Lakshmi Will be Carrying the Olympic Flame

new

« Prev
1
Next »

Macmoish
Administrator

Posts: 60,298

Lakshmi Will be Carrying the Olympic Flame Mar 27, 2012 16:29:47 GMT

Quote

Post by Macmoish on Mar 27, 2012 16:29:47 GMT

I obviously missed this!
If he'd just slip on a QPR Report T-Shirt (or at a minimum the QPR Home strip)...

London 2012 Olympics: Lakshmi Mittal and Sir Clive Woodward to carry Olympic flame on torch relay

Steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal, who invested Â£19.6 million in the construction of the ArcelorMittal Orbit sculpture on the London Olympic Park, will carry the Olympic flame on the torch relay.

By Nick Pearce - Telegraph
19 Mar 2012

Mittal, and his son Aditya, will carry the flame through the London borough of Kensington and Chelsea on July 26, the day before the opening ceremony of the Games.

The Labour Party donor will be one of 8,000 torchbearers carrying the flame throughout its 70-day tour of Britain and Ireland.

Joining Mittal will be Rugby World Cup winning coach Sir Clive Woodward, who is currently helping Team GB prepare for the Games in his role as director of elite performance at the British Olympic Association, and International Olympic Committee coordination commission chairman Denis Oswald.

The 56 year-old will carry the flame through Westminster, also on July 26, during the final moments of its journey to the Olympic Stadium, where it will light the cauldron to mark the beginning of the Games.

Diana Gould of London, aged 99, will carry the flame in Barnet on July 25 after her granddaughter's nomination via Lloyds TSB was accepted. Mrs Gould, who will turn 100 shortly before the Olympics, runs exercise classes in her retirement home, and was chosen because of her dedication to sport.

Mrs Gould will be the oldest person to carry the flame and says she has already begun training for the occasion. "I am walking up and down holding a candlestick," she said.

"I've seen the torch now - I think the design is lovely and it's fairly comfortable to hold.

Video: torchbearer Diana Gould, aged 99
You need to have the Adobe Flash Player to view this content.
Please click here to continue.

"As long as the walk is on the flat I think I'll be OK. The biggest challenge will be the weight of the torch.

"I can't walk quick because I walk with a stick. About halfway I think I will have to change arms because of the weight of the thing."

The flame will travel through over 1,000 communities via a number of a different methods of transport, including boat, cable car, hot air balloon and horeseback. It will also pass a number of monuments, historic venues and sites of international interest.

Jeremy Hunt, Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport said: "This is a big day in the Olympic preparations - the torch relay will now come to life for millions of people.

"The excitement will be increasingly infectious as people all over the UK now start to plan where theyâ€™re going to go to see the Olympic flame and cheer on local torchbearers."

www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/olympics/9152663/London-2012-Olympics-Lakshmi-Mittal-and-Sir-Clive-Woodward-to-carry-Olympic-flame-on-torch-relay.html

Last Edit: Mar 27, 2012 16:30:42 GMT by Macmoish

"These are the times that try men's souls"

RoryTheRanger Alec Stock Posts: 15,736	Lakshmi Will be Carrying the Olympic Flame Mar 27, 2012 16:34:23 GMT Quote Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Member Give Gift Back to Top Post by RoryTheRanger on Mar 27, 2012 16:34:23 GMT That structure is so F'ing ugly. I went to the Westfield's at the Olympic site and it is actually the most disgusting building I've ever seen, it just doesn't make any sense.

mikehunt Dave Sexton Posts: 1,954	Lakshmi Will be Carrying the Olympic Flame Mar 27, 2012 16:48:00 GMT Quote Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Member Give Gift Back to Top Post by mikehunt on Mar 27, 2012 16:48:00 GMT hates a bit of publicity dont he the fella. what odds could i get on him being a new dragon on the next series of dragons den?

