:00:13. > :00:16.It's been seven years in the making, but tonight London's 2012 Olympic
:00:16. > :00:19.games will officially get underway. Up to a billion people around the
:00:19. > :00:22.globe are expected to watch as the stadium is brought to life for the
:00:22. > :00:26.Opening Ceremony for what's promised to be a spectacular show.
:00:26. > :00:30.So much of our history has led us to this moment and I think what I
:00:30. > :00:40.hope we are able to say to the world is that when our time came we
:00:40. > :00:41.
:00:41. > :00:50.This morning Big Ben led the way as thousands of bells across the UK
:00:50. > :01:00.rang out to mark the official start of the Games. But for the Culture
:01:00. > :01:05.
:01:05. > :01:08.Secretary, Jeremy Hunt, not everything went according to plan.
:01:08. > :01:11.Carried along the Thames onboard the Gloriana, the Olympic flame has
:01:11. > :01:12.reached Tower Bridge. Tonight it will end its 70-day journey at the
:01:12. > :01:15.Olympic Stadium. Forces loyal to President Assad
:01:15. > :01:18.have renewed their aerial bombardment of Syria's biggest city.
:01:18. > :01:23.Troubled bank Barclays faces a new investigation as it announces a 13%
:01:23. > :01:27.rise in half-year profits. Later on BBC London, the dawn of a
:01:27. > :01:37.new Olympics - the waiting is over as this regenerated area of East
:01:37. > :01:46.
:01:46. > :01:50.London prepares to host the Good afternoon, and welcome to the
:01:50. > :01:53.BBC news at 1.00pm from London's Olympic Park. In nine hours' time
:01:53. > :01:57.the stadium behind me will explode into life as the Opening Ceremony
:01:57. > :02:01.for London's 2012 Games gets underway. This morning the chimes
:02:01. > :02:05.of Big Ben led the way as thousands of bells - big and small - rang out
:02:05. > :02:09.across Britain to mark the start of the 2012 Olympics. After 70 days
:02:09. > :02:12.travelling all over the UK, the Olympic flame made its way up the
:02:12. > :02:18.River Thames from Hampton Court to Tower Bridge on its way to its
:02:18. > :02:27.final destination, the cauldron inside the stadium. Lord Coe said
:02:27. > :02:30.he was confident Britain would put on a great Games for the world.
:02:30. > :02:33.Around four billion people are expected to tune in to watch the
:02:33. > :02:35.Olympic and Paralympic Games. 11 million tickets have been made
:02:35. > :02:37.available for people to fill the Olympic venues.
:02:37. > :02:46.And those spectators will be watching almost 14,700 hundred
:02:46. > :02:54.sportsmen and women taking part in the Games. Our Olympics
:02:54. > :02:58.correspondent is inside the Park right now. I am excited - it's
:02:58. > :03:01.building behind me. Music has been blaring out around the Park, but
:03:01. > :03:11.there's not much they can change now. A countdown that was years,
:03:11. > :03:13.then months, then days is now just a matter of hours.
:03:13. > :03:19.Celebrations in Singapore for confirmation of a party that's been
:03:19. > :03:23.seven years in the planning. Those who jumped in the air that day will
:03:23. > :03:26.tonight begin to find out if their long wait has been worthwhile. How
:03:26. > :03:33.the Olympic site has been transformed since the day the bid
:03:33. > :03:37.was won in July 2005 - first, demolition, and then construction -
:03:37. > :03:43.the largest project in Europe. The results are impressive. In just a
:03:43. > :03:47.matter of hours, the eyes of the world will turn to this stadium.
