THE PARALYMPIC GAMES LONDON 29th AUGUST-9th SEPTEMBER 2012

The Agitos, symbol of Paralympics was suspended from Tower Bridge on 24 August.



In many ways in 2012 the Paralympic Games are coming home. The concept of the Paralympic Games was born in Stoke Mandeville, UK, when a disability sports competition was held at the same time as the London 1948 Olympic Games in London.
Sport for athletes with a disability has existed for more than 100 years but it was not until after the Second World War that it was widely introduced.

Humble beginnings In 1944, German neurologist Dr Ludwig Guttmann opened a spinal injuries centre at the Stoke Mandeville Hospital in England. Guttmann transformed the care of Second World War servicemen as he introduced sport to their rehabilitation programme. He encouraged his patients to get involved in wheelchair polo and basketball.

On the day of the Opening Ceremony of the London 1948 Olympic Games, Dr Ludwig Guttmann held the first Archery competition for wheelchair athletes, which was the beginning of the Stoke Mandeville Games.

After this the Games were held annually, and in 1952 competitors from the Netherlands took part as well, and were soon to become the International Stoke Mandeville Games.

The first Paralympic Games The Paralympic Games first took place in Rome 1960 Games and featured 400 athletes from 23 countries. Since then they have taken place every four years. In 1976 the first Paralympic Winter Games were held in Sweden, and as with the Olympic Games, have taken place every four years.

Since the Seoul 1988 Games, the Olympic and Paralympic Games have taken place in the same city. 

The Paralympic Games today As the years have gone by the Paralympic Games have grown bigger and become more high profile, and in terms of size and scale they are now the second biggest sporting event on earth, after the Olympic Games.

The London 2012 Paralympic Games will see 4,280 athletes compete – the largest numbers ever to attend a Paralympic Games. More than 503 gold medals will be awarded over the course of 11 days of competition.

To celebrate Stoke Mandeville's history in the Paralympic Games, the Paralympic Flame was created in Stoke Mandeville on 28 August. Find out more about the Paralympic Torch Relay

Read more about the Paralympic movement

I HAVE A DREAM - MARTIN LUTHER KING, Jr.

The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., delivered this speech on August 28, 1963, on the steps of the Washington, D.C., Lincoln Memorial during the march on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.

FULL TEXT AND VIDEO AND AUDIO OF THE SPEECH

You can practice the speech with the following karaoke.

NEIL ARMSTRONG , FIRST MAN ON MOON, HAS DIED

Neil Armstrong, who made the “giant leap for mankind” as the first human to set foot on the moon, died on Saturday 25th, August 2012. He was 82.

A quiet, private man, at heart an engineer and crack test pilot, Mr. Armstrong made history on July 20, 1969, as the commander of the Apollo 11 spacecraft on the mission that culminated the Soviet-American space race in the 1960s. 

Planting his feet on the lunar surface, he said, “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”

“And when Neil stepped foot on the surface of the moon for the first time,” the president added, “he delivered a moment of human achievement that will never be forgotten.”

Charles F. Bolden Jr., the current NASA administrator, said, “As long as there are history books, Neil Armstrong will be included in them, remembered for taking humankind’s first small step on a world beyond our own.”

THE NOTTING HILL CARNIVAL 26TH-27TH AUGUST 2012

Held each August Bank Holiday since 1966, the Notting Hill Carnival is the largest festival celebration of its kind in Europe.

Groups of people from all over the world emigrated to the UK after the Second World War. Included in this were immigrants from the Caribbean. The carnival tradition was very strong in this part of the world, especially in Trinidad.

During the 1950s, living conditions, the lack of work opportunities and racism affected many of the local communities. There were widespread racial attacks in 1958 and so the following year, a group of West Indian locals organized a Caribbean-style carnival through the streets of London. The first Notting Hill Carnival actually took place inside St Pancras Town Hall.