Macmoish
Administrator

Posts: 60,298

Lakshmi Will be Carrying the Olympic Flame Jun 9, 2012 9:07:05 GMT

Quote

Post by Macmoish on Jun 9, 2012 9:07:05 GMT

That Lakshmi Mittal was going to be one of the Olympics Flamebearers has been known for months. Now media suddenly noticing - and whether it fits into the Olympics Spirits of having billionaires doing this.

MAIL/Harry Mount

Flames of Greed: How the Olympic spirit has been hijacked by commercialism

Buying a privilege: Steel magnate and Games sponsor Lakshmi Mittal will be among the Olympic torchbearers

The Latin motto of the Olympic Games is ‘Citius, altius, fortius’ — faster, higher, stronger. Well, you can throw in another adjective: greedier.

For as the Olympic torch makes its way around the country, the ideals of amateurism and selfless endeavour are gradually being blotted out by the grotesque demands of the Games’ commercial sponsors.
In the latest grubby revelation, it turns out that they have infiltrated the ranks of the 8,000 torchbearers with their own glory-crazed employees.

Torchbearers were supposed to be local heroes, chosen to represent every corner of the United Kingdom that the torch passes through.
Instead, we have the unedifying spectacle of sponsors handing out torch relay slots as corporate goodies.

Among the torchbearers will be Indian-born steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal, whose company is behind the Orbit, the hideous curly-whirly sculpture that dominates the Olympic Park.
His son, Aditya, the company’s financial officer, will also be a torchbearer.

Belgian-born Patrick de Maeseneire, head of recruitment firm Adecco — ‘official recruitment services provider’ for the Games — will carry the torch through Camden, North London.
Vacuous
Among other self-promoting bigwigs are Christos Angelides, the £900,000-a-year product director of Next, clothing and homeware supplier to the Games.
Two brand designers from Coca-Cola (an Olympics partner) will carry it through Lancing and Bexley, Kent.

The creative director of BP, three employees of Samsung, and one apiece from UPS and Adidas (all involved with the Games) will take up places the Olympics organisers had said should go to ‘young people’ or those who ‘have stories inspiring young people’.

Meanwhile, an obsession with vacuous celebrity culture means that Jedward, the singing Irish twins who have become multi-millionaires since they appeared on ITV’s The X Factor in 2009, took the torch through the streets of Dublin yesterday.

Commercialised: Jedward, the singing Irish twins who have become multi-millionaires since they appeared on The X Factor, took the torch through the streets of Dublin

And last month, will.i.am, the American rapper and judge of BBC1’s The Voice, carried it 300m through the streets of Taunton, sending messages as he went to his Twitter fans — messages in which he proved he could not even spell the name of the Somerset town.
Having shadowed the torch for a day on the Welsh Borders, I was deeply disheartened by this trashy commercialism.
As it made its way through the pretty market town of Abergavenny, it was accompanied by a bloated retinue of commercial backers, trying to squeeze every last pound out of a once noble tradition of athleticism and sportsmanship.

When Sean Lewis, 16, a torch-bearer from nearby Llanbradach, arrived in the Waitrose car park on the outskirts of the town, he was treated to a hideously commercial welcome, courtesy of the Coca-Cola Move To The Beat campaign.

Oh, sorry, that should really be the Coca-Cola Move To The Beat™ campaign. For at every step along the way of the 8,000-mile journey around the country, the torch sponsors are frantic to preserve their sweetheart advertising deals.
Since Coca-Cola is one of the main sponsors of the relay, barely any corner of the car park was free from their branding. Paper Coca-Cola baseball hats were handed out to the crowd, who banged Coca-Cola-emblazoned tambourines.
Sean was shepherded onto the Coca-Cola podium for his formal welcome.

And all the while, employees of the sugary drinks giant handed out bottles of Coke — hardly the most healthy of drinks for a sporting event, with research showing that a 500ml bottle contains the equivalent of 10½ sugar cubes.
Juggernaut
Earlier, I watched as the Olympic Flame arrived from Worcester, where it had started out that morning.
You might have thought the whole concept of the Olympic torch relay consisted of a lone, heroic runner sprinting along the empty road. Not a bit of it.
You know that the Olympic Flame has arrived in your neighbourhood when a convoy the size of an American presidential motorcade sweeps into town.