:03:47. > :03:50.They'll see a show which the director, Danny Boyle, promises
:03:50. > :03:54.will be spectacular, from the short sequence of footage which is
:03:54. > :03:58.released to the BBC, it's clear it's going to be a ceremony with a
:03:58. > :04:02.very British feel. Looking forward to it, really, and whatever comes
:04:03. > :04:06.our way comes our way because it's - it will be - it's live, and it's
:04:06. > :04:10.a one-time only. So - I'll never do one again, but - it is
:04:10. > :04:14.extraordinary to be involved in one. One man has led the way throughout
:04:14. > :04:18.the past seven years and is best placed to put the importance of
:04:18. > :04:22.tonight into context. I don't want to overstate it, and we do live in
:04:22. > :04:28.a country that's probably shared some of the most extraordinary
:04:28. > :04:32.historic moments with the world, but I do think that so much of our
:04:32. > :04:37.history has led us to this moment, and I do think that really what - I
:04:37. > :04:44.suppose what I hope we're able to say to the world is that, you know,
:04:44. > :04:46.when our time came, we did it right. America's First Lady is in London
:04:46. > :04:52.for the Opening Ceremony. Michelle Obama spent the morning with some
:04:52. > :04:57.of her country's athletes. Every few years, these Games bring pride,
:04:57. > :05:01.excitement and wonder to millions of people around the world, and
:05:01. > :05:06.that must mean so much to all of you being part of giving so many
:05:06. > :05:09.people that much hope. It's not giving too much away to tell you
:05:09. > :05:13.there will be fireworks tonight. They're already in place on the
:05:13. > :05:19.water. Security is, of course, tight, but everything seems to be
:05:19. > :05:24.going according to plan. I would think that in terms of readiness,
:05:24. > :05:29.these Games equal the readiness of Sydney and Beijing, definitely, to
:05:29. > :05:34.speak about the most recent Games, but again, the proof of the pudding
:05:34. > :05:41.is in the eating, so maybe ask me the same question at the press
:05:41. > :05:45.conference at the Closing Ceremony. By then, all these venues should
:05:46. > :05:50.have had their own special Olympic moments. Heroes will have been
:05:50. > :05:56.created. Favourites will have been beaten. It's called "the greatest
:05:56. > :05:58.show on earth." It's in London, and it's about to begin. CHEERING AND
:05:58. > :06:02.APPLAUSE One of the rehearsals for the Opening Ceremony on Monday
:06:02. > :06:09.evening, so I have had a bit of a sneak preview. You might hear the
:06:09. > :06:14.music again coming up behind me, but I thought then - you look up at
:06:14. > :06:17.the sky and what a difference it's going to make to the ceremony if it
:06:17. > :06:20.doesn't rain. I am told it's not going to rain, what fantastic news
:06:20. > :06:26.for Danny Boyle. As far as tickets are concerned, there are still some
:06:26. > :06:30.tickets left, but at the top bracket it's �2,012. They're down
:06:30. > :06:36.to the last 50, so they're confident it will end up being a
:06:36. > :06:43.sell-out this evening. Thank you very much.
:06:43. > :06:47.This morning the Olympic Torch made its way along the the Royal row
:06:47. > :06:50.barge the Gloriana to Tower Bridge. Tonight it will end its journey in
:06:50. > :06:52.the Olympic Stadium. It has had a spectacular journey long the Thames,
:06:52. > :06:55.setting off from Hampton Court at 7.30am this morning after being
:06:55. > :07:03.carried onboard by the Olympic rowing champion Sir Matthew Pinsent.
:07:03. > :07:08.Our correspondent Robert Hall has followed its progress.
:07:08. > :07:15.Yes, Sophie, we've talked about finish lines a lot during this
:07:15. > :07:18.journey during these 70 days. This is it. This is where Amber Charles,
:07:18. > :07:23.the last torch bearer of the flame stood short while ago after that
:07:23. > :07:27.16-mile journey down river. The Gloriana accompanied by all types
:07:27. > :07:31.of traditional boats, gigs, rowing boats from around London and
:07:31. > :07:37.finally the water cutting men who have plied these waters for
:07:37. > :07:43.hundreds of years, arriving here at this late stage of a great journey.
:07:43. > :07:47.One flame - a bush fire of excitement, which spread far
:07:47. > :07:52.quicker than anyone had imagined. From the moment Ben Ainslie run a
:07:52. > :07:56.number one jogged away from Lands End changes reaction had begun. The
:07:56. > :08:01.comments of the crowds in those early hours hinting at the surprise
:08:01. > :08:03.which was in store. I am really excited about the Olympics. It's a
:08:03. > :08:11.once-in-a-lifetime experience, so it's wonderful for Great Britain.
:08:12. > :08:16.In Plymouth that evening, 20,000 people packed the place, an event
:08:16. > :08:20.brought to a global audience via the internet was suddenly a hot
:08:20. > :08:29.topic. We were all drawn in by the personal stories at the relay's
:08:29. > :08:35.heart, Garvey Evans, defying all the odds, having cancer, to finish
:08:35. > :08:40.on his feet. This torch bearer, who has
:08:40. > :08:45.Parkinson's, were willed on by those around him.
