Panasonic and NBC Sports Group Partner to Distribute London 2012 Olympic Games in 3D in the U.S.
Panasonic and the NBC Sports Group announced that they will partner to make the London 2012 Olympic Games available in 3D to all U.S. distributors who carry Olympic coverage on cable, satellite and telco — nearly 100 percent of the multichannel industry. The effort will mark the first time that the Olympic Games will be distributed in the U.S. in 3D. Panasonic is NBC’s exclusive Flat-Panel HDTV and Blu-ray Disc Player advertiser for the London Olympic Games.
Last year, Panasonic Corporation, a long time Official Worldwide Olympic Partner in the Audio and Visual Equipment category, announced it would partner with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and Olympic Broadcasting Services (OBS) to make the London 2012 Olympic Games the first ever 3D Olympic Games.
“NBC has a history of utilizing technological innovations to distribute the Olympics in new ways for viewers,” said Gary Zenkel, President, NBC Olympics. “We are proud to continue that tradition by partnering with Panasonic and Olympic Broadcasting Services to distribute the first 3D broadcast of the Games in the U.S. in partnership with our multichannel video programming distributors.” Read more
McDonald’s Unveiled Sponsorship Plans for London 2012 Olympic Games
McDonald’s Corporation announced its sponsorship plans for London 2012 that will focus on championing happy, active kids. The new McDonald’s Champions of Play for the Olympic Games features five-time U.S. Olympic Swimmer and mom, Dara Torres, as the global ambassador.
McDonald’s Champions of Play for the Olympic Games
Building on the success of McDonald’s kids’ program at the Olympic Games in Beijing and Vancouver, McDonald’s Champions of Play for the Olympic Games will bring kids from around the world together for a unique experience in London. The new global program will encourage a balanced approach to nutrition and activity for children.
Participating McDonald’s countries will initiate grassroots activities for children ages 6 to 10. Through a local market selection process, up to 200 children and a guardian will travel to London for the 2012 Olympic Games. Read more
UFC 120 results: Bisping beats Akiyama
UFC 120 results can be read here, starting with the fact that Bisping vs. Akayama ended in Bisping’s victory.
The O2 has set the stage for a night of great action, with very interesting fights and results.
Mike Bisping has beaten Yoshihiro Akiyama, by unanimous decision.
Then, Carlos Condit won by KO against Dan Hardy, and Mike Pyle beat John Hathaway (unanimous decision).
The match between Cheik Kongo and Travis Browne ended, very unexpectedly, in a draw.
Claude Patrick beat James Wilks (it was a unanimous decision), and Cyrille Diabate won against Alexander Gustafsson by submission (Rear Naked Choke).
The same happened in favour of Rob Broughton against Vinicius Queiroz, and in favour of Paul Sass against Mark Holst (the latter being a Triangle Choke).
Spencer Fisher beat Curt Warburton (unanimous decision) and last, but not least, Fabio Maldonado beat James McSweeney by TKO.
Olympics is a tourism problem
One of the benefits claimed for the Olympic Games is a boost in tourism to the host city. This boost, according to data obtained by the European Tour Operators Association (ETOA), is wholly illusory. Indeed there are indications that the impact of the Olympic Games is detrimental.
ETOA has looked at visitor arrival statistics for the past Olympics in Beijing (’08), Athens (’04), Sydney (2000), Atlanta (’96), Barcelona (’92) and Seoul (’88). Whilst some of these games saw a peak in demand during the games, all saw a major disruption to their normal tourism market and none revealed any conspicuous tourism growth.
The latest data from Beijing is particularly striking. From the spring of 2008 international visitor arrivals to Beijing plummeted and in the month before the Games, they were 30% down on the previous year. In the months after the Games, the tourism slump continued with international arrivals more than 20% down.
The data needs to be seen in context. 2008 was not a strong year for tourism in the whole Asia Pacific region but Beijing fared considerably worse than the rest of China: demand for mainland China may have fallen by 2%, Beijing lost 18% of it prior year’s total.
Over the past two decades tourism has grown consistently on a worldwide basis. As a consequence, one would expect most cities to show tourism growth year on year. For the Olympic cities, tourism growth tends to be stalled and the stall becomes most apparent when a comparison is made with competitor destinations.
For example, in the five years prior to the Olympics, Australia’s and New Zealand’s tourism was growing at the same rate but Australia’s growth lost ground significantly straight after the Olympics.
