• Cows and sheep to star in London Olympic Games opening ceremony

    LOCOG via AFP - Getty Images

    A handout picture released by the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) on Tuesday shows a model of how London's Olympic Stadium would be transformed into a British rural scene for the opening ceremony of the games.

    By ITV News

    LONDON - The Olympic Stadium will be transformed into a British countryside meadow featuring real animals and grass during the opening ceremony, organizers said Tuesday.

    With only 45 days before the spectacular show, film director and event producer Danny Boyle unveiled his ‘green and pleasant' vision that will open the games to an estimated worldwide television audience of over one billion.

    More than 10,000 volunteers wearing 23,000 costumes will take part.

    The ceremony is titled 'Isles of Wonder' and is said to be inspired by Shakespeare's play, The Tempest.

    Read more on this story from ITV News

    It will be opened with the ringing of the largest harmonically-tuned bell in the world, produced by the Whitechapel Bell Foundry in east London. The bell will be inscribed with the 'Isles of Wonder' speech performed by Caliban in Shakespeare's play:

    Be not afeard; the isle is full of noises,

    Sounds and sweet airs, that give delight and hurt not.

    Sometimes a thousand twangling instruments

    Will hum about mine ears, and sometime voices

    That, if I then had waked after long sleep,

    Will make me sleep again

    – 'ISLE OF WONDER' ACT 3, SCENE 2, THE TEMPEST, WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE

    The whole of the field of play in the stadium will be transformed into the rolling British countryside. Each of the four nations will be represented by their national flower: the rose of England, the thistle of Scotland, the daffodil of Wales and the flax from Northern Ireland.

    Real farmyard animals will graze on the set: 12 horses, 3 cows, 2 goats, 10 chickens, 8 geese, 70 sheep and 3 sheepdogs.

    Boyle explains: “The Ceremony is an attempt to capture a picture of ourselves as a nation, where we have come from and where we want to be. The best part of telling that story has been working with our 10,000 volunteers. I’ve been astounded by the selfless dedication of the volunteers, they are the purest embodiment of the Olympic spirit and represent the best of who we are as a nation.”

    The show will feature 12,956 props - over 100 times more than a typical West End musical theater production – and a sound system weighing more than 50 tonnes.

    ITV News is the UK partner of NBC News.

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  • World's most expensive cable car might not be ready for Olympics

    The transport link between two Olympic venues that might not be ready for the Games. ITN's Simon Harris reports.

    By Alastair Jamieson, msnbc.com

    The world's most expensive cable car is undergoing tests in London – but authorities admit the project, which links two Olympic venues, may not open in time for this summer's Games.

    The 1,000-yard gondola lift line crosses the River Thames in east London and is planned to be both a commuter route and a tourist attraction.

    It has been enthusiastically backed by London Mayor Boris Johnson, but opponents point out the scheme will use public money despite a huge $57 million sponsorship deal with Dubai-based Emirates Airlines which means the facility will be officially known as the Emirates Air Line.

    PhotoBlog: London's new Thames cable car in place - but will it be ready for the Olympics?

    It will cost up to $95 million in total, with around $20 million coming from local public funds.

    Transit authority Transport for London (TfL), which will operate the cable car, will only say the project will be open "in the summer," raising the prospect that it will not be ready in time for the London 2012 Games in July. TfL insists the route was never part of the Olympic transport plan.


    Two 300ft-high pillars will carry more than 30 gondolas across the river from the O2 – the Greenwich concert venue that will host events including the gymnastics and basketball finals – to the Docklands-based ExCel conference center which is being used for boxing, fencing, judo, taekwondo, table tennis, weightlifting and wrestling.

    The cost of a journey on the Emirates Air Line has not yet been set, but TfL says it will be similar to the frequent Thames River Boat service whose fares are around $8. Passengers will be able to pay with Oyster cards, the pre-payment "smart card" used by millions of Londoners.

    Slideshow: When the Olympics is your neighbor

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    A diverse community in East London will welcome the world to Britain for the 2012 Olympic Games. Meet residents and hear how they feel about having a huge, world stage in their backyard.

    Launch slideshow

    Although the cost will be significantly higher than the equivalent bus or subway journey, the views from the 10-person gondolas traveling 160 feet above the ground are undoubtedly more appealing. 