:08:45. > :08:49.Most days brought images which held our attention. The relay zig-zagged
:08:49. > :08:56.its way up Snowden, travelled by boat, cable car and mountain bike
:08:56. > :09:00.in Scotland, similar billionised a growing stability and new
:09:00. > :09:04.friendships north and south of the Irish border, and sprinkled among
:09:04. > :09:08.those who had been given their moment to shine were the stars of
:09:08. > :09:12.showbiz and of sport. Sir Cliff Richard brightening the
:09:12. > :09:19.unseasonable weather. Venus Williams and Andy Murray performing
:09:19. > :09:27.a torch kiss at Wimbledon. Team GB standardbearer Sir Chris How. This
:09:27. > :09:30.week in London, a 101-year-old man was mobbed as he completed his run.
:09:30. > :09:33.Yesterday evening as the shadowed lengthened, the flame received a
:09:33. > :09:38.Royal welcome at Buckingham Palace before travelling the last half
:09:38. > :09:43.mile into Hyde Park where 60,000 watched it ignite the caldron. The
:09:43. > :09:47.road stage of its journey was over, but there was to be water-borne
:09:47. > :09:52.finale. This morning the flame round its way around Hampton Court
:09:52. > :09:56.taking in the maze and heading for the river. Olympic gold medallist
:09:56. > :10:00.Matthew Pinsent taking it to the heart of the 90-strong flotilla
:10:00. > :10:05.assembled by did man who helped plan the Jubilee pageant. For those
:10:05. > :10:11.who crowded the banks and bridges this was one last glimpse of the
:10:11. > :10:17.flame before it performs the task the world awaits.
:10:17. > :10:20.Here we go. Well, I suppose it is, in a way, a production, this, if
:10:20. > :10:24.you think back over the past weeks. You have seen fantastic locations,
:10:24. > :10:29.a huge cast involving all sorts of people from all walks of life, and
:10:29. > :10:32.this was the finale, a last chance for those thousands of people on
:10:32. > :10:35.the bridges and the banks to glimpse the flame before it
:10:35. > :10:39.performs the task that the world is waiting for. Sophie?
:10:39. > :10:45.Thank you very much. This morning bells all over Britain
:10:45. > :10:48.rang out for three minutes to mark the start of the games tonight.
:10:48. > :10:51.They were led by Big Ben, which chimed about 40 times - the first
:10:51. > :10:55.time it has rung outside its regular hours since the funeral of
:10:55. > :11:02.King George VI in 1952. And it was joined by thousands of bells - big
:11:02. > :11:10.and small - all over the UK. Our correspondent David Sillito reports.
:11:10. > :11:20.Down on the Thames, a special Olympic day dawned. And at 8.12am,
:11:20. > :11:21.
:11:21. > :11:31.Big Ben chimed and began a nationwide cacophony of bells.
:11:31. > :11:33.
:11:33. > :11:38.St David's in Wales, Edinburgh, Beverly in East Yorkshire. Ring our
:11:38. > :11:44.merry bells. Up in Dorset. The instruction was to ring all the
:11:44. > :11:47.bells as quickly and as loudly as possible for three minutes. It was
:11:47. > :11:51.very tiring because they're quite heavy. Oh, it was so amazing. It's
:11:51. > :11:55.so good to be a part of something this big. And the bells rang out
:11:55. > :12:01.for the Queen's row barge Gloriana as it travelled down the Thames
:12:01. > :12:06.bearing the Olympic Torch, and watching and ringing in the studio,
:12:06. > :12:12.Martin Creed, the artist who had come up with the idea.
