British Embassy in China establishes countdown clock for London Olympics

British Embassy in China established a countdown clock at the ambassador's residence here on Wednesday to mark the one-year countdown to the 2012 London Olympic Games.

"The final countdown will begin. An exciting year of outstanding sporting and cultural events in Britain will set the stage for the greatest (sport) show on earth next summer," said ambassador Sebastian Wood.

Zuo Zhiyong, deputy secretary of the Chinese Olympic committee and Beijing Olympic women's 78kg judo champion Yang Xiuli were invited to the ceremony.

To echo with London's festivities ahead of 2012 Olympic Games, British Embassy in China is set to organize some events in Beijing and around China as a program called "UK NOW" which will bring the best British culture, music, performances and arts to China in a series of events over six months.

"With one year to go we are on track to deliver on everyone of these commitments. Britain stands ready to welcome the world to London," Wood added.

As the 2012 London Olympic Games are drawing near, the London Olympic Games ticket sales under the Chinese Olympic Committee(COC) have also been underway, with tickets available online at the official website of Caissa Touristic, the exclusive official ticket sales agent under the COC.

Caissa is planning to unveil a series of travel products and services, such as a package of match-watching services, visa applications for the Olympic Games, and the "Olympic Tour of the United Kingdom".

Wood reminded Chinese citizens who want to go to London to watch the Olympic Games that they have to "think ahead and make sure their visa application is in good time", which will normally need a 15-day procedure.

"The number of Chinese people to travel to UK is increasing. The British Embassy issued 14,200 visas in a single week for Chinese people to go to UK recently, which is a new record and shows the demand is increasing," Wood said.

"For Chinese athletes and officials to the London Olympic Games, we will have special procedure for visa application, but for the public, we will adopt the normal visa system."

Source:Xinhua

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