LONDON: London moved into the final month of preparations for its Olympic Games on yesterday with a new landmark to greet visitors, and a warning that some others would not be welcome.
London Mayor Boris Johnson and Seb Coe, chairman of organizers LOCOG, watched as a giant set of interlocking Olympic Rings were eased into place on Tower Bridge across the River Thames.
The rings, 25 meters wide and 11.5 meters tall, are a centerpiece of the “2012 look” that visitors from around the world will experience as they flood into the capital for the Games starting on July 27 and ending on Aug. 12.
“Tower Bridge is recognized the world over and, adorned with the famous Olympic Rings, is the perfect choice to showcase what London has to offer this summer,” declared Johnson.
“With just a month to go, we are making our final preparations and want to ensure each and every person in the capital gets a flavour of the celebrations and feels part of the Games.”
The Tower Bridge rings, which cost some 260,000 pounds ($405,500) to produce, have been paid for out of a 32 million pound ‘Look and Celebration’ budget with events scheduled across the capital.
Not everyone will be allowed to attend the party, however.
Britain has already refused a visa for the head of Syria’s national Olympic Committee, General Mowaffak Joumaa, to travel to London.
Mowaffak is seen as a close friend of Syrian President Bashar Assad, who has been strongly criticized by Britain and other Western and Arab nations for a crackdown on an opposition movement seeking his overthrow.
London into final month of preparations