The carnival moved outside in 1966 when approximately 1,000 people attended. Over the years, the carnival grew in popularity and, in 1976, 150,000 people attended. Unfortunately, riots between the young black population and the police over the next few years meant that fears grew for the future of the carnival. It was not banned and the troubles stopped.

The Notting Hill Carnival is now one of the biggest carnivals in Europe and has become a huge celebration of multicultural arts, music and dance with around two million people attending it every year.

MOTHER TERESA 26 AUGUST 1910 - 5 SEPTEMBER 1997

Mother Teresa of Calcutta was born on 27 August 1910. She always wrote her birthday as the 27 August because that was the day of her baptism, which was always more important to her than her birth. Following her death she was beatified by Pope John Paul II and given the title Blessed Teresa of Calcutta.

She received numerous awards, including a number from the Indian Government, one of which was the Bharat Ratna (1980), as well as international awards, such as the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979.

Who was Mother Teresa?

Mother Teresa birth name was Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu. At the age of 18 she became a nun in Ireland and chose the name of Sister Teresa, in memory of Saint Thérèse of Lisieux.

What is Mother Teresa famous for?

Mother Teresa is famous all over the world for her work with the poor in India. For over 45 years she ministered to the poor, sick, orphaned, and dying,

GAME ZONE

OLYMPICS END WITH A POP PARTY

With a little British pomp and a lot of British pop, London brought the curtain down on a glorious Olympic Games on Sunday 12,  in a spectacular, technicolor pageant of landmarks, lightshows and lots of fun with a sensational rock 'n roll nostalgia tour.

LONDON 2012 CLOSING CEREMONY

The London 2012 Olympic Games Closing Ceremony started at 9pm on 12 August 2012 and celebrated the amazing sporting feats of the athletes who have taken part in the Games with the ultimate aftershow party. 

The Ceremony featured more than 4,100 performers, including 3,500 adult volunteers and 380 schoolchildren from the six east London Host Boroughs, and showcased the great creative talent of the UK in a fun, colourful and festive atmosphere. 

Following an introduction to daily life in London, the athletes entered the Olympic Stadium and volunteers were thanked. ‘A Symphony of British Music’ followed to celebrate the fact that music has been one of Britain’s strongest cultural exports over the last 50 years.

At the end of the Ceremony, the Olympic Games were handed over to Rio de Janeiro for the 2016 Olympic Games, and the Olympic Flame was extinguished, signalling the end of the London 2012 Olympic Games.

8 GREAT REASONS TO VISIT THIS YEAR'S MALAGA FAIR

This year there will be lots of new surprises, extended hours (to 7pm) and the introduction of new areas and spaces such as the impressive Muelle Uno which has received lots of great publicity this year.

There’s lots to do during the Malaga Fair and to detail all here would be practically impossible. Instead, we’ve highlighted 8 of the most interesting events and activities you might like to see during these crazy festivities. Here goes…

1. Opening ceremony with live concert by local málaga band Efecto Mariposa in Playa de la Malagueta.You’ll also get to see the traditional – and spectacular – firework display which marks the official start of the Málaga Fair.
2. Traditional Flamenco shows in special ‘Casetas’ (Marquees) which will be set up in the Plaza de la Constitución and the Plaza dela Marina.
3. Various concerts in the Auditorio Municipal with artists such as Rosa López and Macaco.
4. The Plaza de la Merced will – for the fist time – host an Artisans Fair where visitors will be able to taste a whole range of local delicacies. There will also be several classical music concerts by the Malaga Musical Foundation.
5. The Magical Medieval Fair is another of the surprises this year. Aimed at the little ones, this unique fair will be held in the Alcazabilla street from the 13^th to the 18^th august. This educational space set up at the foot of Malaga’s famous Alcazaba will have theatre groups, magic and animation, all with a strong medieval focus.
6. The fair in the city centre will also have a special area dedicated to the younger generation. In the ‘Fray Alonso de Santo Tomás’ Square, a 3000 square metre marquee and 30.000 watt sound system will attract young crowds who will dance away to the latest tunes.
7. The ‘Feria del Mar’ at Muelle Uno is another of the new additions to this year’s fair. With its idyllic location, Muelle Uno will offer a lighter version of the fair with a relaxed ambience, chill out music and live acts as evening falls.
8. To celebrate the 525^th anniversary of the Malaga Fair, on Sunday the 19^th August (7:00pm) there will be a fantastic Historical Parade marking an important date in the local calendar: The day the Catholic Kings took back the city from the Moors (19^th August 1487).

