Part Two London 2012: Countdown to the Olympics


Part Two

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Good afternoon, on this the day that the London 2012 Games

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officially get under way. We are here at the heart of the Games, at

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the Olympic Park in East London, where at 9.00pm this evening the

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opening ceremony will begin, watched by hundreds of millions of

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people across the globe. Welcome to this BBC News special,

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as we countdown to the Games of the 30th Olympiad. Over the next hour,

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we will be looking forward to that opening ceremony, the details of

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which are still top secret, and we will be following the Olympic flame

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as it makes its final journey towards the Olympic Stadium behind

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me. Now this is the scene right now on the River Thames. The flame is

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carried towards City Hall, near Tower Bridge where it's going to be

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handed over and kept safe until the lighting ceremony tonight. It's

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being transported on board the Gloriana, the Royal barge which

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played such a prominent role in the Diamond Jubilee celebrations. What

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a team of rowers they have on board there. 29 Olympians, who have rowed

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for Great Britain in Olympic Games, dating right back to 1948.

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They set off from Hampton Court Palace at around 7.30am and it's

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been a very long journey for them. But they are almost there. Out on

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the river we will be sailing alongside the Gloriana, we will

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hear from our correspondents there and also at Tower Bridge where the

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flame will be transferred to another barge and then kept safe

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until the beginning of that lighting ceremony this evening. We

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will be talking to our correspondent Jane Hill, who will

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be there. But first, let's show you the flame's journey, as it happened

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this morning. It set off from Hampton Court Palace at 7.30am

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after a quick visit to the famous Hampton Court maze.

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Now, even though you can't see or, can just about see, I can tell that

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you it was 19-year-old Klara Weaver carrying the torch, a double junior

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European rowing champion. You will be pleased to She's A Character

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obviously made it to the -- she obviously made it to the centre of

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the maze and just out in time again to hand it to the next torchbearer,

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a 13-year-old. Now, the Gloriana has now almost

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reached her destination. She is are live images you can see. She's

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being accompanied by a flotilla of boats and it's being carried in

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three different sections. They started out from Hampton Court

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Bridge, a host of vessels accompanying her as she goes. 450

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rowers in total. They will be joining the Gloriana as she heads

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towards Tower Bridge. Finally at her destination, and

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this is where the flame will be handed over. They will give it -

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they will be received by the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, who will

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be there, to greet the flame when it arrives. Then the flame is going

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to be transferred to another barge and taken under Tower Bridge to its

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resting location, let's say, where it will wait until the lighting

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ceremony at the Olympic Stadium this evening. What a sight on the

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River Thames. There have been thousands and thousands of people

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who have turned out to see her. There you are, some of the

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Olympians who have taken part in Olympic Games dating back to 1948.

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What a moment for them as they row the flame right up to Tower Bridge.

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On board the Gloriana some of the torch security team who have

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accompanied the flame on its 70-day journey since it set out in May

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from Cornwall, from Land's End in Cornwall, extraordinary to think

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that journey is finally coming to a close. 8,000 torchbearers, almost

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8,000 miles. Only about a handful of miles left until the flame

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reaches the Olympic Park this evening.

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On board HMS Belfast with a wonderful view is Jane Hill.

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Thank you, Sophie. I feel lucky to be standing here. I have to say

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it's taken the spectators and everybody here somewhat by surprise,

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you were talking about a long journey, and a tough row down the

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Thames, but they've obviously done it in record time. They've made it

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to Tower Bridge here, practically 15 or 20 minutes in advance of

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their scheduled time, I think. With me, and he's been here on BBC News

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all day, Jock, we have been following the progress of this

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flotilla, the final stage of the torch. Here it is on board the

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Gloriana. This really is a moment for the Thames. This is a moment

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for the Thames. Remember that in years past the Thames was the

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highway for the entrance into London. We are recreating that and

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what better to bring in the Olympic flame than on board the Queen's row

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barge itself, and I can see lots of enthusiasm down there, they don't

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seem too tired from the trip. They're waving away. Isn't that

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marvellous? They got a lot of waves from everybody here on board HMS

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Belfast. They did indeed, as you suggest, look still very cheery. I

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should say, the crowds just in the last hour, we have been here all

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morning, both sides of the Thames absolutely packed. Thousands of

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people out and Tower Bridge, a sea of people as well, grabbing the

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very best vantage point in the capital to see this moment and to

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see 22-year-old Amber Charles from Newham, who is the young girl, the

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basketball player, who has been chosen, who will be handing over

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the torch. And the Gloriana just remind us, because you were an

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othersman, you have broken records, there is nothing you don't know

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about vessels on this river. Totally unique. 14 tonnes. One of

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the things I wouldn't want to do is be stuck, we would quickly go

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overboard. They're raising their oars to the flame. All coming

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alongside. A little secret is on board we actually got, because it's

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difficult to control, we have a couple of thrusters, and they can

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control the boat quite precisely where she is going. Noisy here on

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board, lots of klaxons and cheering and the helicopters up above. A

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really glorious moment. Remind us, the crew on board, jock, because

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they've assembled a fantastic mixture of Britain's best. I made a

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comment, they're golden Goldies, from 1948. All the way through to

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the Sydney Olympics, all there. Steve Williams, part of that

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amazing gold medal-winning four from Beijing.

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Even Johnnie Searle there. We are hoping and expecting that his

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brother, Greg, will come back with a gold medal this time. 20 years on,

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after his last gold medal. Mike Hart. Who really started it in 1976

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and re-energising of British rowing, getting their silver medal. Sarah,

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now head of the Olympic athletes commission in the UK, up waving

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away there. Gwen, I am trying to get them all in. We will talk much

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more about all of that, a huge cheer just went up from the crowds,

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particularly at the base of City Hall, they really have the best

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vantage point right now, because they're in full sight of the

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Gloriana and that cauldron burning bright there.

