top job in 2009. Munday, who has also served with the Lawn Tennis Association, is a former team manager of Great Britain and England.