This is a brief summary of what you can expect to see at this year’s Málaga Fair; however, if you’d like to see the whole official programme for the Malaga Fair, you can download it by clicking on the link (Please note that this is in Spanish).

MALAGA FAIR 2012 - 11TH-19TH AUGUST

Another year Malaga city prepares to celebrate its annual festival, which is known as the “largest fair in Southern Europe”.
These dates in mid-August which historically refer to the celebration of the capture of Malaga by the Catholic Monarchs on August 18, 1491.

From August the 11th to 19th Malaga’s population leave aside the daily working stresses routine life and begin to enjoy it, traditionally fair lovers dedicate throughout the year big saving time not to be deprived on their festivities week. 

Colorful fantasies decoration fills the Historical center, striking scenery and lights, beautiful women wearing flamenco costumes crowed the streets with joy in a good festive ambient.

Activities for everyone from 12.00 hours noon to 19.00 pm in the city centre, where friends and family meet for an enjoyable festive day, dancing, walking, listening to music, watch shows, bullfight etc.; At the same day hours at the fair ground (Cortijo de Torres) area, a route journey well signposted, distance covered with urban buses lines and large parking areas for those who prefer to drive, visitors can enjoy watching horseback riding, carriages typical adorned from head to toe as both the coach and the horsemen noble animals, spectacle worth watching and very entertaining, in the main streets of the “Real” (name given to the fair area) an obligated visit to the fair sheds to refresh and restore strength with the great variety of tapas and fried fish dishes as well as other regular restaurant menu.

And for the youngest one from 20.00 hours, there are endless attractions to ride and enjoy themselves.  This area of the fair is usually the most visited by youngest teenager and not so young people after the sunrise when the afternoon could down a little bit, usually the fairground do not close, it is up to each attraction activity, regular stop time after from 04.00/05,00 hours in the morning as the visitor is withdrawn to rest. And back again in a few hours.

ENJOY THE MALAGA FAIR 2012

Once again Malaga prepares to celebrate its annual festival, which is known as the “Feria de Malaga”.

Málaga Fair, 2012 (11-19/8/2012) will incorporate some innovations in the historical center of the city. There will be flamenco performances  in the Plaza de la Marina, a craft market in the Plaza de la Merced and the children’s area, the medieval market will move to street Alcazabilla .  The duration of the fireworks which will mark the start of the August’s Fair this year will be 15 minutes and will be launched after the speech of Malaga’s comedian Dani Rovira. Later is prepared the concert of the band Efecto Mariposa, on the beach Malagueta.    

  The Municipal Auditorium with the copla and flamenco booth and Flamenco Fair Centre become the venues of different musical performances during the fair.

Pitingo artists, Macaco, Rosa Lopez, Juan Martínez Valderrama and India, among others, offer their concerts at the Municipal Auditorium. Admission is free, except for the concerts of Pitingo, which cost five euros and Macaco, which will cost 10 euros.
The Malaga Fair will end on Sunday August 19 at 19.00pm and on the occasion of 525 anniversary of the city seizure by the Catholic Monarchs there will be a  ‘historical procession’.