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Also, watching all of this with us today, the historian of the flame,

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Philip Barker, we have spoken many times through this torch relay and

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this is quite some fashion in which to end the relay, isn't it? This is

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arguably the most dramatic fashion. They had a boat in Sydney, but

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nothing as stylish as this. It began in the ancient Olympic ruins

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at the temple when the flame was lit on May 10th, came to Land's End

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and it was Ben aeubsly -- Ainsley, a sailor, who carried the flame and

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arriving here is important, because 1894 is when Tower Bridge was built,

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that was the year they decided to revive the Olympic Games and,

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therefore, it's an appropriate place. City Hall is where they're

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stowing the ceremony flag that Boris Johnson collected in Beijing

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and will be handed over to Rio after these Games. Over the road,

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the Tower of London where medals are kept for all the competitions

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of the Games of the 30th Olympiad. Kept very safe in the Tower of

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London. As indeed the flame was one week ago when it was brought to the

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Tower of London and that's where it was kept safe overnight for its

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first night in the host city. Jock, explain, because we are so

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lucky standing here on HMS Belfast, a flotilla that we are looking out

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at. This has been a three-stage flotilla today. Explain the other

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craft that have been involved. a three-stage flotilla, from

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Hampton Court. First of all, accompanied by the - - there are

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five skip rowing clubs. You have doubles with one cox. They're not

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sliding seats. They're flat seats. All can be a bit painful at times.

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Then as soon as we got down to the tideway, accompanied by members of

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London Youth Rowing and today the watermans cutters, which came about

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as a result of the great river race. A means of trying to introduce

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traditional rowing back on the river. The cutters there, normally

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rowed by some six people and you can either skull, one person, two

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two oars. There are 28 of these now. There's regular racing schedule for

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all these boats. Even there we have former Olympians, we have former

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record-breakers, people who have rowed oceans all taking part, all

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becoming part of this scene. This is what is so great about this, we

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are all part of this. 13 million people have watched the torch and

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seen and been part of the torch around. Here we have culminating in

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this incredible scene with the Queen's row barge.

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We will talk more over the course of the hour, thank you very much,

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for now. We will be keeping an eye on the Gloriana, of course.

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Sophie, we will head back east and rejoin you at the Olympic Park.

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Thank you very much. We will stay with those pictures, with me here

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is Jeremy Hunt, of course the Culture Secretary. Twoufl see those

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image -- wonderful to see those images of the Gloriana with the

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Olympic flame. Absolutely fantastic. The thing about that torch is it's

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really shown Britain at its best. On Friday, I was in the village I

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grew up in, in Surrey and the torch came through and it was like our

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own special Royal wedding moment happening in that village. It's

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done that in communities up and down the country. We think by the

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end of this perhaps a quarter of the population have lined the

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streets at some stage or another to see the torch. Incredible. Until

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even before yesterday it was millions, I think three million

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people according to Lord Coe who turned out in London alone to see

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the flame. Scotland, Wales, I think the thing about that torch and in

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fact the whole Olympics project is that it's bringing out the best in

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people and the best in the country and you see it in the 70,000

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volunteers involved in the project. The people who made that torch

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relay project such a success. The police, armed services, the

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thousands of people working for different companies and

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organisations. Everybody has a smile on their face. It feels like

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a magic has arrived in London. And indeed in the country, which is

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just a very, very special moment. was in Hyde Park last night when it

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arrived and the flame was run in there and some of the torch

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security team have accompanied it since it left Athens, were rather

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emotional. This evening, however, it arrives here at the stadium

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behind us, we are not sure where the cauldron will be, but that's

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going to be a huge moment for Britain, isn't it? That's an image

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that will be pronged around the -- projected around the world, up to a

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billion people could be watching. Or even more T will be the biggest

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single ad for Britain in our history. It's an incredible moment.

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We have a sort of national virtue of being modest sometimes, but this

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will not be a moment for modesty. This is going to be a moment when

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we have to bang the drum for all the things that we are proud of,

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the fact that we are the home of culture and literature from

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Shakespeare to Dickens, to Harry Potter. The fact that eight of the

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world's top ten sports are either invented or co-defied in Britain.

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The contribution we have made to democracy and freedom through the

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ages. So many of the big battles happened here and I know Danny

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Boyle will want to celebrate all of that and it's going to be a moment

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we can all feel in that quiet What a way to upon Danny Boyle's

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shoulders. Because this is the defining image? It is a big

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responsibility, but I think he will do it in a quirky, British way.

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There will be a lot of humour and a lot of fun. The world will see us

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as we are. But there will be those things we are proud of, the things

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Britain has done to shape the modern world, the big changes that

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have made the world what it is today. Sometimes we forget how much

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of a role Britain played. Thousands of people turning out along the

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riverside and the Thames watching the flame and right now. Britain,

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we are told is ready for these Games. Mitt Romney, the

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presidential hopeful yesterday expressed out. Are we ready?

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absolutely ready. A project of this Gail, you are going to have a few

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hitches, but we are over them now. He Jack Rudd, the President of the

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IOC said London is more ready than any other city he has seen before.

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We will prove Mitt Romney wrong. do have some hard acts to follow,

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Beijing being one of them? They have been many previous successful

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Olympics, but London is the only city in the world to host the

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Olympics three-times. We don't just have incredible sport, but

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incredible culture and we are one of the most cosmopolitan and

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exciting cities in the world. lot of people heard Big Ben ringing

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out this morning just after 8am to mark the official start of the

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Games. You were on board hate to miss Belfast and had a bit of an

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incident? I was ringing a bell in an excited way, and the bell

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collapsed in my hand and went flying off! I have always been a

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big fan of Hugh Donna Gill, and it was my own 2012 moment. It was a

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clanger, if you will excuse the pun. Let's go back to Jayne Hill who is

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by the river and watching proceedings.

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Even since we last spoke, I feel the crowds are swelling. We look

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down both sides of the Thames from our vantage point on board HMS

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Belfast, thousands and thousands of people really crowding every

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section of the water from so that you can see. This is the image from

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the lucky people who got here early enough to be on Tower Bridge itself.