    TfL says the system will move 2,000 passengers an hour -- the equivalent capacity of more than 30 buses.

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  • Report: Fake bomb exposes London Olympic security

    Paul Hackett / Reuters

    Spectators find their seats at the official opening of the London Olympics stadium, inside the Olympic park, London, Saturday.

    By Alastair Jamieson, msnbc.com

    Britain has begun an inquiry into security at the London Olympics after a worker reportedly smuggled a fake bomb onto the site to expose flaws in its anti-terror defenses.

    The worker carried the artificial bomb through two checkpoints without being searched by security staff, according to a British tabloid newspaper report.

    Once inside, he was able to drive the package through the site, taking it past the velodrome before posing for a photograph with it outside the Olympic Stadium, The Sun reported.

    The stunt, 24 hours before 40,000 people attended the official opening of the stadium on Saturday, was designed to show how vulnerable the site, which also includes the athletes' village, could be to a terrorist attack.

    Fears that the international spectacle could be targeted by extremists have led organisers to spend $1.6 billion (£1 billion) on security for the games including 23,700 guards, 14,000 troops at key times and an 11-mile electric fence.

    A spokesman for Britain’s Home Office told The Telegraph it had asked games organizers to "look into this incident and report back to the Home Secretary urgently".

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  • When the Olympics is your neighbor

    By Marian Smith, msnbc.com

    LONDON -- When the 2012 Olympics comes to London this summer, thousands of athletes, coaches, officials and tourists from all over the world will descend upon East London, home to some of the poorest boroughs in Britain’s capital.

    The factories, warehouses and busy docks that once made it the industrial hub of the city have for decades been morphing into derelict buildings and abandoned scrap heaps as the industries dry up and move overseas – creating the perfect blank canvas for the Olympic sites, the Games’ organizers say. But a vibrant community sprung up in place of the old industrial center, and not everyone is happy about the Olympics becoming a neighbor.

    Gideon Mendel / Corbis for msnbc.com

    Construction workers take a break from their task of building the Olympic site to enjoy a substantial lunch at The Griddler, a local cafe very close to site of the games.

    Frank and Rosie Aviatti, owners of The Griddler café near the Olympic stadium in Stratford, almost sold their business a few years ago when construction workers closed off part of their road for Olympics-related building projects. “Business went down 90 percent,” Frank Aviatti told msnbc.com.

    However, other residents and businesses laud the transformative development of the area. Lance Forman, proprietor of H. Forman & Son smoked salmon purveyors, had to move his factory because it was on land that the Olympic organizers wanted for the new stadium. “We did a deal early,” he told msnbc.com, explaining that the 105-year-old company realized it would be a waste of time and money to dispute the compulsory purchase order.

    They bought land across the river from what is now the Olympic stadium, designed a factory – in just one month – and built it in under a year. To take advantage of what Forman knew was going to be an opportunity for his business, the company opened a restaurant, bar and event space in its new building. Although business suffered at first, Forman is optimistic because of the higher traffic East London is getting because of the Olympics.

    Gideon Mendel / Corbis for msnbc.com

    Salmon is sliced and processed at H. Forman and Son, a fourth-generation family business, at its new location directly across the River Lea from the Olympic Stadium.

    “People now come to the restaurant and say they didn’t know East London existed before,” he said. “And they say they didn’t realize how close it was.”

    As the Olympics fast approach, photographer Gideon Mendel has sought to capture the diversity of life within one mile of the main Olympic site.

    Himself an East London resident, Mendel says he is struck by how many different people from different parts of the world live and work in the area – and is intrigued by the idea that the international participants in this summer’s games will be greeted by such an international community. To see some striking images of the people, places and businesses that will be welcoming the world this summer, take a look at the slideshow below.

    Slideshow:

    Gideon Mendel / Corbis for msnbc.com

    When the Olympics is your neighbor

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  • At London Olympics, dogs have sniffed out a key anti-terror role

    A cadre of bomb-sniffing dogs gets set to find threats at the 2012 London Olympics alongside the tens of thousands of two-legged security personnel preparing to make the city safe. Msnbc.com's F. Brinley Bruton reports.

