Hello-Hello and happy Olympic watching weekend. It’s the big day, tonight the London Games Opening Ceremony gets underway at 9pm London time, 4pm EDT/1pm PDT.
Parties and official functions have been underway all week, the Queen and other royals are welcoming heads of state at a reception as I type. Below, athletes being welcomed to the Olympic Village, they are entertained by members of the National Youth Theatre.
London 2012 Facebook
Below we show an image from a function held last night, the Team USA gala; we see one of the first female Olympic boxers, Queen Underwood, she met “The Greatest”.
Via Team USA Facebook
Team USA athletes have been fitted for their uniforms, below we see basketball stars Kevin Durant (Oklahoma City Thunder) on the left and Carmelo Anthony (NY Knicks) on the right, Mr. Durant tweeted this photo. Both look dapper in their designer duds.
Via Kevin Durant Twitter
A more formal shot from Ralph Lauren.
Courtesy Photo
Ralph Lauren isn’t the only designer doing uniforms,Stella McCartney and Adidas teamed up for the Team GB uniforms.
Courtesy Photo
Here is a more detailed view.
Courtesy Photo
Host country Team GB will be in style from UK retailer Next for tonight’s events.
Courtesy Photo
Ferragamo has created the ceremonial styles for Republic of San Marino, Italy’s independent microstate.
Courtesy Photos
Jeff Banks designed the Belize uniforms, they definitely have an old school look.
Via Incorporate Wear
Italian athletes will be wearing both Armani…
AP via Yahoo
And Prada. Italy’s Olympic and Paralympic Sailing Teams will wear these styles.
Courtesy Images via WWD
The Azerbaijan team will be sporting these pieces by Italian luxury label Ermanno Scervino.
Courtesy Photos via the LA Times
Australia’s team will be in dark green blazers for tonight’s ceremonies.
Courtesy Photo via WWD.com
Here is a better look.
Time Magazine
The Australian competition ensembles by Adidas.
Courtesy
Hong Kong team members will be in Kent & Curwen.
Via Joyceyland blog
France is also wearing Adidas.
Adidas Courtesy Photo
South Korea will be in styles by Fila.
Fila Courtesy Photo via Time
And then there are those that seem… well, they just seem off. Below, the Russian look.
Courtesy Photos
Many have criticized China’s uniforms, I guess they don’t seem all that ghastly to me. The topstitching on the jackets is a bit wacky, but overall they don’t seem to be in the horrid-horrid-horrid category.
Time Magazine
But then there’s Spain.
Courtesy Photo via Time Magazine
Everyone has favorite athletes and sports they are attached to, we’re pulling for a local gymnast, Jordyn Wieber.
Via Jordyn Wieber Kellogg’s Blog
Because the Games are being held in a country with a constitutional monarchy there *will* be royals on hand. Prince William, Kate & Harry are all official Olympic Ambassadors. Yesterday the trio welcomed the Torch Run to Buckingham Palace.
Via Team GB Facebook
For anyone interested in seeing what events they will be attending, our sister blog has a post with all of their scheduled appearances.
For those wondering about watching things on TV, all events will be streamed live with the exception of Opening and Closing Ceremonies. To gain access to the live stream you need to be either a cable or satellite customer and also go through a quick registration process.
Here are some additional links that may be of help for the durations of the Games:
- For US viewers the NBC Olympics page is helpful
- Team USA’s home page is here, its Facebook page is here and Twitter account here
- The London 2012 website is here, the Facebook page is here and Twitter account here
- Twitter’s dedicated Olympics page is here
- To keep track of what is happening when, the official London Games schedule page might be one you want to bookmark
- A new feature for this year’s Games is the Official Athletes’ Hub, once registered you can follow specific athletes’ tweets, Facebook, Tumblrs, Instagram accounts and other social media. The site is run by the IOC.
We leave you with this shot of the Rings taken at Olympic Park last night at sunset.
London 2012 Facebook page