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Still open to traffic, as you can see. But lining Tower Bridge right

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across its ban. What have you they have of the Gloriana, Gloriana and

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these final moments for the Olympic torch. The 17th day of the torch

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relay. Our guests are watching all of these proceedings. Just another

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word about Gloriana, a magnificent vessel, to the uninitiated such as

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myself. You think very beautiful, very majestic, but there is more to

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it than that? Unique, and British- built. Rediscovering the traditions

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of hundreds of years ago. That a vessel is actually based on an 18th

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century design. So going back to nobility when the royals were taken

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up and down the Thames. This was a highway. Here she is, through the

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efforts have of a few good people, we now eventually have a Royal

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barge once again, which will go on to do lots of charitable functions

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with the Royal Family. Something we should be intensely proud of. We

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have the national flags on board. Inside, on the panels inside we

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have 16 facts of the realms of the Commonwealth. A stunning example of

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Britain. I think we should all be taken aback about the speed with

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which these guys have got down here? Much earlier and much faster

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than expected. This is the crucial moments as we watch. That is 22-

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year-old Amber Charles. A beaming smile, as well she might. 22 years

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old from Newham in London, one of the Olympic boroughs. She is a

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basketball player. As we have seen, with a few torch-bearer has over

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the last 70 days, she has been involved with London's before the

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Olympics from the start. She has been involved from Singapore, that

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moment we remember at which it was revealed London had one false start

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she was one of the young ambassadors involved. In fact, she

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presented the IOC proposal, the British proposal, I should say, two

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members of the IOC back into 1004. Big cheers as she waves to the

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crowd. -- 2004. There is the Olympic torch lit from the cauldron.

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She is standing by the green ring, one of the five Olympic rings. At

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the base of city hall. Thousands and thousands of people watching,

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lining the route to on the South Bank of the Thames. No of course,

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over the last 70 days, and certainly the organisers of the

:20:48.:20:52.

torch relay have been keen to tell us one of the key elements of this

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relay was of course about getting everyone in Britain to have a

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chance to see the torch, but also they wanted to pick out inspiring

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individuals, what ever their age to be a torch-bearer. Amber Charles

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has been chosen in this instance as just one such. The youngest torch-

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bearer was just 12 years old. The oldest had turned 100 by the time

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she carried the flame. Amber Charles has been chosen because it

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is said she inspires young people to play sport and take up sport.

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Philip Barker, you have written about so many a Olympic Jenny's.

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Here we are, finally at the end of the 70 days, which started with the

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lighting of the flame in ancient Olympia in Greece. One assumes the

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organisers of this relay must be delighted with the last few weeks?

:21:56.:22:02.

They must be delighted. They are not revealing he will be the final

:22:02.:22:10.

court run there. It seemed such a long time ago she took a bit to the

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headquarters of the International Olympic Committee. And on that

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famous day in July 2005, when Shacklock announced London will

:22:18.:22:24.

have the Games, and it is worth remembering the Queen is the patron

:22:24.:22:31.

of the British Olympic Association's. -- he Jacques Rogge.

:22:31.:22:35.

She has connections through the Olympics with her family as well.

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We have seen the Royal seal of if approval because the flame went

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through Buckingham Palace yesterday. Windsor Castle a few weeks ago when

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the Queen had bad luck with the weather. But the Queen will become

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the first head of state to open two summer Olympic Games. She opened

:22:57.:23:01.

the 1976 Games in Montreal and did it in French. She will do it in her

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own country, her father did the last one. Jock Wisheart, a man who

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has spent his life to being on the water, how is it before you it is

:23:13.:23:18.

ending on the River Thames? It is a magic moment, it is such a

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privilege to be here on what is a bit of history happening. It is

:23:24.:23:30.

truly a unique occasion. To see them all standing there, saluting

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the flame. It will now go into city hall and sometime tonight we will

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find out - there has been a lot of things of course - if you ask me,

:23:41.:23:45.

you would have to kill me false start do you know more than you can

:23:45.:23:50.

let on? I do no more. But there is a lot of money riding on it from

:23:50.:23:55.

the bookies will stop to try to give you a sense, a little earlier

:23:55.:24:00.

this morning I was talking to the bridge master from Tower Bridge.

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Talking about his pride in having the Olympic rings hanging from

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Tower Bridge, as they have been for the last few months. He gave us a

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small clue, and he said Tower Bridge will be playing, as he put

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it, a small, but spectacular role in tonight's celebrations. The

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flame will be hidden away for a few hours this afternoon, and tonight,

:24:27.:24:32.

you are smiling, you know more than ideas. At some point tonight it

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will lead Tower Bridge and make its way East and will end up at the

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Olympic Park for the Opening Ceremony. So for the next few

:24:42.:24:50.

minutes, this is the last we will see of the flame until the key

:24:50.:25:00.
:25:00.:25:01.

Opening Ceremony tonight. From our vantage point, I can see from

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another camera, and the Charles, not being let go by the crowds,

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still waving and cheering. People taking photographs. Thousands and

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thousands of people lining the banks of the Thames this lunchtime,

:25:17.:25:25.

to mark the very last stage of the Olympic torch relay. And a

:25:26.:25:31.

reflection of England's Maritime heritage, the fact we are an island

:25:31.:25:39.

nation, that is one of the reasons that drove these final stages. But

:25:39.:25:49.
:25:49.:25:49.

is it being not about some of the sports to come? We do have lots of

:25:49.:25:53.

almost bankers, in terms of bringing home the gold medal.

:25:53.:26:01.

cannot use that word about medals. What delighted me today, is not

:26:01.:26:04.

only this historic journey recreating the past of going from

:26:04.:26:11.

hand and caught, the same passage royalty had taken years ago, but it

:26:11.:26:16.

passed by so many famous clubs who were the origins of some of the

:26:16.:26:24.

sports. Went back the Royal canoe Club. I am sure Tim Brabants and

:26:24.:26:30.

would have been there this morning. We went back the Thames Sailing

:26:30.:26:35.