EVERYTHING YOU DIDN'T DO _ JAIME CULLUM

The English singer/songwriter, Jamie Cullum has been on fire at iTunes Spain recently, topping the charts in recent days via his collaboration with Fuel Fandango lead singer Nita, rapper Frank T and musician Carlos Sadness. Together, their song "Everything You Didn't Do" is the soundtrack for San Miguel beer's latest summer ad, which is to go Europe wide this summer. Already in Spain it's been a major hit.

THE OLYMPIC GAMES: A SHORT ANIMATED HISTORY

 
                   
                   
                   


                

WORD HURDLES - GAME

How's your knowledge of Olympic sports. Test yourself or play against a friend with this game. Can you win a medal? 

WORLD WIDE WEB

On 6 August 1991, Tim Berners-Lee released his text-based Web software to the public creating the beginnings of the World Wide Web and general public use of the Internet.   What is the World wide Web? The World Wide Web is a system of text links and multimedia capabilities that make the Internet accessible to mass audiences. Who is Tim Berners-Lee? Tim Berners-Lee is the primary inventor of the software program known as the World Wide Web. In 1989, Berners-Lee and his CERN colleagues created a communications protocol called HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP) that standardised communication between computer servers and clients. Tim Berners-Lee was born on 8 June 1955 in London, England. Timeline of the WWW 1971: First email is sent by computer engineer Ray Tomlinson 1989 March:Tim Berners-Lee coins the term World Wide Web (www) 1994: First full-text Web search engine is launched – the WebCrawler 1995: September, eBay is launched 1996 4 July - Hotmail is launched commercially, linking America’s Independence Day with freedom on the internet 1998 September - Google is launched 1999 The first large peer-to-peer file-sharing network is launched – Napster 2003 April - iTunes is launched by Apple 2003 August - MySpace launched helping to break the music careers of singers including Lily Allen and bands like Arctic Monkeys 2003 February - Social network site Facebook and sharing application Flickr launched 2005 February - Video-sharing site YouTube 2006 March – Twitter launched

MIREIA WINS TWO MEDALS AT LONDON 2012 OLYMPIC

Mireia Belmonte has won a second medal at the London 2012 Olympics and in just one week has become the best spanish swimmer of all time.

Mireia Belmonte, the young Catalan swimmer from Badalona has won silver in the 200 metres butterfly and 800 metres freestyle events at the Olympic Games in London and has equaled the record held until now by canoeist David Cal and ex cyclist Joan Llaneras to become the only Spaniard to win two medals in a single olympic games.

In just a week, the girl from Badalona can boast of being the best Spanish swimmer of all time. With the silver in the 200 meters butterfly and 800 freestyle events, Belmonte is the only one that has won two medals at an Olympic games in all Spanish swimming history.

Mireia Belmonte still has many challenges ahead of her after the games. For starters, the World Cup 2013 is to be disputed on home soil in Barcelona.

STROLL: DISCOVERY TRAILS_ LONDON 2012

Take a stroll along some of London’s most scenic streets with the free Discovery Trails. Six unique walking routes have been put together across the historic city centre that will take you on a journey of discovery to the greatest sights and sounds of London.

Keep an eye out for official Games mascots Mandeville and Wenlock, who’ll be bringing the trails to life and highlighting some great photo opportunities. Each will be individually designed, animating the routes in a unique way that captures the spirit of London. 

GABBY DOUGLAS WON THE GOLD MEDAL- LONDON 2012

Gabby Douglas, known as "The Flying Squirrel," won the women's all-around title at the 2012 Olympic Games , becoming the third straight American to win gymnastics' biggest prize and the first African-American. It's her second gold medal of the London Games, coming two nights after she and her "Fierce Five" teammates gave the United States its first Olympic title since 1996.

Douglas finished with 62.232 points.

Gabby brought the house down with her energetic floor routine, and U.S. teammates Jordyn Wieber, McKayla Maroney and Kyla Ross jumped to their feet and cheered when she finished. 
Douglas flashed a smile and coach Liang Chow lifted her off the podium.