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London 2012 organisers ‘ready to welcome the world’

Organisers say they are ready to welcome the world to the London 2012 Olympic Games in 100 days’ time.


 


A series of events have been planned to highlight the landmark as the countdown to the Games is stepped up.


 


London 2012 chief executive Paul Deighton said preparations are proceeding according to plan, both on time and within budget.


 


VisitBritain chief executive Sandie Dawe said: “100 days to go signifies a unique opportunity to highlight the great welcome we are ready to offer the world in 2012 and beyond.


 


“The overwhelming perception of Britain around the world is positive and 2012 is our chance to shine.


 


“According to the latest Nations Brand Index we’ve taken great strides over the last year to deliver a first class welcome for our visitors which has helped the UK move up the rankings to become the third-most-admired country in the world.


 


“The countdown begins here and the tourism industry is ready to play its part alongside LOCOG (London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games) to offer a warm welcome which will help create a lasting tourism legacy for many years to come.”


 


Deighton said: “We are absolutely where we want to be with 100 days to go – we are ready to welcome the world to London. Millions of people around the UK are getting ready to celebrate the biggest event in sport.


 


“Eight million of the 11 million tickets have been sold to people in Britain and we are sure that Brits will get hold of a chunk of the other three million too.”


 


Many of the test events have already been held at the venues, but a big one comes on the first weekend of May with a cluster of events in the Olympic Park where 80,000 people are expected to attend, including 50,000 spectators in the Olympic Stadium to watch the London Disability Athletics Challenge.


 


Deighton said many lessons had already been learned from the test events, including in relation to security procedures.

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