Club -- went past the Thames Sailing Club. It was not only

:26:35.:26:44.

rowing, but all sailing sports false start this is as big as a

:26:44.:26:50.

pageant for the finish. Lovely to have you with us. Let's return to

:26:50.:26:56.

the Olympic Park. Sophie, for now on the River Thames, back to you.

:26:56.:27:01.

We will stay with those pictures, but the chief executive officer of

:27:02.:27:08.

the British Olympic Association, Andy Hunt joins me. The focus is on

:27:08.:27:12.

the Opening Ceremony, tomorrow it is all down to you? You are right,

:27:12.:27:18.

this is it, the end of the journey. But the rubber hits the road

:27:18.:27:24.

tomorrow, with the road cycle race. The athletes are really, really

:27:24.:27:29.

excited about tonight. But to be the home team at a Home Games in

:27:29.:27:33.

that Opening Ceremony, marching out last is something incredibly

:27:33.:27:39.

special. A lot of them will get on and compete. How are they? You have

:27:39.:27:44.

been at the athlete's village for two weeks, and a lot have been

:27:44.:27:50.

arriving over the past few days, what kind of spirit of a in?

:27:50.:27:56.

mood in the camp is fantastic. It is a united team. We had brought

:27:56.:28:00.

together 39 different sports to work together as one team. The

:28:00.:28:05.

feeling is fantastic. Everybody's plans have come together, they know

:28:05.:28:09.

what they need to do and now it is a case of getting out there and

:28:09.:28:15.

scoring goals, winning races, what ever they need to do. I believe we

:28:15.:28:19.

are ready to do that. The pressure is on their soldiers, not least

:28:19.:28:24.

because they did so well in Beijing? You are absolutely right,

:28:24.:28:30.

47 medals, 19 gold, 4th place in the medal table in Beijing was

:28:30.:28:35.

extraordinary. We shouldn't underestimate how difficult it will

:28:35.:28:40.

be to beat that. I do believe we will deliver more medals from all

:28:40.:28:46.

sports in over a century. I believe we will get more than 48 medals and

:28:46.:28:53.

we will do what ever we can to retain our place in the medal table.

:28:53.:29:00.

More gold medals amazing? I know every athlete in the team will give

:29:00.:29:07.

it their best shot. -- Beijing's. So many of them shooting for gold.

:29:07.:29:11.

If we focus on every day of competition, each athlete is

:29:11.:29:15.

focused on that race, that match they are participating in an the

:29:15.:29:19.

medal table will take care of itself. What about Phillips Idowu,

:29:19.:29:25.

do you think he will be taking part? Lots of confusion, but we

:29:26.:29:33.

really wants him to be back and fully fit and able to compete. He

:29:33.:29:38.

is a fantastic medal hope for us. He has a few more days to get fit.

:29:39.:29:43.

We are in discussions with his team to make sure we can provide any

:29:43.:29:48.

medical support we can. We have probably the top sports medical

:29:48.:29:54.

experts in the village with us. Have you spoken to him yourself?

:29:54.:29:57.

chief medical officer is in discussions with his team. You are

:29:57.:30:02.

confident he will be here? Injuries are difficult things, you never

:30:02.:30:06.

know how long. But everyone in the country would like to see him

:30:06.:30:16.

It's been a huge turnaround from Atlanta when we came home with one

:30:16.:30:22.

gold medal. 36th place in the table was a low point. I remember some

:30:22.:30:26.

historic comments by Matthew Pinsent about, we can't go on like

:30:27.:30:30.

this any more and we didn't. It changed. We won the Games. The

:30:30.:30:34.

investment that's gone into sport in this country is fantastic.

:30:34.:30:38.

Winning gold medals is not just about incredibly talented athletes,

:30:38.:30:41.

and we have lots of those, it's about the incredible coaches that

:30:41.:30:48.

we have and the whole system that supports them out there. I think

:30:48.:30:52.

sport's in a good place right now. Thank you very much for joining us.

:30:52.:30:58.

Let's go back to the River Thames now and Jane Hill on HMS Belfast.

:30:58.:31:03.

Thank you, Sophie. I am joined by the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson,

:31:03.:31:08.

who has run over to HMS Belfast. Welcome. Hello. From City Hall,

:31:08.:31:11.

where you were just watching. watching the torch, it's about to

:31:11.:31:16.

come in to City Hall. Then we are going to have a brief ceremony of

:31:17.:31:20.

some kind and we are then going to send it down river again, to a

:31:20.:31:25.

place that used to be an industrial wasteland and it's now the Olympic

:31:25.:31:28.

Park, it's an incredible moment for lots of people who have been

:31:28.:31:31.

working hard on this for a long time. On the scale of nervousness

:31:31.:31:39.

to excitement, where are you right now? Well, the sort of - it's

:31:39.:31:43.

creaking towards the red zone now. There's no doubt. But it's an

:31:43.:31:51.

extraordinary thing to watch. The torch seems to have this benign

:31:51.:31:55.

contagion in people and it gets people. It moves them in ways that

:31:55.:31:58.

you simply don't expect. Some people remain immune, I mean, a

:31:58.:32:03.

famous broadcaster from Sky News, I won't embarrass by mentioning by

:32:03.:32:07.

name, tells me he is invulnerable to this. But most people I meet

:32:07.:32:13.

they get caught up in it and it's quite primitive. Just one week ago

:32:13.:32:18.

we were there over at the Tower of London, we saw the flame arrive,

:32:18.:32:22.

abseil down from the helicopter. I wonder what your thoughts have been

:32:22.:32:25.

as the Mayor of London, just in the last week, purely in in terms of

:32:25.:32:29.

the way people in the capital n the host city, have turned out as

:32:29.:32:33.

indeed they have today? Shall I give you the figures, we are

:32:33.:32:37.

talking so far until the crack of dawn this morning, 3.9 million

:32:37.:32:41.

people who had already come to watch the torch with their own eyes.

