LONDON, (Reuters) – Kew Gardens on an English spring morning will host the first in a series of celebrations today to commemorate the 100 days’ countdown to the London Olympics.
An oak tree will be planted to mark Britain’s role in the birth of the modern Olympic movement and giant Olympic rings made up of 25,000 flowers will be on display.
A city steeped in theatre and pageantry will then be entertained in the early afternoon by members of West End theatre shows assisted by British athletes taking part in a “West End Warm-Up” performance in Trafalgar Square.
On the following day the 70-day Olympic torch relay begins at Land’s End.
Any initial trepidation about Britain’s ability to stage a major global event has long vanished and last month the London organising committee received a glowing endorsement from International Olympic Committee commission chairman Denis Oswald who proclaimed: “London is ready to welcome the world.”
“We can feel that London is feeling the fever of the Games,” Oswald said. “We are in no doubt that this summer will be a summer like no other in Britain.”
Ensuring a unforgettable Olympics for London and the thousands of athletes and visitors who will pour into Britain for the Games opening on July 27 is the ultimate responsibility of organising committee chairman Sebastian Coe.
A reminder of the disturbing ease with which big sporting events can be disrupted came this month when an intruder in the Thames disrupted the annual university boat race between Oxford and Cambridge.
The torch relay, as the pro-Tibet protesters demonstrated during the 2008 Beijing Olympics relay, is similarly vulnerable as are the street races such as the marathons and walks.
NEED FOR BALANCE
In an interview with Reuters to mark the 100 days’ landmark, Coe said there was a need to get a balance between the safety of the competitors while ensuring spectators were not subjected to oppressive security measures.
“Competitors are doing something at the highest level, they have devoted over half their young lives to be there,” he said.
