Friday, March 29, 2024

London Diary

While London Olympics costs British tax payers nearly £9 billion, it also provided many a business opportunity and with the Games now on a full swing many are busy to cash in on it. Olympics power provider Aggerko already posted a 23 per cent jump in the profit and many companies, stores are likely to report the same in the coming days. Here are just a couple of examples.

‘Wiggomania’ opens gap in the fancy dress market
On the day Bradley Wiggins won Great Britain’s second gold medal of the Games, there were some news reports featuring disgruntled shop owners complaining that fears of transport congestion had meant some areas of London were experiencing a drop in customer. No such worries for this great nation’s fancy dress industry, who saw a sudden surge in demand for comedy stick-on sideburns. No prizes for guessing in whose honour sports fans were wearing them – they were, of course homage to the generously facial-haired Wiggins. Cycling fans in Kingston-upon-Thames, on the route of Wednesday’s cycling time trial, found a fancy dress store conveniently located just off the main route, and many took advantage to snap up those. Meanwhile, online store Party Domain had thought ahead and were trumpeting ‘Why not take a leaf out of their book and invest a mere £1.96 in a pair of brown sideburns from our accessories range to show your support for the British cycling star this summer.’ More committed fans can even go the whole hog and buy a Wiggins celebrity face mask, currently retailing at a mere £3.58 on eBay, but surely subject to considerable inflationary forces now he is even more of a national hero than he was when he made the Tour de France yellow jersey his own.

A good year for the roses
Along with sports drinks, towels and, if perennial rumours of nocturnal habits in the athletes’ village are to be believed, prophylactics, there is another commodity that is provided
by the truckload at every Olympic Games. That’s flowers, and since we’re in England, this time around it’s Roses that are in demand. In every Victory Ceremony at the London 2012 Olympic Games, a stunning bouquet is handed to each medallist. And the star of the show is undoubtedly the rose, the national flower of England, surrounded by fragrant herbs and wheat in a bouquet designed by the acclaimed florist Jane Packer. Some 4,800 bouquets will be handed to gold, silver and bronze medallists during the Olympic Games and the Paralympic Games, and Susan Napworth, creative director for Jane Parker, has explained the thinking behind their design. ‘We put in rosemary, mint and lavender,’ she said, ‘because we wanted a bouquet that was scented, to evoke the senses and help the athletes remember the moment. And athletes are less likely to be allergic to them than to the pollen in flowers. ‘The roses are there because they are the national flower and the wheat represents food and energy, which every athlete needs. ‘The eye-catching bright colours in the bouquet reflect the colours and logos of the London Olympics. But we also wanted to create something that looks good from every angle, because the athletes will be holding them up when they wave to the crowds. ‘The Organising Committee insisted that everything must be grown in Britain, so we had to commission someone to grow the roses, because they were not grown commercially.’ So we can safely assume there’s a humble rose grower somewhere who won the mother of all contracts in 2012.

Courtesy New Age

Related News

Handball tournament held at Gono Bishwabidyalay

Sports Desk : dhakamirror.com The final match of the Inter-Departmental Handball Competition-2023 was held at Gono Bishwabidyalay. In the girls’ event, the politics and administration department defeated the sociology and social work department with a margin of 12-11 goals in the final match on the university playground on Wednesday. In the boys’ handball final, the ... Read more

Archers Shana-Diya tie the knot

Sports Desk : dhakamirror.com The country’s two top archers, Ruman Shana and Diya Siddique, tied the knot on Wednesday. The Roman-Dia duo, who have been the two biggest names in archery in Bangladesh, are not only staying partners on the track of archery anymore, as their wedding ceremony took place at Asha Community Centre in ... Read more

Liton, Sabina, Nasrin nominated for top BSPA award

Sports Desk : dhakamirror.com The Bangladesh Sports Press Association nominated national team cricketer Liton Das, women’s football team forward Sabina Khatun, and recurve women’s team archer Nasrin Akther for Sportsperson of the Year 2022 during a press conference at the BOA auditorium on Thursday. The awards ceremony, namely the Kool BSPA Awards, will be held ... Read more

Olympic gold medalist and world champion Tori Bowie dies at age 32

Sports Desk : dhakamirror.com Tori Bowie, a three-time Olympic medalist and the 100-meter world champion in 2017, has died at the age of 32, her management company and World Athletics said on Wednesday. Bowie won three gold medals in her career, the first being at the 2016 Olympics in the 4x100m relay. She also secured ... Read more

Wayne Rooney might make his boxing debut against Jake Paul

Sports Desk : dhakamirror.com Wayne Rooney’s football career was undoubtedly one of the best in recent memory but that could all change now that the England legend could try his luck as a boxer. It would be quite a remarkable change, since he had a very special career, leading teams such as Manchester United and ... Read more

WWE SmackDown Results: Winners, Grades, Reaction, Highlights Before WrestleMania 39

Sports Desk : dhakamirror.com On the final SmackDown before WrestleMania, Roman Reigns and Cody Rhodes faced off each other one last time before the ultimate main event. The show was kicked off by the Usos. Plus, Andre the Giant battle royal match also took place on the night. About 24 hours before the biggest Pay-Per-View ... Read more