:32:41.:32:47.

So, probably looking at the crowds today, we must be up at 4.5 million.

:32:47.:32:52.

Five million at least by the time the thing is over. That is a

:32:52.:32:55.

substantial proportion, more than half the population of the city.

:32:55.:33:02.

London is seven, eight million. A big, big thing is happening. I

:33:02.:33:08.

think future socialologists will want to get what feelings are

:33:08.:33:13.

evoked by this flickering burning gas. Some cynics you mentioned

:33:13.:33:18.

might say but a lot of those are tourists, London is always

:33:18.:33:22.

attractive to tourists, you don't have to stage an Olympics at this

:33:22.:33:28.

time of year. Let's hope so. We obviously are hoping to benefit

:33:28.:33:32.

from tourist revenue, and also the objective of this exercise is not

:33:32.:33:36.

just to throw a great party and have a great Games, which is tral

:33:36.:33:40.

to it -- central to it, tpwou get investment in our city and it mean

:33:40.:33:44.

that is the world looks at London and forms a favourable impression,

:33:44.:33:48.

I am all for it. The next two weeks are crucial to forming that

:33:49.:33:52.

impression as well? If it all goes smoothly and we are discussing this

:33:52.:33:58.

after the closing ceremony then you will be a happy man? I am not going

:33:58.:34:01.

to claim there there won't be imperfections problems, of course

:34:01.:34:05.

there are going to be things that, you know, the media will rightly

:34:05.:34:09.

want to pick up on, but overall, I hope it will go very well indeed

:34:09.:34:14.

and we are going to use City Hall as a continuous kind of you - we

:34:14.:34:19.

have created lots of wonderful models of parts of London that are

:34:19.:34:22.

now very, very attractive for investment. We had a thing in

:34:22.:34:27.

Lancaster House yesterday with all those global titans, they need no

:34:27.:34:32.

persuading that London is the greatest city on earth and has an

:34:32.:34:36.

amazing future. We are located between the great Asian growing

:34:36.:34:39.

economies, and North America. We have the right time zone, the right

:34:39.:34:42.

language, a young, dynamic population. We are unlike any other

:34:42.:34:46.

city in Europe in that we have a growing population. We have several

:34:46.:34:56.
:34:56.:34:57.

parts of the London economy that are showing amazing dine

:34:57.:35:02.

dineamicism. For someone listening to you, for the sake of argument in

:35:02.:35:06.

Aberdeen, Belfast, how does that benefit them? It does, and I don't

:35:06.:35:16.
:35:16.:35:17.

want to sound manically, London- centric. The evidence is if you get

:35:17.:35:22.

London working and moving you thoep drive the rest of the UK. We export

:35:22.:35:30.

about �29 billion of -- �19 billion of tax a year to the rest of the

:35:30.:35:35.

country. I hope that people understand that

:35:35.:35:38.

argument. All right, as we watch the Gloriana

:35:38.:35:41.

move away, a cracking opening ceremony tonight, have you been

:35:41.:35:47.

privy to the dress rehearsals? haven't seen the rehearsals. I did

:35:47.:35:50.

see rushes ages ago. I can't tell you what's going to happen t would

:35:50.:35:54.

be wrong. You would be sacked! Exactly right, but it's going to be

:35:54.:35:57.

fantastic. Enjoy the opening ceremony, Mayor of London, thank

:35:58.:36:03.

you very much for joining us here on board HMS Belfast.

:36:03.:36:09.

Gloriana pulls away from the Olympic rings. Cheers from the many,

:36:09.:36:19.
:36:19.:36:25.

We will stay with these pictures of this fabulous vessel, if we

:36:25.:36:30.

possibly can. Let's also talk Olympic matters,

:36:30.:36:35.

tickets, let's head to our sports correspondent Joe Wilson, because

:36:35.:36:40.

he is at Lord's. Terribly hard to hear myself think here on the

:36:40.:36:42.

Thames, perhaps easier where you are.

:36:42.:36:46.

It is a little quieter, because this is the first example of London

:36:46.:36:50.

Olympic sport. This is a preliminary round of the archery

:36:50.:36:55.

competition. You can maybe make out the world's best female Archers

:36:55.:36:59.

behind me. There have been problems outside. To be clear, a lot of

:36:59.:37:01.

archery authorities made it absolutely clear that today's

:37:02.:37:06.

action was not open to the public. But, it was widely advertised as

:37:06.:37:09.

unticketed. That's an interesting word to interpret. A lot of people,

:37:09.:37:13.

I would say hundreds, interpreted unticketed as meaning it was

:37:13.:37:16.

basically a free for all. That they could arrive at their leisure with

:37:17.:37:22.

families and come and watch. There were dozens of really quite

:37:22.:37:25.

disgruntled Archery fans outside this morning. For example, the

:37:25.:37:30.

Gibson family from Oregon in the United States and were left feeling

:37:30.:37:40.
:37:40.:37:44.

Thank you very much for now, Joe Wilson at Lord's cricket ground. We

:37:44.:37:48.

will assess that and see how that goes over the course of the day.

:37:48.:37:54.

Back here on the River Thames it is the very closing elements of a 70-

:37:54.:37:58.

day torch relay. This, if you are just joining us,

:37:58.:38:04.

is the Gloriana. Her Majesty's row barge, it has just delivered the

:38:05.:38:11.

last torchbearer of the 70-day relay, a 22-year-old young

:38:11.:38:14.

basketball player, Amber Charles from Newham, east London. Now the

:38:14.:38:19.

flame is kept hidden effectively for a few hours, and it will be

:38:20.:38:24.

taken from Tower Bridge to the opening ceremony tonight for the

:38:24.:38:28.

last 70 days we have focused so much on the torchbearers, their

:38:29.:38:36.

stories, but also the torch itself. I am delighted that the designers

:38:36.:38:42.

of said torch are with us here on board HMS Belfast. Gentlemen,

:38:42.:38:48.

lovely to have you with us, Jay and Edward, thank you very much for

:38:48.:38:51.

being here. It was your studio that won the commission. The torch that

:38:51.:38:54.

you are holding that we have become familiar with and I should say

:38:54.:38:59.

congratulations, because it's the design museum's design of the year,

:38:59.:39:03.

