Tag Archives: Olympics

Olympic revelry makes the Capital 2.7m stone heavier

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The average Londoner gained a staggering 4.5lbs in the two weeks of the Olympics, as the capital shunned exercise regimes and instead indulged in the fun of the Olympics with extra snacks and booze.

LighterLife, the innovative weight management company, surveyed 1,032 Londoners on Friday (10.08.12) to see how their eating habits and weight had changed during the period, as we celebrated watching triumphant Team GB going for Gold!

The survey highlighted that people consumed nearly 700 calories more each day, as they treated themselves to a few glasses of wine and extra snacks on top of their regular meals, resulting in an average weight gain of 4.5lbs.

This equated to 12,000 extra calories being consumed by the average Londoner during the Olympics – that’s more than 960m calories over the two-week period!

The main reason for the over-indulgence and weight gain however was down to people seeing the Olympics as a time to celebrate and indulge in snacks in front of the telly, as they watched The Games with friends and family.

Mandy Cassidy, Director of Psychology at LighterLife comments: “The Olympics are a fantastic sporting occasion for Great Britain and we typically justify over-eating and associate over indulgence with celebratory occasions. Mindless eating occurs often in front of the TV and emotional eating is a well know reason for over eating when not hungry. Let’s hope Londoners are inspired by the sporting triumphs and introduce a regular exercise regime into their day!”

Vivienne Westwood designs dress for the London 2012 Closing Ceremony

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The London 2012 Olympic Games Closing Ceremony took place last night with an explosion of culture, music and fashion. The catwalk show curated by Vogue UK, presented 8 of Britain’s supermodels all wearing creations by the best of British fashion designers.

Vivienne Westwood, who is also part of the UK governments ‘The GREAT campaign’, created a couture ball gown elegantly modelled by international super model Lily Donaldson. The Vivienne Westwood ‘Olympic Court dress’ was especially created for the ceremony in gold hammered sequins embroidered with gold metallic thread on stiff organza tulle in an abstract baroque pattern detail and was inspired by 17th Century English Royalty and the court of King Charles II.

The ‘Court’ dress was originally designed for the Vivienne Westwood Gold Label Autumn- Winter 2012/13 collection and is Vivienne’s favourite dress:

‘The corset is based on a 17th Century style corset but is oversized at the neckline which modernises it and shows the décolletage beautifully- I call this style the Stature of Liberty corset. I love the way the gold lace is transparent at the bottom. Lily looks incredible in the dress. She is a fantastic person and follows my environmental initiatives and has been involved in my campaign to fundraise for rainforest charity Cool Earth.’

-Vivienne Westwood

Vivienne Westwood is not only considered a symbol of British avant-garde she is also one of the most influential and recognized designers in the world today. With references to historical dress and British fashion and culture Vivienne Westwood continues to design clothes which stand the test of time.

www.viviennewestwood.com

Jessie J wears Vivienne Westwood for the London 2012 Closing Ceremony

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The London 2012 Closing Ceremony took place last night with an explosion of culture, music and fashion. Among the musicians that performed was Jessie J, one of the most talked about British artists of the past year. For her 2 performances of the night Jessie chose to wear two couture creations by the renowned British fashion designer, Vivienne Westwood.

The first look saw Jessie wearing a nude bodysuit with hand embroidered flower detailing taken from a Vivienne Westwood Gold Label archive collection entitled ‘World Wide Women’. In the words of Vivienne Westwood:

‘Fashion is global, influence comes from everywhere in the world. But don’t let the world get smaller: World Wide Woman cultivates her values for the sake of our planet and all who live on her.’

For the second outfit Jessie chose to wear an asymmetric catsuit with nude holofoil sequins embroidered with gold metallic thread. The catsuit was taken from the Vivienne Westwood Gold Label Autumn- Winter 2012/ 13 collection that was inspired by 17th Century London, a century of change and drama.

Vivienne Westwood is not only considered a symbol of British avant-garde she is also one of the most influential and recognized designers in the world today. With references to historical dress and British fashion and culture Vivienne Westwood continues to design clothes which stand the test of time.

Inspired by the Olympics? Wish you could take part?

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Michelle Sinclair’s novel Olympicked! imagines just that – a Games where all the competitors are chosen by random selection and given just four years to train in their allocated sport.

Michelle, who lived in London until earlier this year, got the idea from a chance remark made by her husband. “He joked that the Olympics would be much more entertaining if it was ordinary people competing instead of highly trained athletes. It was just a passing comment, but the thought stuck in my mind and the more I thought about it, the more I realised it wasn’t such a crazy idea. People could achieve quite a lot with four years to train, and it wouldn’t quite be the comedy or disaster that you might first imagine.

“In fact, Olympic athlete Helen Glover has vividly demonstrated that it isn’t a completely crazy idea – she only started rowing four years ago, and won Gold at London 2012!”

But Michelle also realised that having to undertake such intense training would be bound to impact on the lives of those chosen, and that became the focus of the novel, which follows eight of those chosen to compete for Great Britain at the 2020 Games.

