Tag Archives: Olympics

Nothing Will Be Restrained

Posted on July 27, 2012 by

This short film essay looks at how man has built and talked about elemental architecture forms since the Tower of Babel. It takes the viewer inside the ArcelorMittal Orbit for the first time as well as placing it in historical … Continue reading →

Posted in 2012, Architecture, Engineering | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

Taste And The Tower

Posted on November 10, 2011 by

I want to say something about the history of the relationship between towers and the Olympic Games, leading to a few comments on the outpourings of disgust around the ArcelorMittal Orbit. It is often forgotten that this began with the … Continue reading →

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A Very British Torch Relay.

Posted on November 7, 2011 by

As the organisers of the London Olympics propose ever more stupid stunts that the Olympic Torch must perform during the Olympic torch relay – zip-wire over the Tyne, abseiled down a tower in Grimbsy,  taken in a steamer across Lake Windemere, … Continue reading →

Posted in 2012, Pageantry | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Of Montreal

Posted on July 13, 2011 by

After the establishment of the Committee d’Organisation des Jeux Olympique (COJO) in 1972, the body tasked with not just running the Olympic Games in Montreal but controversially to build the structures, the Canadian Ambassador for Argentina wrote to his superiors … Continue reading →

Posted in 2012, Architecture, Media, Old Things, Urbanism | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Reaching for My Revolver

Posted on June 21, 2011 by

Will Gompertz on the Today programme this morning said that the arts has “always been embedded in the idea of hosting the Olympics.’ As portions of the £80m Cultural Olympiad were officially announced – a group of artists to create … Continue reading →

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A History of the Olympic Torch Relay: Part II, The Torch as Technology

Posted on May 20, 2011 by

In the original series of Star Trek, there is an episode called ‘Who Mourns For Adonais’, in which Captain Kirk meets Apollo, who by the time of stardate 3468.1 is the last of the Greek Gods. He sports a glittering … Continue reading →

Posted in 2012, Design | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

When Doves Fry

Posted on April 28, 2011 by

A plan to ban fireworks from the Opening Ceremony of the games, prompted IOC President Jacques Rogge into prolonged reminiscence about a salutary tale from the annals of Olympic history. Rogge, one of the rare members of the IOC to … Continue reading →

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Gratuitous Beauty Pageant Post

Posted on October 21, 2010 by

Giovanna Mazotti was voted Miss Italy in 1952 winning the right to represent her country at that year’s Miss Universe competition, which was eventually won by Miss Finland. Upon returning home, Miss Italy  told a Rome newspaper that the Miss Universe … Continue reading →

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A Cathedral Dedicated to Excrement

Posted on October 1, 2010 by

As London’s sewer system accepts into its gaping maw a huge autumnal deluge, it is worth sparing a thought for those who created it. The Metropolitan Board of Works was created in 1855 to improve the cities infrastructure ‘under the … Continue reading →

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