I think I am right in saying. That's correct, yeah. When you were

:39:03.:39:07.

first asked or first won the commission, goodness, where were

:39:07.:39:13.

you on the scale of excitement versus anxiety? Amazing. They did a

:39:14.:39:18.

bit of an X Factor on us and lulled us - they made us believe we hadn't

:39:18.:39:23.

won it and revealed it to us. We incredibly excited and jumping in

:39:23.:39:27.

the air. You were on a flight at the time. I missed that X Factor

:39:27.:39:30.

moment. I was on a flight to New York. I had a text from Jay saying

:39:30.:39:36.

we have got it. Incredible. actual design process, the meetings

:39:36.:39:43.

with people who I assume within the authorities gave you a sense of

:39:43.:39:48.

weight, price, what they wanted to transmit. The project, when we were

:39:48.:39:51.

asked to do the project, we were given a massive briefing document

:39:51.:39:56.

which had everything from all the previous weights and sizes t had

:39:56.:39:59.

weather conditions that you would expect to see in England or Britain

:39:59.:40:06.

in the summer. We had rain, high wind speeds. It was a very

:40:06.:40:08.

comprehensive document. We had a good starting point. It was really

:40:08.:40:11.

important to us that the design somehow captured something of the

:40:11.:40:14.

history of the Games and something of the history of the Games in the

:40:14.:40:20.

UK and also referred directly to the relay itself and captured -

:40:20.:40:24.

somehow had a narrative behind it. That's what is informed the design

:40:24.:40:28.

of the torch. Remind us, some people may know the story, but

:40:28.:40:32.

there is relevance to the number of holes. On the body of the torch

:40:32.:40:37.

there are 8,000, and they relate to one for each runner, 8,000 runners

:40:37.:40:42.

and 8,000 miles. The other distinctive, I suppose, part of the

:40:42.:40:47.

design, is this triangular shape and that relates to the three times

:40:47.:40:53.

the Games has been in London. 1908, 1948 and 2012. The holes, as well

:40:53.:40:57.

as representing the torchbearers, it also makes the torch light and

:40:57.:41:01.

transparent so that you can see everything going on inside. If you

:41:01.:41:06.

hold it up to the light. One final thing is the colour. We decided on

:41:06.:41:09.

gold, because obviously gold is the colour of attainment for the games

:41:09.:41:13.

and we felt all the torch relay participants should have their

:41:13.:41:17.

moment to carry gold. We were surprised there wasn't a torch

:41:17.:41:21.

previously that was gold T seemed like the obvious colour to us.

:41:21.:41:24.

final thought, I have lost count of the number of people I have

:41:24.:41:27.

interviewed in the last 70 days who have had the honour of carrying one

:41:27.:41:31.

of these and they use that word, honour and pride. I wonder whether

:41:31.:41:35.

you have had feedback individually from torchbearers, what do people

:41:35.:41:39.

say to you? We had e-mails even today, people saying it's been a

:41:39.:41:42.

privilege, good job. Also e-mails from abroad. People who haven't

:41:42.:41:46.

seen it in the flesh, and seen it on television, said fantastic

:41:46.:41:52.

design, we love it. We were slightly lucky that we designed

:41:52.:41:56.

something that's been well received. We weren't given that long, we gave

:41:56.:41:59.

us ten days originally. That's nothing! A bit of luck there, I

:41:59.:42:05.

think. Edward and Jay, good to have you with us, thank you very much.

:42:05.:42:10.

The designers of the Olympic torch. Let's head to the Olympic Park.

:42:10.:42:13.

Let's cross to my colleague Jon Sopel.

:42:13.:42:19.

Jane, thank you very much. It feels like the atmosphere has changed in

:42:19.:42:23.

the Olympic Park. It's twitchy, a little bit nervy. We have had

:42:23.:42:27.

security checking our passes, in the broadcast centre lots of people

:42:27.:42:32.

scurrying around. Lots of testing, testing, one, two going on behind

:42:32.:42:37.

us in the stadium which will open the doors at 5.00pm so the public

:42:37.:42:42.

can stream in, 80,000 of them, to watch the opening ceremony. What an

:42:42.:42:46.

evening it promises to be. What a lot of responsibility on the

:42:46.:42:53.

shoulders of those behind it, well, we got a little taste last night of

:42:53.:42:56.

what might be in it. It's worth having a look at those pictures

:42:56.:43:00.

again. We have seen, for example, the resurrection of the pop band

:43:01.:43:06.

Mud, from the 1970s. Here is a little bit where they're

:43:06.:43:08.

celebrating the National Health Service and it's going to be a

:43:08.:43:12.

celebration of this island's story, if you like. The history of Britain

:43:12.:43:16.

but with contemporary music, classical music, with dance, and

:43:16.:43:20.

all the rest. It's not going to be Beijing four years ago. It's going

:43:20.:43:23.

to be a very British take. And those wonderful pictures of

:43:23.:43:27.

cyclists going around with wings on their shoulders. I have spoken to

:43:28.:43:31.

people who have seen the rehearsals and they've all said it's great,

:43:31.:43:36.

but it doesn't quite make sense. Why? Because there is still lots of

:43:36.:43:38.

unknowns. Still all sorts of rumours about the surprises that

:43:38.:43:43.

might yet be to come. Well, Danny Boyle when he spoke a short time

:43:43.:43:47.

ago wasn't revealing what the surprises might be but he was

:43:47.:43:49.

looking forward to this evening's event.

:43:49.:43:54.

