Preview of London 2012 Commemorative Coins

The special London 2012 Olympic 50 pence coins have a reverse side of each of the 29 sports designed by citizens of England and Wales. In order to fit with the all-inclusive, universal image of the London games, the successful coin designers represent a rich selection of society, from a Manchester police office to a Bristol 9 year old schoolgirl. This has been approved by the Queen and the treasury. When announcing the coins launch, London 2012 Olympic chairman Lord Coe said:

"Coins are a part of the fabric of our daily life, so to have a range of coins designed specifically to celebrate London 2012 is a huge honour - made all the more special by the fact that members of the public have designed them."

These two kids along with other 27 designers who contribute the coins design 

 Florence Jackson  (9 years old)

Theo Crutchley-Mack  (16 years old)

London 2012 Badminton Smash

One of the most dynamic Olympic sports, Badminton made its full Olympic debut at Barcelona 1992. Although the rules of the modern sport were developed in England, Asian countries now dominate: China, Indonesia and South Korea have won 23 of the 24 gold medals awarded since the sport’s first appearance at the Games.  The London 2012 Badminton competition will be held at Wembley Arena, on a site that has hosted major events ever since the British Empire Exhibition opened there in 1924.

At London 2012, there will be five medal events: men’s and women’s Singles, men’s and women’s Doubles, and Mixed Doubles. All events will begin with a preliminary stage: the competitors will be divided into groups, and each player and doubles pair will play everyone else in their group. The best players and doubles pairs from this stage (16 in each Singles event, eight pairs in each Doubles event) will qualify for the knockout stage of the competition, which will eventually decide the winners of the medals.

Harry Potter Movie Magic in 2012 London Cultural Olympiad

Recognized her? Yes!  She is Jessica Cave, who plays Ron Weasley’s love interest Lavender Brown in Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, was on hand to help a group of 14-19 year olds make a film in a day. The finished product could be shown at London 2012 venues during next summer’s Olympic and Paralympic Games. Jessica will present an award at the Film Nation Shorts National Award Ceremony in October, said: ‘I started making short films when I was keen to expand my skills beyond acting and really wanted to learn the craft of film making. Because of my experience I was keen to come to Waltham Forest and help inspire young people who wouldn’t normally think of trying to do something like this to get involved.'