London 2012 opening ceremony details revealed - This is Winchester
London 2012 opening ceremony details revealed
1:06pm Tuesday 12th June 2012 in Sport
The Olympic Stadium will be turned into a meadow complete with real animals, grass and clouds that will rain down for the opening ceremony.
Artistic director Danny Boyle said today, as he revealed a glimpse of what the world can expect from the £27m spectacular: "The opening scene of the July 27 ceremony represents a traditional and idyllic view of the British countryside.
"It is a green and pleasant land because it is something we are really proud of."
There will be families having picnics and sports being played on the village green in what London 2012 is describing as "one of the largest sets ever built".
The audience of about 62,000 in the stadium in Stratford, east London, and a billion people watching worldwide will also see farmers tilling soil while animals graze.
These include 12 horses, three cows, two goats, 10 chickens, 10 ducks, nine geese, 70 sheep and three sheep dogs.
In a nod to the big festival event that Britain is famous for, there will also be mosh pits where members of the public will be.
This is a nod to the Glastonbury festival and the Proms, Boyle said.
The 10,000 volunteers, cast and crew have been rehearsing day and night to make the opening ceremony a success.
Installation of all the equipment needed will begin in the Olympic Stadium soon.
These include 1,200 automated lamps, 1,000 conventional lamps, and 500 LED fixtures.
There will also be a million-watt sound system using more than 500 speakers and 50 tonnes of associated gear.
INTERVIEW-Rugby-Haskell suggests England are too robotic - Reuters UK
Johannesburg, June 12 |
Johannesburg, June 12 (Reuters) - England loose forward James Haskell has suggested that his team and the South African Springboks, who play the second of a three-test rugby union series on Saturday, can be too predictable in their approach to the game.
Haskell has spent the last six months playing with the Otago Highlanders in New Zealand following stints in Japan and France. The 27-year-old will return to London Wasps at the end of the Super Rugby season.
"We have the talent and passion, but it's those little nuances and mental stuff that we need. Like learning from other countries what they do well and speaking to other coaches," Haskell said in an interview.
"We can maybe not be so robotic. I've learned from Adam Thomson and Andrew Hore at the Highlanders that, bar knowing what foot they kick off and their basic pattern, they don't know anything about the opposition.
"They just worry about their game plan. You can become caught up in talking about your opposition too much."
Haskell earned 42 test caps between 2007 and last year's World Cup and is one of the few of the old guard retained by England coach Stuart Lancaster after he took over the team for this year's Six Nations championship.
"I've always said that my reason for playing rugby is to play for my country and this is a very exciting new setup. I was told Stuart wanted to rebuild the passion and mentality of the team, and I want to be a part of that, it's very exciting," he said.
"Stuart has made it like the All Blacks - the shirt is not yours, you have to fight for it and I'm happy to fit in with that. I may have 42 caps, but I'm back right at the bottom of the ladder and in this team, experience doesn't count for much,"
SMALL PERCENTAGES
While the well-travelled Haskell is clearly built for physical confrontation at 114 kgs and 1.94 metres tall, he believes he has become a better player now for more cerebral reasons.
"The difference is in small percentages and in things that aren't so tangible. I hope I'm more consistent and my game understanding is better," he said.
"They have a very attacking mentality in New Zealand, they get a lot of quick ball and it's all about one-on-one battles and pace and speed. If they can beat their opposite number, then it's a try."
While Lancaster is not expected to tamper with the current test loose trio led by captain Chris Robshaw, Haskell will be out to impress on Wednesday against the Southern Barbarians in
Kimberley.
"There's a lot of competition in the back row but there's no
rush. I'll just play on Wednesday and do my best to live up to Stuart's expectations," he said.
Although he is playing in the number six jersey on Wednesday, Haskell says the proof of his ability will be in far more than just stealing the ball at the breakdowns.
"I played eighthman in Japan and a bit at six for the Highlanders, but at seven for the rest and that's my favourite position. I love the battles and the speed of the game, but the
England captain is currently number seven," he said.
"But the days of a flank just trying to get over the ball are probably gone. You need to be a ball carrier and disruptive on to the ball. Just look at (All Blacks captain) Richie McCaw, he carries the ball well and reads the breakdown brilliantly."
While New Zealand's brand of rugby has clearly stolen Haskell's heart, he also has admiration for the steel of the Springboks.
"South African rugby, especially the Bulls and Stormers, is more about physical attrition. You know what's coming, there's a certain predictability, but you have to be on top of your game to stop it," he said.
"If you don't match their intensity then they'll boss the gain-line and then play from there." (Editing by John Mehaffey)
Marxists tried to spark RSS-Islamists fight’ - Daily Pioneer
Listing CPI(M) leaders Karayi Rajan and Karayi Chandrasekharan of Kannur district as seventh and eighth accused respectively in the case, the CBI chargesheet described them as those who masterminded several political killings in Thalassery in the district, adding that they, however, had managed to avoid disclosure of their roles.
Kodi Suni (real name MK Sunilkumar), who led the gang of killers of Marxist rebel TP Chandrasekharan of Onchiyam, Kozhikode, was the first accused in the Fazal murder case as per the chargesheet. Fazal (35), an agent of Thejas newspaper run by the NDF, was hacked to death by a Marxist killer gang at Thalassery, Kannur in the early morning of October 22, 2006.
After the murder, the Marxists deliberately tried to pit the Islamist outfit and the RSS against each other by putting the blame for the murder on the Sangh through speeches at public meetings, the chargesheet said. That the culprits had deposited the blood-stained clothes after the murder at RSS centres was proof of this intent, it said.
Though there were a total of ten accused in the case, the chargesheet was against eight as two of the accused were yet to be identified. The CBI said that these two men could be identified only after questioning Rajan and Chandrasekharan who were in hiding. The Kannur CPI(M) had earlier said that it would not allow the CBI to arrest the duo.
The CBI said that the two Marxist leaders, charged with murder, had conspired to kill Fazal, a former DYFI worker, and engaged a gang of killers led by Kodi Suni, a CPI(M) sympathizer, for the “job”. All the members of the killer gang were workers or sympathizers of the party, the chargesheet said.
Fazal’s desertion from the DYFI several years ago and association with NDF newspaper Thejas had affected the circulation of CPI(M) organ Deshabhimani daily. This and an intention to create conflict between the NDF and RSS were said to be the reason for killing Fazal.
The CBI also said that the CPI(M) leaders had tried to derail the probe into the murder and to avoid a CBI probe by using the governmental power their party had wielded at that time. Karayi Rajan is a member of the Kannur district secretariat of the CPI(M) and Karayi Chandrasekharan is secretary of its local committee in Thiruvangad in the district.
The Kerala High Court had on March 11, 2008 ordered a CBI probe into the murder of Fazal on the basis of a petition filed by his widow Mariyu. The then LDF Government appealed against the single-judge bench’s verdict but a division bench upheld that order on September 4 that year. The Supreme Court also upheld the order later.
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