It's been a long road and we are almost there. I mean, what you

:43:54.:43:58.

think about really is you think about the volunteers really,

:43:58.:44:01.

because the thing about directors is that they just sit at the back

:44:01.:44:07.

in the end, you know. This is a live performance. It's the actors

:44:07.:44:11.

and in our case they're volunteers, and have to get up there and do it.

:44:11.:44:15.

Any kind of nervousness I feel for them, it's for them really. Because

:44:15.:44:20.

my nerves are not important. The excitement I feel about it is

:44:20.:44:23.

obviously the excitement I think they feel. Yeah, looking forward to

:44:23.:44:29.

it really. Whatever comes our way comes our way, because it's live

:44:29.:44:34.

and it's a one time only. I will never do one again. It is

:44:34.:44:39.

extraordinary to be involved in one. I saw Danny Boyle earlier this week

:44:39.:44:45.

with Steven Daldry, they were coming to the rehearsals, and they

:44:45.:44:48.

looked the most relaxed men you could think of. They are projecting,

:44:49.:44:53.

not just to the audience, but around the world, to this sort of

:44:53.:44:56.

billion-plus audience that will be watching, what Britain is. How

:44:56.:45:02.

Britain sees itself, how Britain would like to be seen. We are

:45:02.:45:05.

hearing a fantastic selection of music from the stadium now. We have

:45:05.:45:13.

had everything from Elgar and the variations which you associate with

:45:13.:45:19.

Remembrance Sunday, to The Who, and everything in between. So, it

:45:19.:45:27.

promises to be a spect spectacle tonight. As I have been saying,

:45:27.:45:30.

there are surprises, things we do not know about what's going to

:45:30.:45:34.

happen this evening, who might be appearing and where. I think that

:45:34.:45:38.

will add to the sense of excitement. Of course, the other big thing we

:45:38.:45:42.

don't know about, even though you have been struggling to find out

:45:42.:45:45.

determinedly this morning, Jane, who is going to be lighting the

:45:45.:45:49.

cauldron? We have no idea. But here in the Olympic Park everyone is

:45:49.:45:52.

scurrying around. The atmosphere has changed totally. People just

:45:52.:45:56.

want to get on with it and there is that anxious feeling that something

:45:56.:46:06.
:46:06.:46:09.

We still do not know. We are just hearing the Prime Minister has

:46:09.:46:13.

announced that there will be 17 tickets to the Opening Ceremony

:46:13.:46:17.

tonight which will be donated to people who have been selected,

:46:17.:46:21.

being described as people who have contributed particularly to their

:46:21.:46:26.

community. Again it takes us back to everything we have heard, all of

:46:26.:46:31.

the stories we have heard about torchbearers. 17 tickets to be

:46:31.:46:38.

given away. That leaves a few spare, we were talking yesterday there are

:46:38.:46:45.

tickets available at the top two prices. Some tickets will be given

:46:45.:46:50.

away. As they left, the lovely designers of the Olympic torch were

:46:50.:46:55.

just telling me they have just been told they will be going to

:46:55.:46:59.

tonight's Opening Ceremony. I would imagine they would be going anyway,

:46:59.:47:05.

but apparently not. But they have just found out they are. A few

:47:05.:47:09.

formalities to go through this afternoon before we go to the

:47:09.:47:13.

Opening Ceremony. There will be a reception at Buckingham Palace for

:47:13.:47:18.

heads of states and governments and probably a few others besides.

:47:18.:47:24.

Let's cross to Philippa Thomas with more on that.

:47:24.:47:29.

We are expecting 95 heads of state, or at least heads of delegation,

:47:29.:47:35.

monarchs, presidents and prime ministers. Migrate deal of planning

:47:35.:47:43.

goes into these things, as you would expect. -- a great deal. We

:47:43.:47:49.

were both he yesterday for part of the torch relay where the torch was

:47:49.:47:52.

run in behind the railings of Buckingham Palace and we saw Kate,

:47:53.:48:00.

William and Harry as GB -- Team GB ambassadors welcomes the torch to

:48:00.:48:04.

Buckingham Palace. Members of the Royal family will be at the Opening

:48:04.:48:11.

Ceremony. Let's get a bit more on the roles the royals are playing,

:48:11.:48:13.

and the Royal Family at Buckingham Palace is always part of the

:48:13.:48:23.

package. I'll Royal Correspondent is with me now. They have been

:48:23.:48:30.

important to Britain hosting Games? She is the most senior State in the

:48:30.:48:35.

world. -- head of state in the world. Everyone is keen to meet

:48:35.:48:39.

Queen Elizabeth in this diamond jubilee year. The fact they can

:48:39.:48:42.

come and have his reception at Buckingham Palace and make the key

:48:43.:48:52.
:48:53.:49:00.

-- Queen will be memorable. 95 people, with their partners. The

:49:00.:49:05.

Prime Minister of France. But it will be a bitter sweet occasion on

:49:05.:49:11.

him, because this could have happened in Paris. The President of

:49:11.:49:14.

France will be coming later during the Games. The Prime Minister of

:49:14.:49:19.

Russia, the President will be coming later. He is particularly

:49:19.:49:23.

interested in the weight lifting. There will be a speech by the Queen,

:49:23.:49:29.

a speech by Jacques Rogge, of course. Most of them will be taken

:49:29.:49:36.

by coach to the Olympic Park. it is interesting, you would expect

:49:36.:49:41.

there would be a motorcade, with bodyguards, but you cannot have all

:49:41.:49:46.

of those limousines crossing London on this night? It is not unusual

:49:46.:49:52.

for them to go on a coach. The regular thing at these Olympic

:49:52.:49:58.

occasions. Very often there were a family travelled by coach, we did

:49:58.:50:02.

have coach loads of them travelling for the Royal Family. It is not

:50:02.:50:07.

exceptional. He would love to over here some of those conversations?