:12:12. > :12:18.I didn't know what to expect. Because it was just an idea to try
:12:18. > :12:24.to make a piece of music all over the whole country. Because no-one
:12:24. > :12:28.can be in more than one place at once. A little noisier, but tuned
:12:28. > :12:32.in the Games. The Olympic Minister was even there to tell us. When
:12:32. > :12:38.there are things that don't go according to to plan, London will
:12:38. > :12:45.cope in the way it always has. Oh! No-one hurt. Careful now. Health
:12:45. > :12:49.and safety. Are you OK? All eyes are on the Opening
:12:50. > :12:52.Ceremony tonight, but once that's over, it's the sport that takes
:12:52. > :12:55.centre stage. How well will Britain's athletes do? Well, with
:12:55. > :12:59.me is the chief executive of UK Athletics, Niels de Vos. Thank you
:12:59. > :13:02.very much for joining us. Athletics in particular didn't do as well as
:13:02. > :13:07.the swimmers, the rowers in Beijing. Do you think they will do better
:13:07. > :13:10.this time? Yeah, I am very confident they will, but athletics
:13:10. > :13:13.is a very, very, very competitive sport. Every nation who is here
:13:13. > :13:17.competing at the Olympics is competing on the track and field.
:13:17. > :13:22.It's a simple sport. Anyone can do it. Competition is fierce, I would
:13:22. > :13:26.say one of the hardest medals to win in the Olympics, but we'll go
:13:26. > :13:31.in as the best ever prepared team. I am confident we'll do well,
:13:31. > :13:34.absolutely. One gold in Beijing - what are your hopes, though, nor
:13:34. > :13:38.London 2012? I don't want to hang golds around anyone's neck -
:13:38. > :13:42.everybody was talking about Usain Bolt. Three weeks ago he was
:13:42. > :13:45.favourite. Now people are thinking maybe he won't win, but if our
:13:45. > :13:50.athlete goes out and perform to the ability they can, we know we have
:13:50. > :13:54.ten or 15 ranked the top ten in the world, we have a good chance. The
:13:54. > :13:58.margins are tiny. The difference between being a hero and finishing
:13:58. > :14:01.fourth could be a hundredth of a second, but that's on the day. I am
:14:01. > :14:03.confident we'll do well, yes. stadium is fantastic. The
:14:03. > :14:07.atmosphere inside it when there is a crowd in there is extraordinary.
:14:07. > :14:10.Does that help the athletes? Will that help them drive them home?
:14:10. > :14:13.Yeah, I'm sure it will what we don't know, of course is some will
:14:13. > :14:18.use that to fuel them to even greater performances. Some may
:14:18. > :14:22.buckle. We don't know. We hope it will be the rivals that'll buckle
:14:22. > :14:25.and ours that'll surf the wave of patriotism and excitement, but
:14:25. > :14:28.certainly every single athlete is absolutely energised by this.
:14:28. > :14:32.They'll all be in Portugal tonight watching the Opening Ceremony on
:14:32. > :14:37.the beach, then they'll come in in waves a couple of days before they
:14:37. > :14:46.perform. Our job is to make sure they're 100% ready when they tow
:14:46. > :14:51.the line. One man who was supposed to be there is Philip Sodoku. Will
:14:51. > :14:56.he be there? I am confident he will. He's amazing. He's won Olympiced
:14:56. > :15:00.meas. He's won world medals. If he's on the start, he can qualify.
:15:00. > :15:05.Steve Hooker did that in the pole vault in Beijing. He took two jumps
:15:05. > :15:09.and came away with the gold medal. If anyone can do that, Philips can.
:15:09. > :15:19.Thank you. The time is 1.15pm.
:15:19. > :15:24.
:15:24. > :15:29.Our top story this lunch time: in Lords where some confused fans
:15:29. > :15:39.are shut out. We have already had an extraordinary performance from a
:15:39. > :15:40.
:15:40. > :15:45.Later on BBC London, the 40-year- old Olympic rower hoping to get
:15:45. > :15:52.cold again, 20 years on. Plus, the all-important weather, all to come
:15:52. > :15:56.in ten minutes. Battles between President Assad's
:15:57. > :16:00.forces and rebels are continuing in the Syrian city of Aleppo.
:16:00. > :16:04.Activists say many people have died in shelling and helicopter gunship
:16:04. > :16:07.attacks. The UN Commissioner for Human Rights has expressed fears
:16:07. > :16:11.over the plight of civilians. Jim Muir sent this report from
:16:11. > :16:15.neighbouring Lebanon, which does contain some flash photography and
:16:15. > :16:18.contains some images you might find distressing.
:16:18. > :16:22.Still defiant, despite the threatened government onslaught.
