countdown

As you may have heard, the Olympics are being held in London this year, and today marks the start of the 100-day countdown. As the day of the London 2012 opening ceremony draws nearer and nearer, we look at today's events celebrating the landmark.

Perhaps the most important news to come out today is the revealing of the official London 2012 slogan. And the slogan is...(drum roll please)... "Inspire a generation". Head of the organising committee Lord Seb Coe explained that the typically dull slogan "should come as no surprise as it is the heartbeat and DNA of the London Games".

Events were held throughout London yesterday to celebrate the start of the one-year countdown to the 2012 Olympics. To mark the occasion, a ceremony was held in Trafalgar Square where the likes of Princess Anne, Prime Minister David Cameron and Mayor Boris Johnson unveiled the medals that will be awarded to successful athletes.

The gold, silver and bronze medals (pictured above) have been designed by British artist David Watkins and have the usual symbolism that sports bodies enjoy but which makes little sense. The backs of the medals (on the right of the picture) supposedly have a number of symbolic images, including a grid of ‘radiating energy that represents the athletes' achievements and effort', a dished background that ‘suggests a bowl similar to the design of an amphitheatre' and a ribbon that represents the River Thames and ‘adds a sense of celebration'.

Regardless of what they are meant to symbolically represent, there is a general consensus that the medals do encapsulate both the history of the Olympic Games and the modernity of the London 2012 edition.