    By F. Brinley Bruton, msnbc.com

    Follow Brinley Bruton on Twitter

    LONDON -- Benson’s tail wagged lazily as he weaved through the crowds in London’s St. Pancras railway station.

    “Good morning ladies and gents, police dog working,” said the pooch’s handler, Graham Rowlstone of the British Transport Police, as the pair strode beneath a soaring glass-and-blue-steel ceiling. “Just making sure it’s nice and safe for you.”

    Some travelers and commuters smiled, laughed and said hello to the black lab. A few petted him. But mostly the pair slipped easily through the concourse.

    Suddenly, Benson cocked his ears, lifted his tail and picked up the pace. He trotted in front of a nondescript man in a dark blue fleece, sat down and looked up expectantly.

    “Good morning, sir. Where are you traveling today?” Rowlstone asked.

    It was a drill to show that Benson’s explosives-sniffing skills were still sharp. The dog passed the test and the man in blue – dog trainer and police officer Paul Saunders – dropped a tennis ball, which Benson chewed enthusiastically.

    Dealing with threats
    As Britain gears up for the estimated one million visitors expected to descend on the city for the 2012 Olympic Games, bomb-sniffing teams like Benson and Rowlstone are preparing to deal with the threats that come with the big crowds.

    Olympic housing crunch: London landlords evict tenants to gouge tourists

    Benson is a relative newcomer to the explosives-detection space, which has been long dominated by “proactive” dogs, which concentrate on inspecting places such as lost-luggage departments and suspicious packages left on trains and buses. In other words, they deal with stationary targets. 

    About three years ago, the British Transport Police and others began to train so-called passive dogs like Benson, which search for explosives among crowds of people, essentially following a scent until it stops.

    NBC News

    Officer Graham Rowlstone of the British Transport Police pats Benson after he correctly identifies a threat in London's St. Pancras Station.

     

    Bomb-sniffer dogs are an integral part of the system in place meant to keep travelers safe and public transport running smoothly, British Transport Police Inspector Ed Purchase told msnbc.com.

    “The dogs are an extended part of the security operation within London and around the country, making sure the railways are safe, members of the public are safe and that we can keep all the transport system open,” he said.

    With the biggest and oldest dog unit in the country, the British Transport Police – in charge of policing Britain's railways and subways – know what they’re talking about.

    Attack highly likely?
    Britain has faced threats to its mass transit systems for well over a century – the first terrorist strike on London’s underground network was in the 1880s.

    And just a day after the announcement was made to award the Olympics to London on July 6, 2005, the city suffered its worst peacetime attack when four suicide bombers killed 52 commuters.

    Al-Qaida to Occupy: UK preps Olympics security

    So it comes as no surprise that the issue of security on the country’s transport system weighs heavily on the minds of the Olympics organizers.

    The games will see the U.K.’s largest peacetime security operation involving tens of thousands of security officials, with 13,500 military personnel, 12,000 police and 10,000 private contractors.

    Current potential dangers to London come from a variety of sources including al-Qaida and related jihadi groups, right-wing extremists and Northern Ireland-related militants, according to officials.

    The U.K.’s alert level is expected to be raised to “severe” during the games, meaning that an attack is considered highly likely, the government says.

    Four-legged ambassadors
    For Benson and his canine colleagues it will be a busy time. But while they are most valued for their keen noses, the dogs also have a key public relations role to play.

    “(The dogs) are a tool … effective across a range of activities – reassurance, engagement with the public and detection – that’s why they’re attractive to us,” Superintendent Philip Trendall, of the British Transport Police's Counter Terrorism Support Unit, told msnbc.com.

    “People notice us a lot more,” said Constable Tony Mart, who works with another black lab, named Pete. “They will always see a police officer with a dog. The interaction with the public is great,” he said.

    British Transport Police

    Benson the police dog even has his own business card.

    About a dozen passives have been incorporated into the team over the last three years, Trendall said, but declined to discuss their success rates.

    And he says that the dogs’ public-facing role in boosting confidence and good cheer is almost as important as its explosives-sniffing one.

    “A machine that people want to come up and give a biscuit to and pat doesn’t exist,” he said.

    F. Brinley Bruton is a reporter and editor with msnbc.com in London. Follow her on Twitter.

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