:16:22. > :16:26.Hundreds still come out into the streets in rebel-held parts of
:16:26. > :16:31.Aleppo to chant slogans calling for the regime to go. But already the
:16:31. > :16:34.bombardments have begun, casualties are mounting. They are taken to
:16:34. > :16:37.makeshift field clinics where medical staff are working around
:16:37. > :16:42.the clock to try to save the wounded, many of them civilians and
:16:42. > :16:45.two children. The head of the UN's Human Rights Commission has said
:16:45. > :16:49.she is deeply concerned about the plight of civilians in Syria. She
:16:49. > :16:53.said what is happening may amount to war crimes or crimes against
:16:53. > :16:57.humanity. She described what happens to Bigley when an area
:16:57. > :17:01.comes under government attack. First of all it is surrounded and
:17:01. > :17:06.cut off. Water, electricity and food supplies are also cut. Then
:17:06. > :17:10.there is heavy bombardment from tanks, artillery and aircraft. Then,
:17:10. > :17:18.the tanks and troops moving, going from door to door and reportedly
:17:18. > :17:21.often summarily executing suspected rebels. If the people of Aleppo
:17:21. > :17:25.want to know what to expect they just need to see what is happening
:17:25. > :17:29.in the capital, Damascus. State television is still showing troops
:17:29. > :17:33.attacking areas just on the south side of the city to root out rebel
:17:33. > :17:37.resistance. The prospect of similar scenes hanging over Aleppo has
:17:37. > :17:43.given one of its newly elected members of parliament to cross the
:17:43. > :17:47.border to Turkey and defect. The first MP to do so. Also in Turkey
:17:47. > :17:52.seeing the Foreign Minister was the prominent general, who defected two
:17:52. > :17:55.weeks ago. He is working hard to try to pull the divided Syrian
:17:55. > :17:59.opposition together and form a bridge of what he calls honourable
:17:59. > :18:04.elements in the current regime. Asked what government newspapers
:18:04. > :18:07.are calling the mother of all battles looms over Aleppo the US
:18:07. > :18:11.State Department said it feared a massacre. It said the same about
:18:11. > :18:18.Benghazi in Libya and NATO intervened. But there is no cavalry
:18:18. > :18:24.on the horizon for Aleppo. Kiaran Stapleton, the man who
:18:24. > :18:28.murdered the Indian student Anuj Bidve has been jailed for a minimum
:18:28. > :18:33.of 30 years. Stapleton shot the 23- year-old in the head at point-blank
:18:33. > :18:36.range on Boxing Day last year. He was convicted of murder yesterday.
:18:37. > :18:40.Barclays has made a half-year profit of more than �4 billion. The
:18:40. > :18:45.news comes after the Bank was fined a record amount for attempting to
:18:45. > :18:49.manipulate the lending rate between banks and it has emerged it is
:18:49. > :18:51.under a new investigation by the Financial Services Authority. Our
:18:51. > :18:54.chief economics correspondent Hugh Pym reports.
:18:54. > :18:59.It is exactly a month since Barclays was hit with a record fine
:18:59. > :19:02.for manipulating interest rates. Since then, a storm has raged
:19:02. > :19:06.around the bank with three top directors heading for the exit. The
:19:07. > :19:11.chief executive Bob Diamond quit and was then grilled by MPs about
:19:11. > :19:18.revelations of rage rigging by his staff. When I read the emails from
:19:18. > :19:22.those traders, I got physically ill. It is reprehensible behaviour.
:19:22. > :19:25.chairman, Mark has ages, seen here in happier times with the London
:19:25. > :19:30.Mayor, said he would go when a new chief executive was appointed.
:19:30. > :19:33.Another director quit as well. Today, the bank apologised again
:19:34. > :19:39.for the interest rates gamble but announced some better news. There
:19:39. > :19:42.was a 13% increase in profits to a total of �4.2 billion in the first
:19:42. > :19:45.six months of this year. We know that Barclays has been a robust
:19:45. > :19:50.performer over a number of years. They did not take government money.
