The announcements just keep on coming. Following Wenlock and Mandeville's arrival into the world last week, we learned in the past couple of days that Universal Music is becoming Locog's music licensee and that and "Official Steel Supporter" of the Games.
There was the unscripted and less welcome announcement of a budget cut - discussed by my colleague David Bond here. But on Wednesday the press releases are again flooding into the inboxes - with news of London's Torch relay.
You'll know from the previous blogs here and here that we're pretty keen on the Torch within the 91Èȱ¬ 2012 project team.
It looks like most effective means of getting the whole of the United Kingdom involved in the build-up to the Olympics - and this time there's no international dimension, so no risk of running . The relay can be about the best of Britain.
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When I started this blog getting on for a year ago I thought it wouldn't get really busy in terms of visits to the page and comments until we got close to 2012. I obviously didn't factor in mascots and their launch live on the 91Èȱ¬ yesterday. So many thanks to everyone who's taken part in the discussions, and I thought it might be best to post a quick update here to avoid it being buried in the deluge.
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Well, it's not a lion. That was the preferred choice of people who contributed to my last post - but that was, of course, before Wenlock and Mandeville were unveiled before the nation.
Now we can see what they're like:
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More than a million people on the London 2012 database will be receiving emails very soon telling them about the next landmark in the Olympic story. This time it's not about tickets or venues: rather, it's about what will have one of its manifestations as a cuddly toy. Yes, the mascots are going to be unveiled later this week.
With due respect to the seriousness with which this week's launch is being handled, mascots should be more about the fun side of London 2012. I was of a generation that recognised determined-looking lion as a lasting image of 1966; and Zakumi, allegedly a leopard, will shortly be unavoidable as the symbol of South Africa 2010.
Willie was a pioneer for major sporting events, and the Olympics rapidly followed the way of football. By the time we got to Beijing in 2008 , one of the more surreal moments of the Games coming at the diving where the bursts of music in-between the competitors were accompanied by demented poolside dancing from the mascots.
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The precariousness of life in politics was brought home to me the other day when I was chatting to someone from the Greater London Authority about the Olympic Games. "I may not be in a job by then," was their rueful line.
And there is, of course, the rather significant matter of a Mayoral and Assembly election in London scheduled for May 2012 - just over 2 months before the start of the Games. It may not be Boris Johnson brandishing the flag in the opening ceremony; and yet most of the big decisions from London's point-of-view will have already been taken. The "one amazing year" the Mayor has talked about will be five months old when the capital's electorate gives its verdict.
So the outcome of last week's General Election has added another layer of uncertainty to the London 2012 planning. There are massively bigger matters at stake like the future of the economy and the shape of our political system which are being reported brilliantly by Nick Robinson & Co; but during the campaign I bumped into one of the nation's great and good who said he was looking forward to the outcome because we'd have a settled government that knew it would be in power in 2012 and beyond, and that would help all the projects. Which made me think he hadn't been looking at the polls.
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This post is more about pictures than words. It's because we've just been on our latest visit to the Olympic Park, and I thought you'd like to see how it's looking. This trip was also a first experience of the venues for many of the 91Èȱ¬'s presenters currently working in and , so you'll notice some familiar faces en route.
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I'm Roger Mosey, the 91Èȱ¬'s director of London 2012. That means I'm overseeing all the 91Èȱ¬'s 2012 preparations including not just sport but the Cultural Olympiad, our Olympic news and information services and everything that will bring the story of the London Games to audiences at home and abroad. I want to share here what we're planning - and debate some of the big issues. You can also follow me on .
