Paralympic Chief Wants Talks with NBC; PM Hails "Golden Summer" of Sport

PM Hails "Golden Summer" of Sport

British Prime Minister David Cameron on Monday hailed the Olympics and Paralympics as the "best ever", claiming they would live long in the memories of the public.

At a reception in No. 10, he said Olympians and Paralympians had "delighted and amazed" and thanked volunteers, the military troops who plugged a shortfall in venue security and the police for their efforts.

"At the end of the most unbelievably successful Olympics and Paralympics, I just want to say what a golden summer of British sport and what a golden summer it has been for our country," he was quoted by the Press Association.

"I think it has given us a tremendous lift, I think it has brought the country together and I think it has given us memories that we will be talking about for years and generations to come.

"I think that 2012 will be like 1966 [when England won the FIFA World Cup], something we'll talk about with our children and grandchildren, something that will continue to delight us long after this time has passed."

Paralympic Chief Wants Talks with NBC

The International Paralympic Committee may reconsider its relationship with U.S. TV channel NBC after its failure to show any live action of the Games.

"Will we speak to NBC? Let’s hope that NBC are proposing to speak to us," IPC president Philip Craven was quoted by London’s Metro.

"Why not? We’re waiting for them to knock on our door. And if we find our values don’t fit, we’ll have to go somewhere else."

After hailing the Paralympics as the "greatest Games ever", Craven’s comments smack of the disappointment he and his IPC colleagues felt at NBC showing no live action over the 11 days of Paralympic action. The TV channel screened only four highlights programs and also did not show the opening ceremony. It’s 90-minute wrap-up program isn’t scheduled until Sept. 16.

In comparison, Australia's ABC screened more than 100 hours. British rights holder Channel 4 aired 400 hours of Paralympic coverage. It notched up record audiences for a Paralympics; last night the TV channel recorded peak-time audience of 7.7 million for the closing ceremony

NBC hit back at the criticism, saying its five-and-a-half hours was a marked improvement on the Beijing 2008 Paralympics when its coverage amounted to just one 90-minute highlights program.

The US Olympic Committee defended NBC's coverage.

The USOC said it had bought the rights to the Paralympics in the U.S. after the IPC was unable to sell them in the U.S. market. A deal was then struck with both NBC and YouTube to ensure the Games went on air.

"NBC actually has stepped up to the plate and ensured that there is a five-fold increase of Paralympic coverage in the U.S.," a USOC spokesman told ATR.

Polyclinic Named After Paralympics Founder

The health center at the heart of the London 2012 Olympic Village will be renamed in tribute to the father of the Paralympic movement, Ludwig Guttmann.

The polyclinic used by Olympians and Paralympians will be handed over to the National Health Service and eventually become the Sir Ludwig Guttmann Health Centre. It will serve the new residents of the Olympic Village, which will be known as the East Village in legacy mode, and the local community.

"Sir Ludwig Guttmann devoted his life to improving the care of disabled people, using sport to help turn people’s lives around completely. Without his innovative work, it’s clear that the Paralympics as we know them today would simply not exist. Soit’s only fitting that we dedicate this state-of-the-art health centre to his memory," said Jeremy Hunt, the former Olympics and culture secretary who became health secretary last week.

Eva Loeffler, Mayor of the Olympic Village and daughter of Guttmann said her father would have been "honored and thrilled" to know that the legacy of the London 2012 Games would include a polyclinic that bore his name and served a community that had its roots in the "wonderful Olympic and Paralympic Games of 2012".

Guttmann, a pioneering neurologist, founded the Paralympic movement by incorporating sport into his rehabilitation program for ex-servicemen after World War II. In 1948, he held an archery competition at Stoke Mandeville Hospital's National Spinal Injury Centre to coincide with the London Olympics. Four years later the 16-participant event became an international competition, setting the foundations for the first Paralympics in Rome in 1960.

Spectators Applaud London 2012 Transport

LOCOG says eight out of 10 spectators rated as ‘extremely good’ their experience of getting home after an event during the Olympics. According to the London 2012 survey, nearly 75 percent praised the ease and efficiency of public transport around London.

LOCOG highlighted the results of the survey to show off the success of the Olympic Delivery Authority’s London 2012 Transport Plan. It was designed to deliver safe, reliable and efficient transport and leave a positive legacy across the UK; close to $600 million was invested in infrastructure improvements both within and outside London.

Survey figures for the Olympics, reflecting the views of almost 95,000 people, included:

- 83 percent rating their experience of getting home after attending an event during the Olympics extremely good, including 86 per cent for spectators at the Olympic Stadium;

- 74 percent of spectators judged as extremely good the ease and efficiency of public transport around London during the Games;

- 1.4m spectators used special park-and-ride facilities, bus and coach services, and walking and cycling routes

- More than 100,000 made use of accessible bus shuttles linking railway stations and other transport hubs with venues – designed for disabled people and others with mobility needs.

Hugh Sumner, the ODA’s Director of Transport, said: "The transport system did not just survive this once-in-a-lifetime challenge, it flourished. Record-breaking investment ensured we had trains, buses, stations, and networks able to efficiently handle record-breaking numbers of spectators.

He added: "People heeded our advice about changing their daily travel habits for just a few weeks to make life easier for everyone, whether Londoners, Britons or international visitors – and we are delighted that the planning paid dividends and has left people remembering London 2012 for all the right reasons."

Reported by Mark Bisson

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