:19:50. > :19:55.These figures are reasonably good. You can still have good figures and
:19:55. > :19:59.not be popular and have things that need sorting out. Barclays is
:19:59. > :20:03.sorting out compensation to firms like this butcher's shop, victims
:20:03. > :20:07.of mis-selling of complex financial products. The bill could come to
:20:07. > :20:11.�450 million. Other banks are also having to pay up. Barclays also
:20:11. > :20:16.revealed it is being investigated by the Financial Services Authority
:20:16. > :20:20.over disclosure of information to shareholders in 2008. There are
:20:20. > :20:24.major challenges ahead for Barclays. The bank needs to find a new chief
:20:24. > :20:27.executive and a new chairman. People are prepared to come in and
:20:27. > :20:31.run the bank under the intense public scrutiny that goes with
:20:31. > :20:35.those jobs. Barclays is not the only one having to rebuild its
:20:35. > :20:39.reputation. Several major banks were caught up in the interest
:20:39. > :20:43.rates gamble and are now awaiting the results of investigations. --
:20:43. > :20:46.interest rates scandal. A man who joked on Twitter about
:20:46. > :20:49.blowing up Doncaster airport because of disruption to his travel
:20:49. > :20:53.plans has had his conviction overturned at the High Court. Paul
:20:53. > :21:01.Chambers was found guilty of sending a menacing message in
:21:01. > :21:03.January 2010. Matt Prodger is at the High Court now.
:21:03. > :21:06.Nine different judges and magistrates and a celebrity
:21:06. > :21:10.campaign backed by the but broadcaster Stephen Fry and the
:21:10. > :21:14.comedian Al Murray to get his conviction overturned. When he left
:21:14. > :21:19.court this morning, Paul Chambers said he was relieved and vindicated
:21:19. > :21:24.by the decision and said he also felt dejected and unemployable by
:21:24. > :21:27.his experience of the past two-and- a-half years. It began in 2010, we
:21:27. > :21:31.descend to tweet and I paraphrase because of the colourful language,
:21:31. > :21:35.essentially saying, and less Doncaster airport got its act
:21:36. > :21:39.together within a week, he would blow it sky high. Because the
:21:39. > :21:44.intended to visit his girlfriend. The judges here finally agreed what
:21:44. > :21:47.he had said all along, but it was a joke, there was no money is
:21:47. > :21:51.intended to and one could be interpreted by any reasonable
:21:51. > :21:54.person. The CPS, the Crown Prosecution Service, opposed the
:21:55. > :21:58.appeal but today, it said it accepted the decision and that the
:21:59. > :22:02.judges for giving clarity on the issue.
:22:02. > :22:06.The Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras has met international
:22:06. > :22:09.creditors in Athens this morning to try to persuade them that Breese
:22:09. > :22:13.deserves its final instalment of bail-out money. Without the funds,
:22:13. > :22:19.Greece could face bankruptcy and might have to leave the euro. Mark
:22:19. > :22:22.Lowen is in Athens. Crucial talks then? Very crucial for Greece but
:22:22. > :22:26.also for the eurozone as a whole, because based on this bid -- visit
:22:26. > :22:30.by the debt inspectors Greece will find out whether it gets its next
:22:30. > :22:34.instalment, 30 billion euros, of its international loan. If it gets
:22:34. > :22:38.the money it could stay afloat. It does not it will teeter towards
:22:38. > :22:41.bankruptcy and a possible exit from the euro and that could shake the
:22:41. > :22:45.single currency. The Prime Minister is thought to have laid out to the
:22:45. > :22:50.debt inspectors where another 11.5 billion euros worth of saving will
:22:50. > :22:54.be found, principally through pension cuts and health care cuts.
:22:54. > :22:57.But the big question is this. Even with that money, the bail-out money,
:22:57. > :23:01.will that be enough to save Greece? Will it be enough to pull this
:23:01. > :23:05.country out of the quagmire in which it finds itself? The finance
:23:05. > :23:09.minister, the Prime Minister,, has said Greece's in the Great
:23:09. > :23:12.Depression, its economy will shrink by 7%, higher than expected this
:23:12. > :23:16.year. Maybe this will be Mission impossible.
:23:16. > :23:20.Let's go back to the Olympics and even before tonight's opening
:23:20. > :23:23.ceremony, sporting events are under way. This morning, there was
:23:23. > :23:27.archery at Lord's cricket ground to determine seedings for the
:23:27. > :23:31.individual and team events but there was confusion when -- when
:23:31. > :23:34.spectators turned up expecting to watch the event. Joe Wilson has at
:23:34. > :23:38.Lord's now. Yes, the women have their turn this
:23:38. > :23:42.afternoon. Just to be clear, this stage of the archery was never
:23:42. > :23:45.meant to be open to the public. The problem was, as the level of
:23:45. > :23:49.intensity and concentration has been very good, outside there has
:23:49. > :23:52.been a large degree of confusion and disappointment because there
:23:52. > :23:56.were a number of people around the world who were under the impression
:23:56. > :24:02.that today's action was open to the public.
