Fancy a dip in the London Fields Lido in July 2012? Suffering from a heatwave, got the children on holiday, just in need of a little restful soak? Not on your lilo! Hackney Council have agreed to allow the American swimming team to use it for last minute training. And it's not just Hackney. Other 50 metre pools will also be taken over for last minute practice. The Brits will be in Edinburgh.

Anne Laurence, nee Windsor, thinks the Olympic Park is already a hell of a legacy! In an interview with BBC's Inside Sport she enthused about the work that has been done to date saying "That's a hell of a legacy just to begin with...." However, she wasn't sure there would be much more to come after the Games when she went on "never mind the sports legacy that might come afterwards." That was about it for Anne's understanding of legacy, a hell (of a lot) of half finished stadiums.

First it was 'Beckham backs the bid', then 'Beckham to motivate the England Squad'. Now it may be 'Beckham returns to East End roots'. West Ham have been talking to 'his people' in an attempt to rope in the Leytonstone born celeb in its bid to get its hands on the 2012 Olympic Stadium. Still, the lad hasn't agreed yet. Maybe West Ham is a bit of a comedown for Brand Beckham after the various excitements of the World Cup.

Stella McCartney has been hired by sports apparel maker Adidas to design their outfits for Team GB at the 2012 Olympics.

Back in 2007 Tessa Jowell said "The gold dust of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games could be the way to inspire so many young people to change their lives, to increase their involvement in sport and arts." The Government had set a target of getting two million more people involved in sport by 2012.

An International Labor Rights Forum report, June 7, 2010

This report presents the key findings of the International Labor Rights Forum’s research in the four largest soccer balls producing countries: Pakistan, India, China and Thailand. This report also highlights the need to rethink the strategies being utilized by companies to encourage suppliers to adhere to strong labor standards.

It would seem that the key concept for the 'actually existing Olympics' is signified by the word poor

The Lea Valley Regional Park Authority seems to be a trifle confused. In its 2007/8 accounts it identifies the 2012 Olympics as ‘a major risk that could affect all our key business objectives into the future.’ It goes on to say ‘The award of the Olympics to London will affect our land, business, financial and human resources. At this stage it is too early to fully assess the precise impact.’ Later on it goes on restate the problem ‘It is important that the Authority remains focused on the issues and related risk of the Olympics, and that the new Strategic Business Plan reflects the effect of the Olympics risk on our business objectives.’

Let the Bejing Olympics of Global Re-branding and Marketing begin!