Oscar Pistorius denied parole in Reeva Steenkamp murder case

Sports Desk : dhakamirror.com South African Paralympic champion Oscar Pistorius who was sentenced to prison in 2016 for killing his partner Reeva Steenkamp, has been refused parole,South African prison authorities and a lawyer for the victim’s family said on Friday. Pistorius has been in prison since 2016 for the murder of his girlfriend, model Reeva ... Read more

World Athletics bans transgender women from female events

Sports Desk : dhakamirror.com Transgender women will no longer be allowed to compete in female track and field events regardless of their levels of testosterone, World Athletics President Sebastian Coe says. No female transgender athlete who had gone through male puberty would be permitted to compete in female world ranking competitions from March 31, Coe ... Read more

Sania Mirza and Shoaib Malik’s divorce is rumored

Stars of tennis and cricket tied the knot in 2010 and now have a son together. Sports Desk : dhakamirror.com Sania Mirza and Shoaib Malik, the power couple of the sports world, reportedly broke up recently. Reports have surfaced suggesting that tennis prodigy Sania Mirza and her husband Shoaib Malik have divorced. Mirza and Pakistani ... Read more

Hans Niemann has likely cheated in more than 100 chess games

A Chess.com report has found that the scale of Niemann’s cheating is far greater and has lasted longer than he has publicly admitted Sports Desk : dhakamirror.com Chess grandmaster Hans Moke Niemann may have cheated more than 100 times, according to new research published by a leading chess website. “Overall, we have found that Hans ... Read more

USA win FIBA ​​Women’s Basketball World Cup 2022

Sports Desk : dhakamirror.com The USA have been crowned the 2022 FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup champions after they beat China 83-61 in the final on Saturday. Ariel Atkins hit a three-point jump shot as the USA extended the gap to double digits in the second quarter, 29-18. At the Sydney Superdome, the USA led ... Read more

Japan defeated Brazil 3-1 at Volleyball Women’s World Championship

Japanese team in 3rd spot at 3-1 in Pool D Sports Desk : dhakamirror.com Japan defeated Brazil 3-1 on Friday at the FIVB Volleyball Women’s World Championship 2022. The Japanese team won the Pool D match 25-22, 25-19, 17-25 and 25-20 at the Arnhem’s GelreDome in the Netherlands.. Japan’s outside hitter Arisa Inoue delivered a ... Read more

Ejaj Ahmad from Bangladesh finishes the BMW Berlin Marathon in 2022

Sports Desk : dhakamirror.com The founder of Bangladesh Youth Leadership Centre (BYLC), Ejaj Ahmad, finished the 2022 BMW Berlin-Marathon in four hours, 55 minutes, and 18 seconds. Following a full marathon in San Francisco the previous year, he raced this marathon as his second race. The 42.195 km long BMW Berlin-Marathon 2022 is a race ... Read more

Host Australia lost to France in Women’s Basketball World Cup

Sports Desk : dhakamirror.com France toppled 2022 FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup host nation Australia 70-57 in a Thursday opener in Sydney. French forward Gabby Williams scored 23 points against Australia to be the key player for Les Bleues. Marine Fauthoux, another French player, scored 10 points. Australia’s Bec Allen racked up 16 points for ... Read more

Japanese driver Tsunoda’s contract with the AlphaTauri F1 team extended until 2023

Yuki Tsunoda debuted in Formula 1 with his team in 2021. Sports Desk : dhakamirror.com Yuki Tsunoda will remain with the Scuderia AlphaTauri team for the 2023 season, the team announced on Thursday. “I want to say a huge thank you to Red Bull, Honda and Scuderia AlphaTauri for continuing to give me the opportunity ... Read more

Formula 1 announces record-breaking 24 race calendar for 2023

The FIA has officially announced the F1 2023 calendar Sports Desk : dhakamirror.com The 2023 season will begin earlier than usual on March 5 in Bahrain before moving on to Saudi Arabia. On April 16, the Chinese Grand Prix makes its first appearance since 2019. Imola has been moved to May for the Emilia Romagna ... Read more

The sports world pays tribute to the Queen after her death

Sports Desk : dhakamirror.com The sporting world on Thursday offered its condolences to the royal family and to Britain after the death of longtime monarch Queen Elizabeth II. The English Premier League, English football clubs, the English Football Association (The FA), Team GB or the British Olympic team, Formula 1 and Wimbledon each wrote messages ... Read more

British decathlete Ben Gregory ‘in coma’ after bike crash

British decathlete Ben Gregory, who was critically hurt in a bike accident, is reportedly struggling for his life while in a coma.His partner Naomi Heffernan said the Team GB star suffered fractures to his skull and neck and multiple haemorrhages to his brain in the accident, and is on life support.Gregory, 31, represented Britain and ... Read more

Bangladesh’s archers finally achieve success at Islamic Solidarity Games

Sports Desk : dhakamirror.com Bangladesh archers won one silver and two bronze medals at the 5th Islamic Solidarity Games in Konya, Turkey on Wednesday.Bangladesh compound women’s team of Roksana Akter, Shamoli Ray and Puspita Zaman had to remain content with a silver medal as they lost to the Turkey team comprised of Bostan Ucar Yesim, ... Read more

Russian court sentences Brittney Griner to nine years behind bars

Sports Desk : dhakamirror.com Brittney Griner, a star player for the US basketball team, was found guilty of narcotics possession and smuggling by a Russian court on Thursday and given a nine-year prison term. Despite Griner’s claims that it was a “honest mistake,” Judge Anna Sotnikova stated in her decision that Griner had committed the ... Read more