:24:02. > :24:04.The home of cricket for the first Test between bow and arrow and
:24:04. > :24:09.indeed the first Test of an Olympic sport in London. Today's action is
:24:09. > :24:12.preliminary. Archers are seeded for the weekend matches according to
:24:12. > :24:17.this course today. But there were hundreds hoping to watch, left
:24:17. > :24:21.outside. This event was advertised as unticketed. This family came
:24:21. > :24:25.from the USA thinking that was an invitation. It is my interpretation
:24:25. > :24:29.of unticketed, it is free to the public, we will do a free date for
:24:29. > :24:33.people to come in, get an idea of what it is like. It sounded like a
:24:33. > :24:38.generous gesture. How do you feel, to be out here, not being able to
:24:38. > :24:42.get in? Well, what sort of words are my allowed to use on the BBC? I
:24:42. > :24:47.am not very happy about it, my family is not very happy. He was
:24:47. > :24:51.not alone. LOCOG said that tickets were never offered for today's
:24:51. > :24:55.archery but I met family and friends of one of the Dutch Archers,
:24:55. > :24:58.feeling helpless and confused. would like to see him participate
:24:58. > :25:03.but we're not allowed access because we were told it was a free
:25:03. > :25:08.event but there is no, they are saying we are not allowed in.
:25:08. > :25:12.men's ranking round progressed with South Korea typically in control,
:25:12. > :25:18.setting a new record score. Larry Godfrey, 4th in the Olympics eight
:25:18. > :25:21.years ago, led the British effort. Their team of three are ranked
:25:21. > :25:25.eightth after the morning competition. It would have been
:25:26. > :25:30.nice to have been higher but you get what you get. Today was
:25:30. > :25:34.shooting the best we possibly could and the other guys shot the best
:25:34. > :25:38.and week ranked in eight. Everything happens for reason.
:25:38. > :25:42.Godfry is going well but Britain face a quarter-final against South
:25:42. > :25:46.Korea, that is tougher than getting into it -- and unticketed archery
:25:46. > :25:50.event. Part of South Korea's extraordinary
:25:50. > :25:55.team performance today included a new individual world record. His
:25:55. > :26:00.eyesight is so poor in one eye he is actually registered as blind but
:26:00. > :26:03.he can see the target and he does it all with muscle memory.
:26:03. > :26:07.Back at the Olympic Park, huge Athletes' Village which is behind
:26:07. > :26:11.me is now a home-from-home for the competitors. It has apartments for
:26:11. > :26:16.more than 14,000 athletes along with shops, restaurants and leisure
:26:16. > :26:20.to fill it is. Sally Nugent was given a special tour.
:26:20. > :26:24.Away from the funfair and put us, the competitors home for the
:26:24. > :26:29.duration of the Olympics built just moments away from the Olympic Park
:26:29. > :26:33.and most of the time completely private. Well, this really is a
:26:33. > :26:37.special access. This is a place you are not done -- you were not going
:26:37. > :26:40.to the very much off over the next couple of weeks. It is the
:26:40. > :26:43.Athletes' Village. This is where they sleep and relax. You can see
:26:44. > :26:48.the different countries have their different blocks. We have Korea,
:26:48. > :26:52.Switzerland have the top of that blog, Denmark on that blog, this is
:26:52. > :26:59.where they relax and rest after competition. Most of the time. And
:26:59. > :27:03.there is where they go to have some fun. This village has been built
:27:03. > :27:06.and designed with specific requests from the athletes themselves. They
:27:06. > :27:13.said it was important to them to get away from the pressure of
:27:13. > :27:16.competing. Here inside the bar you can play Paul, table, play a
:27:16. > :27:22.computer game, catch up with friends, get a much-needed drink. I
:27:22. > :27:29.will have a bottle of your finest, please. Thanks. Soft drinks only,
:27:29. > :27:33.of course. Some of these athletes have serious appetite. This places
:27:33. > :27:39.open 24 hours a day for that very reason. It is basically a big tent,
:27:39. > :27:43.serving every type of food you can imagine, lots of it. When you say
:27:43. > :27:48.to people it is 17,000 square metres of temporary space for a
:27:48. > :27:52.dining hall, it is huge, it has quite a bit of character and
:27:52. > :27:55.personality about it. Just the moment for the Mayor of the
:27:55. > :28:00.Athletes' Village to reflect on how it has been received. The key here
:28:00. > :28:03.is having the athletes Commission, Jonathan Edwards, Tanni Grey-
:28:03. > :28:08.Thompson, literally advised at every step of the way. What did
:28:08. > :28:13.they suggest? Simple things like make sure you have long beds for
:28:13. > :28:20.tall people. So, a tailor-made home as the competitors prepare for one
:28:20. > :28:24.of the most important moments in their lives.