Overblown: Each torchbearer is accompanied by a huge convoy of heavily branded vehicles

First, in Abergavenny, Torch Bus Number Four pulled up on the Monmouth Road — one of eight buses carrying torch-bearers along the route.
Needless to say, it was plastered with adverts for the three main torch relay sponsors: Coca-Cola again, Samsung and Lloyds TSB — yes, the bank that was given a £17 billion bailout of public money after the crash is splurging our cash on commercial sponsorship.
In one corner of the bus, nine of the gold-mesh torches, with the Olympic logo tacked on, were neatly arranged in a carrying frame, like a set of Cornettos in an ultra-tidy ice cream van.

Again, you might have thought that a single torch is carried all the way around the country. But, no, there are hundreds of them and each carrier can keep theirs if they pay £199 (and then in some cases, as we’ve learned, flog them on eBay).
Also, for long stretches, the torches aren’t carried by anyone but are transported by vehicle. In the wake of the torch bus, there were four police motorbikes, and a creme-caramel coloured BMW covered in Olympic logos, pumping out loud music.
Then came the great big commercial sponsorship juggernauts: the red Coke open-top bus, followed by the Samsung blue and white one, with the green Lloyds TSB bus bringing up the rear, all with their own music.
The spirit of Chariots Of Fire, it is not. And the tragedy is that the Olympic torch relay could have been immensely moving, if it hadn’t been so crudely hijacked in this way.

Historic: The Olympic Flame was dreamt up for the 1928 Amsterdam Olympic Games
The Olympic Flame that was dreamt up for the 1928 Amsterdam Olympic Games was inspired by Greek mythology in which fire had divine power borrowed from Zeus, patron god of the Olympics.
The Olympic torch relay wasn’t invented until the 1936 Games in Berlin, where it was heartily backed by Adolf Hitler, keen to relate Aryan athleticism back to the Greek gods. For all the embarrassment of the Nazi link, there is still something very moving about a single flame making its way from Olympia, the site of the original Greek games, all the way across Europe, around Britain, to East London.
There were certainly moving moments, as I followed the torch through Abergavenny.
Olympic fever is genuine in these parts. In the local wool shop, the Wool Croft, they have put up a sign: ‘Knitting for Gold.’
The streets were lined with cheering crowds, buoyed by Jubilee fever, too, with Union Flags everywhere.
For the most part, the torchbearers were an admirably selfless group who had been nominated by their communities to take part thanks to their charity work.

More...
So much for the unsung heroes! Firms sponsoring Olympics hand torch relay spots to their own marketing staff and IT workers
If will.i.am irritated you when he carried the torch, look away now! Z-listers Jedward run with Olympic flame... and what is it doing in IRELAND?
London's Olympic models: Kate Moss and Naomi Campbell to represent world of British fashion at Games Closing Ceremony
The first torchbearer in the town, Anthony Palmer, 40, from nearby Bargoed, had been chosen for his volunteer work in Welsh primary schools and helping to train the local Newport Dragons rugby team.
‘I am a little nervous,’ said Anthony, holding out a slightly shaking hand. ‘But it’s a great privilege.’
It was hard not to be affected by his nerves and his shy pride, as this selfless local man gently jogged down the hill into Abergavenny town centre, waving all the way. But why on earth did will.i.am, the Los Angeles-born rapper, carry it through Taunton? By all means, let him carry a torch through LA when the Olympics come to America, but until then, let a Taunton boy have a go.
For most of us, the Olympic tingle down the back of the neck is triggered by the simple but enormous power of the symbol of the most famous sporting ritual in the world coming to a small community, such as the one in Monmouthshire.
But that tingle is damaged when the crass influences of commercialism and celebrity are over-intrusive.
The truth is that the Olympic spirit is diminished each time it comes up against those depressing, mighty, modern forces of corporate commercialism and greed.
HOW England Made The English by Harry Mount (Viking, £20).
: www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-2155590/Flames-Greed-How-Olympic-spirit-hijacked-commercialism.html#ixzz1xHjJtMwl

"These are the times that try men's souls"

Macmoish
Administrator

Posts: 60,298

Lakshmi Will be Carrying the Olympic Flame Jun 9, 2012 9:07:37 GMT

Quote

Post by Macmoish on Jun 9, 2012 9:07:37 GMT

INDEPENDENT/TOM PECK

Seb Coe promised an 'uplifting torch relay to inspire a generation'. So are these really the role models to do it?