It is clear that the Olympics did not materially help Australian tourism, or if it did, it made very little difference. Sydney’s even underperformed against the rest of Australia. The situation became so pronounced that Australia ran an advertising campaign to promote itself as a destination with the now infamous slogan “Where the bloody hell are you?”.
Tom Jenkins, Executive Director, ETOA said: “Every city is unique, and each city handles the Olympics in its own way. But we have yet to have a games where tourism has not been disrupted, and disrupted in a way that causes real harm. Even in the case of Athens, where they carefully restricted new capacity, there were considerable losses before and after the games both in the Capital and throughout Greece.”
For London, the news from Beijing is concerning. Last year London had nearly 15 million visitors, bringing in over GBP8 billion. (2) It is already bracing itself for an influx of atypical visitors during the games, whose spending habits are not those of usual tourists. If London followed the pattern of Beijing, it could see over 2.5 million fewer visitors at a loss of GBP1.5 billion.
(1) Source CNTA and Singapore Tourist Board http://app.stb.gov.sg/asp/tou/tou0201.asp
(2) IPS, Office for National Statistics, 2009
Source: European Tour Operators Association (ETOA)
Running a marathon – The realbuzz.com Beginner’s Guide
With 120,000 runners recently finding out whether they have successfully got a ballot place in the 2010 Virgin London Marathon, a buzz of activity is surrounding next year’s iconic race.
The results of the ballot have been announced and those lucky enough to have secured their ‘own place’ will be jumping for joy. And those unlucky in the official ballot this year, will be scouring through the hundreds of charities offering ‘Gold Bond’ places, and running for a cause close to their heart. Once a place is assured – everything is focused on training and finding a suitable training plan, to ensure that the 26.2 miles is achievable, regardless of experience, age, and speed.
So, if you’re one of those lucky people planning to run on 25th April 2010, here are few tips to help you get started, and help you to answer the question that’s no doubt hovering around in your head…
Can I really train for a marathon?
- If you haven’t exercised in a while, get a check up from the doctor to ensure you’re fit enough to do the training, as well as the final race.
- Evaluate your fitness levels; you need to know where you are before you can progress, so sit down, and honestly assess your fitness levels.
- Select a training plan. Trying to prepare for a marathon without a training plan is like trying to find a new town, without map. To successfully set off on this journey towards marathon success, you need to follow a structured training plan that is right for your fitness levels.
- Get the right gear. Quite simply to start with you need basic shorts and t-shirt (and for the ladies a fitted sports bra). But as you progress with the training you will undoubtedly want to get clothing that won’t chafe, and will suit the season you’re training in. However, you should really invest in a pair of trainers that suit your running style. There are many running shops which can assess your ‘gait’ and give advice on the correct shoes.
- What should you eat, and drink whilst training? Correct nutrition andhydration are vital to ensure that your body is capable of doing the longer runs. Paying close attention to your diet is essential. To get you thinking as a runner, you need to be consuming plenty of ‘slow-release’ carbohydrate to provide energy, so a meal of pasta would be ideal. Don’t neglect your fluid intake, because your requirements will increase both for storing fuel in your muscles and because you will lose more through sweating.
- How much training do I need to do? Up to a point, the more training youdo the better. However it is vital that you allow for rest and recovery too. Your training plan should comprise a careful blend of long runs, recovery sessions, and faster-paced training as you build up your marathon specific endurance. For more information on training plans visit: http://www.realbuzz.com/shop/category/pdfs/
- How long will the race take me? That all depends on you, your fitnesslevels, your injuries, and your speed. It can take runners from anything from 2 1/2 to 7 1/2 hours to finish the race. Remember that most races nowadays have timing chips, so you can ensure you measure your timing successfully.
So can I really do it? The answer to that question is YES! After all, over 600,000 finishers have completed the London Marathon. Progressing from non-runner to marathon finisher is always a real success story, and one that is genuinely achievable by following a correctly structured training plan that will help you towards your marathon goal. Preparing for, and completing a marathon is a great accomplishment and a thoroughly enjoyable and rewarding experience. And, as well as achieving your goal, there is the great spin-off benefit too: improved health and fitness. So, if you are thinking of taking the plunge, then do it – realbuzz.com guarantee that it will be the experience of a lifetime.
Source: realbuzz.com