The Olympics 2012

This year London has the great priviledge of being host to the Summer Olympic games for the third time in its history in 2012 .
The London Olympic Games will begin on 27th July and run through until 12 August. Thousands of medals are ready and waiting to be won! Are you going to watch them???

Here you have 'Sport at Heart' -- the award-winning film featuring David Beckham, Jeremy Irons, Helen Mirren and lots of different celebrities. Apart from that,the video also shows some
of the most important landmards in London.

It is always said that the most important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win but to take part,to fight, to struggle. The same attitude we have to take in life because the important thing is not only what we get but how we do it , the whole process and what we have learnt in the way.
 The Olympic motto says "Citius, Altius, Fortius" which means "Swifter, Higher, Stronger." and it represents the Olympics spirit.
 The Olympics want to spread the idea of using sport not only as a physical activity but also  as a means of educating people. That´s why they promote ideas such as fair play, respect for fellow athletes, sportsmanship, respect for different religions, races, nationalities and the idea that they can all work together in peace and get commmon goals. Whenever we watch the Olympics a sense of brotherhood and positiveness prevails. Words such as "commitment", "sacrifice", "joy", "tears", "illusion" flow. Thousands of people will be in the tracks, in the Stadiums encouraging the different athletes, players, and millions will be in front of their television sets doing the same, feeling for a while like their favourite  athletes,sportsmen and women. A magical moment indeed!!
Will you be  so lucky as to be there, watching some of the events? Will you watch it at home? Here you can write your comments and impressions if you wish about London 2012, about any sport event you have liked, opening ceremony, about the new heroes, etc.
I still remember Barcelona´s Games even though Ï was a child. I remember sitting with my family by the tv shouting, laughing, feeling great!! What about you? Do you remember any special medal in any of the previous Olympic Games?
This spirit of sacrifice is also present in the paralympics (29th August / 9th September). A very good example of the Olympic Games philosophy. Watch this video about Sam. She is a paralympic rower that explains why she practises this sport and what helped her get to where she is now.  Listen and summarize the story.
http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/english-for-the-games

Literature will be present in the Olympic village as well. A commitee have decided that the last line of Alfred, Lord Tennyson’s poem Ulysses will be engraved in the centre of the Olympic Village. It has been chosen by its universal appeal.
Broadcaster Clare Balding explains:"The aim was to find a line of poetry that somehow encapsulated the endeavour, the glory and the dance with failure that Olympic sport entails. To have discovered that in a great British poem by a Poet Laureate about a figure from Greek classical mythology is so perfectly appropriate as to be almost poetic"
This is the last line of the poem: "To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield"
Those who want to read the whole poem can do it in the following link http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/ulysses-2/

HOW MUCH DO YOU KNOW ABOUT LONDON??



How much do you know about London?

Here you have some pictures with some important landmarks and symbols.

Do you recognize them? Why are they important and what do they mean?

There are many others  that I couldn´t include in the slide such as the Union Jack, Football, Food, weather, some superstitions and traditions, folklore, government, etc.

Would you like to improve your knowledge about the city of London? Then choose one of the pictures or any other symbol and tell me:

- when, how it was built or done,

- by whom.

-  what  it was used  for

-  how it is used nowadays, etc.