Gary is a jobless teenager being edged towards a life of crime on a run-down housing estate; can his salvation take the form of a horse? Betty is a campaigning pensioner living life to the full and determined to fly the flag not just for her country but for older people everywhere. Susan is desperate to have a baby and is worried that the Olympic dream will interfere with her own personal goal. And Carl simply wants to impress his young daughter.

Together with an alcoholic civil servant, a party-loving gay man, a bored housewife and an out-of-work actress, their stories are told. Follow them as they learn of their selection and begin their training, facing obstacles along the way. Will they make it to the Olympic Park, and can any of them achieve that elusive Gold medal?

David Beckham Gets His Hand on Gold

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In between sightings at the Olympic games, David Beckham has been back in LA playing for the Galaxy in a series of exhibition matches, including Real Madrid and Tottenham Hotspur.

Whilst in LA, David got his hands on a different sort of gold when he met mixed martial arts champion Junior Dos Santos from Brazil. Dos Santos competes for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), which is shown across the world in over 150 countries and is incredibly popular with a variety of sportsmen. The England rugby team said they often watched the UFC during the most recent World Cup in New Zealand and incorporate mixed martial arts into their training.

The UFC have been hosting events in the UK for the past ten years, selling out arenas from the O2 and MEN, and the Royal Albert Hall. The UFC will be hosting their one-and-only UK event this year on 29th September at the Capital FM Arena in Nottingham. Tickets are available from www.UFC.com.

Adams and Taylor Win Historic Golds in Women’s Boxing

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Great Britain’s Nicola Adams made history as she became the first ever women to win an Olympic gold boxing medal. Adams boxed superbly throughout the tournament. She defeated Indian legend and five time world champion Mary Kom in the semi finals.

Adams then crushed her Chinese opponent Ren Cancan in the final bout.  This despite Cancan having beaten Adams twice in previous contests. At one point Adams floored her opponent with a brilliant right hook and she went on to win comfortably by 16 points to 7.

The boxer from Leeds who’s idol is Muhammad Ali was ecstatic at the win and took team GBs to 24 gold medals.

Minutes later Katie Taylor followed Adams and became the second women to win a gold in boxing as she won a closely fought contest beating Sofya Ochigava 10 points to 8. Taylor had been behind by a point after the second round but battled back bravely and dominated thereafter. Taylor, a four time world champion, was carrying the hopes and dreams of Ireland who had yet to win a gold medal until the fight. Taylor had been the flag bearer for Ireland at the opening ceremony and the excel arena was packed with Irish fans.

Taylor delivered and sank to her knees in joy as the final result was read out.

USAIN BOLT: THE MOVIE -“I told you all I was going to be No. 1 and I just did that”

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RELEASED BY REVOLVER ENTERTAINMENT, AVAILABLE TO OWN ON DVD 6th August

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In this extraordinary film, French producer and director Gael Leiblang paints us an intimate and boundless portrait of the life of athletic legend and cultural icon Usain Bolt.

Breaking BBC records (reaching 3 million viewers) when aired in mid July, this DVD features an extra 30 minutes of never before seen footage, delving deeper than ever fathomed into the rigorous training sessions and elusive private life of the long-legged Jamaican.

Granted exclusive and unprecedented access to the fastest man in the world, Leiblang explores Bolt’s childhood and chronicles him in a series of in-depth interviews, as he prepares to make history at this year’s Olympic games in London.

Filmed over a 12 month period, leading up to this year’s Games, Bolt is examined both at home with his family and friends and on the road competing across the world.

This stunning documentary expertly exposes his boyish charm in his home environment, juxtaposed to his uncompromising focus and invincibility on the track, where he gallops past the other runners, like a God competing with mere mortals.

Usain Bolt sealed his position as the fastest man on earth and entered the history books when he successfully retained his 100m Olympic title. As over four billion peopled watched the 100m final at the London 2012 Olympic Games on the 5th Of August, the Jamaican sprinter took the gold medal convincingly. The win means that Bolt retains his three Olympic titles and three world records.*

From gruelling sessions on the practice track, to deejaying for fans in Italy and including his infamous false start at World Championships, this remarkable documentary takes us inside the life of the man who could become the greatest athlete the Olympics has ever seen.

USAIN BOLT: THE MOVIE is out on DVD to buy and rent.

RRP for £12.99

Victoria Pendleton Lights Up

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Victoria Pendleton is set to light up the velodrome tonight in the women’s sprint final; if she brings home another gold for GB, the EDF Energy London Eye will shine gold in the evening

In anticipation of Team GB Golden Girl Victoria Pendleton’s quest for Gold this evening EDF Energy is celebrating her achievements so far in the Games. Attached is a creative shot of Victoria who is using bike lights to shine Team GB colours in a show of determination.

This shot is part of EDF Energy’s Energy of the Nation campaign, encouraging everyone to get behind the Games by tweeting their 2012 support. Energy of the Nation is measuring all Olympic-themed tweets and transforming this data into a spectacular lightshow on the EDF Energy London Eye every night throughout the Olympics at 9 and 10pm.