The release of (PDF link) is always a high spot for me in the four-year Olympic cycle.
As ´óÏó´«Ã½ Sport's head of major events, I get very excited - as my colleagues will testify - at the prospect of looking for during the Games.
Since , I've been planning the detailed television sports schedules and my approach has always been to look for the stories each day. Who are likely to be the stars of the Games? Can our heroes of four years before repeat their successes? Where will the dramatic action take place? Will history be made? We'll shape our plans accordingly.
What follows are some first thoughts which inform our plans but are equally relevant when deciding which tickets to try to buy. On which days should you try to get the unique experience of being there? Which are the days to spend 15 hours on your sofa watching all the action, without missing a moment?
It's your choice, of course, but we'll benefit both ways with full stadia and large TV audiences creating a great atmosphere for both spectators and viewers at home.
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, an annual event which takes place in nine global cities, took place this week, and the ´óÏó´«Ã½ took part in several sessions during the London leg.
´óÏó´«Ã½ Sport played its part on Wednesday 9 February. There was a two-hour session in London, the first hour of which discussed sport and social media, with the second hour focusing in on the London 2012 Olympics and the part social media will play in the ´óÏó´«Ã½'s coverage.
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Yes folks, it's almost that time again...the New Year resolutions are well and truly broken, your booze ban is over and there's just a hint of light at the end of the dark tunnel. It must be kick-off for that annual festival of rugby union that is the .
And what a start it should be on Friday night - yes Friday night - when Martin Johnson's England will head over the Severn Bridge to take on Wales in front of what Johnno himself describes as the most intimidating atmosphere in world rugby.
The match is live on ´óÏó´«Ã½1 from 7.30pm, but live from 7.00pm on ´óÏó´«Ã½1 Wales and the Red Button for an extra-long build-up for what should be a crucial game in shaping the next seven weeks. The coverage will be hosted by John Inverdale, with Jonathan Davies and Jerry Guscott.
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In ancient Greece, , and was ignored. In modern Greece, another alarm has sounded: London, beware.
The warning comes from the staging of the Olympics in Athens in 2004. . The official figure is £9.6bn but SotirisTriantafyllou, one of Greece's most experienced sports journalists, says that the "real" figure is a "mystery". All he can say for sure is that the official estimate is "not true... it's two or three times that amount".
Rarely, if ever, do Olympic Games make money for their hosts. But the Greeks' profligacy was perhaps without precedent.
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