The intention was that 8,000 local heroes with tales to motivate young people would carry the flame around Britain. But the 2012 sponsors had their own ideas. Tom Peck reports

Tessa Sanderson: 'It was an anxious throw, I knew I'd given it everything'
Seb Coe promised an 'uplifting torch relay to inspire a generation'. So are these really the role models to do it?
Olympic news you may have missed...
Leading article: Why isn't the torch relay more like the Big Lunch?
Apple's blocking move irks Samsung
Ads by Google

Go Team USA
"Like" Team USA and be a part of the energy behind them.
www.facebook.com/BPTeamUSAJoin Team Citi®
Supporting Team USA. Supporting You. Every Step of the Way.
www.citi.com/everystepOlympics Accommodation
Perfect for the London 2012 Games Fully managed short term lets!
conceptsuites.co.ukyouth soccer team.

Sven Eric Durr, 29, from Bergen in Norway, who will carry the flame through the village of Kirkoswald in Ayrshire, has been "a Samsung brand ambassador for five years".

Adidas was given around 20 places in the relay. But seven of the "nomination stories" for people representing the company are identical and appear to have been written by their employer.

Among those selected by Adidas is IT worker Ross Banks. He will carry the flame through Huddersfield. "This year, due to European projects commitments, our Manhattan applications support team has been reduced from three people to two," his nomination story reads. "The warehouse is a critical component to Adidas and ensuring that the systems are available 100 per cent of the time is the only way all departments in operations can meet their targets."

Coca-Cola has heavily promoted its "Future Flames" campaign, allocating torch-relay places to the likes of 15-year-old Jordan Clarke, who had a liver transplant at the age of eight and has since raised more than £12,000 for Birmingham Children's Hospital.

But among the nominations the company gave to its own staff and partners are Julia Zeen, who designed its Olympic pin badges, and Ben Alun-Jones, who has been "developing concepts" for the interior of Coca-Cola's Olympic Pavilion.

"A small minority of our allocation have been given to our campaign ambassadors, affiliates and partner organisations, including StreetGames and the National Union of Students, who helped us find inspirational students, and to some of our employees," Coca-Cola said in a statement.

The recruitment firm Adecco, another Games sponsor, nominated its Swiss CEO, Patrick De Maeseneire, who will carry the flame through Camden on 26 July. The chief financial officer of UPS, Mark Vale, will carry the flame through Nottingham on 28 June.

Another torchbearer is Lakshmi Mittal, Britain's richest man, whose company ArcelorMittal has paid for the construction of the red Orbit sculpture at the Olympic Park. He will carry the torch through Kensington and Chelsea.

Boris Johnson, the Mayor of London, has said the relay represents "the democratisation of the fire of the gods". In March, he told a group of east London schoolchildren: "What we're doing is taking the fire away from the politicians, from the officials and from the fat cats, and giving it to the people, to everyone."

Some of the internal nominations among primary sponsors seem more in the spirit of the torch relay. At Lloyds TSB, staff were nominated for their charitable work, and the children of staff were also selected. All of British Airways' representatives are associated with charitable causes.

A spokesperson for Adidas said: "We looked across the Adidas business including our partners and set out criteria of who would be considered for a place. This falls in line with the Locog guidelines of either youth, inspiration or 'personal best'.

"Adidas staff were able to nominate who should be considered and build a case for their inclusion. Inspiration and personal best are both subjective; however, Adidas is satisfied that our torch runners meet these criteria."

