Festival events
Getting tickets for the arts and culture extravaganza is a
breeze compared to getting tickets for the sports, and much is free anyway.
London and the rest of the UK will be living its busiest cultural summer ever
with artists from all over the world descending on the capital. An incredible
12,000 events are promised. The official London 2012 Festival programme is a
mighty document of 140 pages.
at the Royal
Academy
The events range from major exhibitions like David Hockney’s
Yorkshire landscapes at the Royal Academy to the world’s biggest ever
international Shakespeare festival. London’s Globe Theatre is mounting all
Shakespeare’s 37 plays in 37 different languages, including several from India.
Dance aficionados will be keenly awaiting the comprehensive retrospective of
works by German choreographer Pina Bausch at the Barbican and Sadler’s Wells.
Britain’s film heritage will be projected nationwide in a series of screenings
and events, not least the showing of Hitchcock’s silent films with live
orchestral accompaniment.
strange
carnivalesque beasts roaming the streets
Free events include everything from street theatre to pop-up
performances in unexpected places, from opera on canal boats to strange
carnivalesque beasts roaming the streets. For music lovers there’s 160,000 free
tickets to the BT River of Music, a massive international music feast on six
stages along the river, featuring leading artists from all the 205 Olympic
nations, such as Portugal’s fado singer Mariza. On my list of must-sees is the towering
spectacle of a 33-foot-high mechanical puppet of Lady Godiva being pulled by
100 cyclists and flanked by 2,000 jugglers, musicians and dancers as it arrives
in London from Coventry after a six-day journey.
Is London ready?
The question on every Londoner’s lips is how well London
will cope with the extra pressures during the Games. A typical reaction came
from my dentist. When I asked him for his opinion on what awaits London’s
Olympic tourists, he exclaimed, “Transport chaos!" He is a regular five-day-a-week
train commuter, so he should know. But contrary to popular sentiment, the
Olympic organisers exude quiet confidence that the city will run smoothly,
having spent $9.9 billion on transport infrastructure improvements.
the Thames river
There is no climate of panic, no sensational newspaper
stories of unfinished construction sites and last-minute struggles to get
things hooked up. The Olympic Park venues were completed well over a year ago
and have undergone extensive testing ever since. Numerous new hotels have
sprouted up and by all accounts London can easily accommodate everyone wishing
to come. An elegant cable car spanning the Thames has been erected, buildings
on the Olympic road routes have been spring-cleaned and 70,000 volunteer Games
Makers have been recruited to welcome visitors. "London is ready,"
declared IOC member Denis Oswald on his final inspection before the Games
begin. Will the Games be a Summer Like No Other and the greatest show on earth?
Only time will tell, but for my money it will, London will be abuzz with its
particular flavour of Olympic-mad energy, excitement and atmosphere fuelled by
its global roots. The convention of naming the Games after the host city rather
than the host country is especially apt: these really are London Olympics
rather than British Olympics. Or should that be the East London Olympics, as
the East has stolen the show? When all is said and done about London 2012, the
volunteer I overheard enthusing that ‘London is the star of the Olympics’ will
prob-ably be right. I hope so.
The information
Getting there
There are direct flights to London from several Indian
cities. Your choices from Delhi, for instance, are Air India, Virgin Atlantic,
British Airways and Jet Airways, with round-trip tickets starting at 61,000.
Hopping connections on Emirates, Turkish Airlines, Finnair, etc offer more
competitive fares (from 56,000 on the Delhi-London sector).
Where to stay
Several London hotels are located conveniently close to the
Olympic stadium and village. These include the Holiday Inn Express Stratford
(from $189; hiexpressstratford.co.uk), the Travelodge London Stratford (from
$152; travelodge.co.uk) and the charming and extremely affordable Cart and Horses
Stratford, whose pub is the hallowed spot where Iron Maiden was born (from
$74.67; cartandhorses.co.uk). Of course, expect tariffs to be much higher
during the Games.
You could also consider booking an apartment near the
Olympic Park on airbnb.co.uk. For instance, a cosy room in a spacious loft in
Shoreditch (which is just a few stops from Stratford on the Overground Line)
could be yours for as little as $106.7 (see airbnb.co.uk/rooms/199378).
The Stratford
underground station in East London
Packages
Or you could leave all the trouble to the travel agent and book
a package with Thomas Cook, the ‘official provider of short breaks to the
London 2012 games’. They have Games Break packages starting from 10,999 (for
one night’s stay, breakfast and one event) and Games Break Plus packages
starting at 1,31,999. The latter include luxury accommodation in Central London
with breakfast, tickets, coach transfers, lunch or dinner, dedicated games time
host and an opportunity to witness Olympics finals and ceremonies. Prices are
per person on twin-sharing basis.
Olympic Games
July 27- Auguts 12
Paralympics
August 29-September 9
London 2012 Festival
June 21-September 9
FREE-TO-SEE OLYMPIC EVENTS
Road Cycling Race
July 28: Men’s Road Race, 10 am-3 pm
July 29: Women’s Road Race, 12-3 pm
Starts and finishes in The Mall. Most of the route is
outside London.
Road Cycling Time Trial Race
Hampton Court
Palace
August 1: Men’s and Women’s Individual Time Trial, 2.15 pm-3.15
pm (men’s), 12.30 pm-1.45 pm (women’s) Starts and finishes at Hampton Court
Palace. Entire route in Surrey countryside
Triathlon
All three elements happen in and around Hyde Park.
August 4: Women’s Triathlon, 9 am-11.30 am
August 7: Men’s Triathlon, 11.30 am-1.45 pm
Marathon
August 5: Women’s Marathon, 11 am-1.45 pm
August 12: Men’s Marathon, 11 am-1.30 pm
Starts and finishes in The Mall. Route takes in central
London’s tourist spots.
Race Walking
August 4: Men’s 20 km Race Walk, 5 pm-6.30 pm
August 11: Men’s 50 km Race Walk, 9 am-1.20 pm
August 11: Women’s 20 km Race Walk, 5 pm-6.45 pm 2 km
circuit starting and finishing in The Mall.
Outdoor Screens Basically free, but some screens may
have a booking fee to guarantee space. Check conditions before going.
Free arts and cultural events London 2012 Festival
official website (festival. london2012.com) has a dedicated list of free
events. The festival programme with free events listing is also available as a
downloadable PDF on the website.
Godiva Awakes
July 28-29: Starts in Coventry with performance and parade
July 30-August 4: Travels to London via Rugby, Northampton,
Milton Keynes, Luton, Hatfield
August 5: Arrives in the London Olympic borough of Waltham
Forest
National Hospitality Houses
List available on VisitLondon website (visitlondon.com)