:50:07.:50:12.

don't think there is a seating plan, so it is whoever you find yourself

:50:12.:50:18.

next to. All sorts of diplomatic possibilities and diplomatic

:50:18.:50:24.

conversations taking place. That is one of the things of the Games, you

:50:24.:50:27.

have the secretary general of the United Nations, big world players

:50:27.:50:32.

coming together, almost without exception. All sorts of

:50:32.:50:35.

conversations can be taking place within the context of a relaxed

:50:35.:50:41.

atmosphere such as this. Who knows, perhaps a bit of serious business

:50:41.:50:45.

being done as well as the entertainment. Be to is about sport

:50:45.:50:50.

and politics, but business behind the scenes. And at a Lancaster

:50:50.:50:55.

House, there will be a series of summits and convinces to welcome

:50:55.:51:00.

Investment? Everyone would yards away, the United Kingdom taking

:51:00.:51:05.

advantage of the fact there are so many diplomatic and business

:51:05.:51:10.

players, chief executive, chairman of major corporations here. And the

:51:10.:51:15.

Prime Minister making a very big effort to take advantage of the

:51:15.:51:19.

situation to encourage inward investment into the United Kingdom.

:51:20.:51:26.

A very important by-products Games are here in London. As we look at

:51:26.:51:29.

the part being played, especially by the younger roles, the Duke and

:51:29.:51:34.

Duchess of Cambridge, Prince Harry, they were very prominent yesterday

:51:34.:51:39.

as the torch came in and they will be under the spotlight? It comes

:51:39.:51:44.

back to what you said earlier, the world family are unimportant

:51:44.:51:49.

element within the UK propositions. Not just the Queen herself, but the

:51:49.:51:53.

younger members, the more glamourous members of the Royal

:51:53.:51:57.

Family. We will wait for the limousines to come in and the

:51:57.:52:02.

coaches to go out. That's all for now at Buckingham Palace.

:52:02.:52:08.

Philippa Thomas. Let's reflect for a moment on the other way in which

:52:08.:52:12.

the day began, not just on the water, but it with a national bell

:52:12.:52:18.

ringing. 12 minutes past eight this morning, the bell ringing began,

:52:18.:52:24.

part of an idea from an artist to celebrate the day of the Opening

:52:24.:52:33.

Ceremony. Let's take a look at what that meant.

:52:33.:52:40.

On the Thames, a special Olympic day dawned.

:52:40.:52:44.

And at 8:12am, Big Ben chimed and began and Nationwide cacophony of

:52:44.:52:54.
:52:54.:52:55.

Belz. -- Belz. From Wales, to Edinburgh. East

:52:55.:53:05.
:53:05.:53:06.

Yorkshire. Ring are Mary Bell's. Weymouth in Dorset. The instruction

:53:06.:53:10.

was to ring all the bells as quickly and loudly as possible for

:53:10.:53:18.

three minutes. It was very tiring because they are quite heavy.

:53:18.:53:22.

little noisy overture to the Games. The Olympic minister was there to

:53:22.:53:30.

tell us. When things don't go according to plan, London will cope.

:53:30.:53:40.
:53:40.:53:42.

My goodness me! No one was hurt. Everyone was smiling about it.

:53:42.:53:47.

Closing thoughts from the River Thames because we have witnessed a

:53:47.:53:51.

remarkable pageants down the river, ending here at Tower Bridge just in

:53:51.:53:56.

the last half-an-hour. Let's get a final thought with Jock Wisheart,

:53:56.:54:01.

who has been with us all morning. A man who has devoted his life to the

:54:01.:54:09.

water, and this river. What a way to end this relay? I am gobsmacked.

:54:09.:54:17.

Watching the Gloriana paddle off. But an idea of Lord Sterling to

:54:17.:54:22.

have that here. Everything is about Britain. We are Maritime nations

:54:22.:54:28.

will stop in London we have this amazing link with the river. We

:54:28.:54:32.

brought this altogether in this final moments, culminating in the

:54:32.:54:38.

torch being given over with this amazing spectacle. And the crowd,

:54:38.:54:43.

they must rivalled the pageant. was amazing. And also, this

:54:43.:54:49.

opportunity for some of our past and very deserving Olympic

:54:49.:54:55.

medalists to have their little moment. They will say, I was here.

:54:55.:55:01.

Does it sound special? Just remarkable. And there are still

:55:01.:55:05.

thousands of people lining the banks of the Thames. The Gloriana

:55:06.:55:10.

has gone. They will be staying here because they will be expecting

:55:10.:55:15.

something else to happen. We know Tower Bridge will be playing a role

:55:15.:55:20.

in tonight ceremony. There is a little secret to be unveiled.

:55:20.:55:27.

won't say any more! You have been very discreet. There is a key,

:55:27.:55:32.

final element. We have watched the torch for 70 days are from Lands

:55:32.:55:38.

End, to Tower Bridge this lunchtime. All will be revealed in a few hours.

:55:38.:55:43.

We know Tower Bridge will be playing a role in some way for

:55:43.:55:47.

start the Olympic torch is hidden away for the next few hours. And

:55:47.:55:51.

according to the bridge master of Tower Bridge, he said the bridge

:55:51.:55:56.

will be playing a small but spectacular and significant role in

:55:56.:56:01.

tonight's ceremony. Spectacular was the word he used. It will make its

:56:01.:56:07.

way the East to the Olympic Park in Stretford for Danny Boyle's Opening

:56:07.:56:14.

Ceremony, which begins and we can all watch from 9pm this evening on

:56:14.:56:24.

BBC One. What a 70 day relay it has been. Thousands of people lining

:56:24.:56:30.

the banks of the Thames. Organisers estimating 12 million people at

:56:30.:56:40.
:56:40.:56:43.

least have seen the Olympic flame on it 70 day journey. Let us remind

:56:44.:56:52.

you of the final few scenes of this Olympic journey. We can reflect on

:56:52.:57:02.
:57:02.:57:41.

this journey. From the River Thames, It is not a bag gold medals, racing

:57:41.:57:50.

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