A spokesperson for Samsung said: "Just like the torchbearers selected through public nomination, these individuals have 'gone the extra mile', which means they have made contributions to the local communities and inspired others in a meaningful way."

A London 2012 spokesperson said: "Staging the Olympic Games is a huge undertaking and we couldn't do it without the support from our commercial partners. The rights packages for some partners include a small number of torchbearer places that had to be filled through internal campaigns.

"The same torchbearer-selection criteria applied across the whole relay, i.e. personal bests and/or contribution to the community, but it could be, in a small number of cases, that some of the shorter summaries supplied do not quite do individuals justice."

Coe's commitment: the relay promise

At the Olympic flame lighting ceremony in Greece last month, Lord Coe gave a speech in front of Jacques Rogge, the International Olympic Committee president. He promised that the torch relay would "lift the spirits and hopes of people across Britain and across world". He continued: "We promise to protect the flame; to cherish its traditions and to stage an uplifting torch relay of which we can all be proud and which can inspire a generation. We will involve young people from all backgrounds, cultures and faith groups in the torch relay, reflecting London's immense diversity and creativity as a global destination and voice for young people."

The corporate carriers

The designer

Carl Halksworth, 46, is creative director at Landor, BP's design agency partner for London 2012. He will carry the flame through Westminster on 26 July. His profile says: "Carl embodies the Olympic and Paralympic spirit in many ways. He works incredibly hard, delivering to tight deadlines, even if this means working antisocial hours to get the job done."

The tycoon

Lakshmi Mittal, 61, Britain's richest man and CEO of ArcelorMittal, is carrying the torch through Kensington and Chelsea on 26 July. His nomination story says he is doing it to represent "the 270,000 people around the world who are a part of the ArcelorMittal family".

The man from Samsung

Sven Eric Dürr, 29, is a salesman for Samsung in Norway and will carry the torch through Kirkoswald, Cumbria. Said to be a sports enthusiast. "Most importantly he will be a good representative for Samsung," his profile adds.

The deal-maker

Christos Angelides, 49, from Solihull, secured Next's partnership with the Olympics, which will see the retailer design Team GB's outfits for the opening and closing ceremonies. He carried the flame through Stafford on 30 May.

The other man from Samsung

Todd Bouman, 42, director and head of IT marketing for Samsung Electronics America, will carry the torch through Milton Bridge on 14 June. His nomination profile adds that he was a coach for his local youth football team in Northvale, New Jersey.

The IT guy

Ross Banks, member of the Adidas IT team, from Stoke-on-Trent, will carry the torch through Huddersfield on 24 June. "Ross, 34, is a member of the Adidas IT team. The dedication Ross has shown providing support and improvement to the system have been exemplary."

... and the other other man from Samsung

Andy Griffiths, 50, from Guildford, will carry the Olympic flame through the London Borough of Hounslow on 24 July. He has "led Samsung UK's Consumer Electronics business since the end of 2005". His profile points out he is a keen mountain biker who completed a sponsored ride in Northern England in June, the proceeds of which went to charity.

Case study: £100,000 raised for charity, but I still couldn't get a place

Jack Denness, 77, from Rochester, Kent, saw his application to be a torch-bearer rejected despite raising more than £100,000 for charity by running through Death Valley 12 times – at his own expense.

I don't think it's sour grapes on my part," he said. "The organisers say it's about inspiring young people. I'm 77, I'm still working, and I'm a caretaker at a school. I'm working when the relay comes through Rochester, so I won't see it. The kids would have had the afternoon off to come and watch me run. I understand they're not going to now. People who know me well ask me, 'Jack, what's gone wrong? It's not fair.' It makes a bit of a farce of the system, doesn't it? These companies, in the main, aren't paying for sport, they're just paying to have their name slapped on the Olympics.

"In our town there's only one local athlete. There's someone from Warsaw in Poland, people from Cheam. It's not right. They don't represent our town. I don't know how they're picked. I guess some committee sat down and chose a few names. It's not in the right spirit of the Olympics.