:28:24. > :28:32.Now to the all-important weather. We have had a bit of rain this
:28:32. > :28:36.morning. Is it going to hold off But is it for rain now, I think.
:28:36. > :28:39.For most of us for the rest of this afternoon we are looking at decent
:28:39. > :28:43.spells of sunshine. A lot of dry weather around. If we look at the
:28:43. > :28:47.satellite image from earlier we can see the areas with cloud, mainly
:28:47. > :28:51.the south-east of England and the north-west of the UK. These other
:28:51. > :28:55.two areas we are seeing further showers through the afternoon. Some
:28:55. > :28:59.in the south-east could be heavy. In between the two areas of shower,
:28:59. > :29:04.there will be decent spells of sunshine. We are looking at dry
:29:04. > :29:09.conditions, fresher than recent days with the breeze. Hazy sunshine
:29:09. > :29:13.is some fella the cloud this Upper Crust isle of man and the Northern
:29:13. > :29:17.Ireland there is a chance of a few heavy showers on a brisk breeze.
:29:17. > :29:20.Have become a frequent showers for western parts of Scotland. Over
:29:20. > :29:25.eastern and southern Scotland, faring better with decent spells of
:29:25. > :29:28.sunshine. One or two light showers possible for a northern England but
:29:29. > :29:32.for much of northern England it is dry and bright and lovely spells of
:29:32. > :29:36.hazy sunshine continue this afternoon into the Midlands as well.
:29:36. > :29:40.As we pushed further south and east the cloud thickened. It is fairly
:29:40. > :29:44.cloudy behind me. We will have 4-2 show has persisted into the
:29:44. > :29:48.afternoon. A small chance of a rumble of thunder in the south-east
:29:48. > :29:52.but they are clearing away. Clearer conditions spreading in behind,
:29:52. > :29:56.good news for the opening ceremony of the Olympics here at the Olympic
:29:56. > :30:01.Park this evening. It should remain drier with clear spells. 20 Celsius,
:30:01. > :30:05.a gentle breeze, all in all a lovely evening to come. The Shanaz
:30:05. > :30:09.will clear away from the south-east. One of two lingering. We will see
:30:09. > :30:13.further showers overnight pouring into the West -- the north-west of
:30:13. > :30:19.the UK but in between clearer, drier conditions. Not as muddy as
:30:19. > :30:25.recent nights with temperatures 11- 16 Celsius. Saturday, a typical
:30:25. > :30:29.July day. Decent spells of sunshine. One or two showers but most towards
:30:29. > :30:32.the north-west, Scotland, northern England and the south-west. For
:30:32. > :30:36.Central and South East and parts of England, we keep with the dry and
:30:36. > :30:40.bright spells, much pressure then recent days. Ten degrees cooler
:30:41. > :30:44.than yesterday. For the full day of the have at -- Olympic action, some
:30:44. > :30:48.venues remaining fine and dry. For the rowing at Eton Dorney,
:30:48. > :30:55.generally bright, tried and for the men's road race, cycling that sets
:30:55. > :30:59.off at about ten o'clock, returning to the mile at 4pm, trial date.
:30:59. > :31:03.Further showers for Sunday and into Monday as well. That is how what is
:31:03. > :31:07.looking, dry tonight. That is all from the News at One
:31:07. > :31:10.this lunchtime. I will be back with the BBC News Special inside the