"Paul Nihill, who won a silver medal in Tokyo in 1964 for the 50km walk, he's a distant relative of mine. He's invited me to the evening celebrations at Leeds Castle. I'll go to that. But this was a once-in-a-lifetime chance for me. Something I could have told my grandkids about, but it's gone out the window."

www.independent.co.uk/sport/olympics/seb-coe-promised-an-uplifting-torch-relay-to-inspire-a-generation-so-are-these-really-the-role-models-to-do-it-7815150.html

"These are the times that try men's souls"

cpr Administrator Who is BazWoT? Posts: 23,422	Lakshmi Will be Carrying the Olympic Flame Jun 9, 2012 11:06:51 GMT Quote Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Member Give Gift Back to Top Post by cpr on Jun 9, 2012 11:06:51 GMT Some people just can't stop moaning can they! He's the richest man in Surrey don't you know. ;D

sharky Alec Stock Posts: 14,488	Lakshmi Will be Carrying the Olympic Flame Jun 9, 2012 14:05:23 GMT Quote Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Member Give Gift Back to Top Post by sharky on Jun 9, 2012 14:05:23 GMT Maybe on his way he can go past The Bridge and put the torch to good use!!!
	Come on URRRRssss!!!

Lonegunmen Administrator Posts: 23,431	Lakshmi Will be Carrying the Olympic Flame Jun 10, 2012 5:19:18 GMT Quote Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Member Give Gift Back to Top Post by Lonegunmen on Jun 10, 2012 5:19:18 GMT Is it too late to give him one of our tee shirts?

Shoutbox

Wel-come

texasranger: keep the ball! Nov 27, 2024 21:00:22 GMT

texasranger: corner! Nov 27, 2024 21:01:07 GMT

texasranger: willock coming on for them Nov 27, 2024 21:05:40 GMT

texasranger: come on get a grip on this game Nov 27, 2024 21:07:59 GMT

texasranger: its all carfdiff and corner after corner Nov 27, 2024 21:08:39 GMT

texasranger: paal on for smyth? Nov 27, 2024 21:10:57 GMT

texasranger: taking smyth off is strange Nov 27, 2024 21:12:29 GMT

texasranger: i guess we are just going to try and defend for 25 minutes Nov 27, 2024 21:13:29 GMT

texasranger: corner after corner as we cant keep the ball Nov 27, 2024 21:16:34 GMT

texasranger: changes coming, fox for morrison anderson for Madsen Nov 27, 2024 21:25:01 GMT

texasranger: another goal kick goes straight out of play Nov 27, 2024 21:26:20 GMT

texasranger: 90 th minute changes? Nov 27, 2024 21:34:25 GMT

texasranger: YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS Cellar 2-0 Nov 27, 2024 21:35:08 GMT

texasranger: breakaway goal well finished Nov 27, 2024 21:35:43 GMT

texasranger: lucky cardiff are worse than us at finishing Nov 27, 2024 21:38:15 GMT

texasranger: ceullar and Saito off kollie on Nov 27, 2024 21:38:52 GMT

texasranger: YESSSSSS a WIN AWAY!! URRRRRSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSsssssssss Nov 27, 2024 21:39:38 GMT

texasranger: long time coming but worked hard Nov 27, 2024 21:40:23 GMT

texasranger: Enjoy that win today Nov 27, 2024 21:41:24 GMT

texasranger: bye Nov 27, 2024 21:41:35 GMT

Lakshmi Will be Carrying the Olympic Flame

Post by Macmoish on Mar 27, 2012 16:29:47 GMT

Post by RoryTheRanger on Mar 27, 2012 16:34:23 GMT

Post by mikehunt on Mar 27, 2012 16:48:00 GMT

Post by Macmoish on Jun 9, 2012 9:07:05 GMT

Post by Macmoish on Jun 9, 2012 9:07:37 GMT

Post by cpr on Jun 9, 2012 11:06:51 GMT

Post by sharky on Jun 9, 2012 14:05:23 GMT

Post by Lonegunmen on Jun 10, 2012 5:19:18 GMT

Shoutbox