POSTED: July 12th 2012
NewsUpdate
London Media Center and VISA open doors to welcome 6,200 media
LAURA WALDEN / Sports Features Communications
July 12 – The London Media Centre in partnership with TOP Sponsor VISA has opened in the host city to welcome over 6,200 accredited and non-accredited media during the Games. Non-accredited media centers have been organized since the Sydney 2000 Games to accommodate the overflow of media.
The center is located at the heart of Westminster at One Great George Street, right next to Parliament Square and the Olympic Beach Volleyball venue at Horse Guards Parade. It will also be focusing on the tourism and business aspects of the city and over 600 events have been organized by the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson.
Johnson said, “This will be a summer like no other, presenting an unparalleled opportunity for London to show off its wares to a global audience of billions. An inquisitive army of reporters, camera crews and photographers are migrating to our city to see not only sporting history in the making, but everything that makes a host city tick.
“From the iconic to the little known, we want these media professionals to be offered an unparalleled experience of the capital and a smorgasbord of great stories. This will ensure that future tourists and businesses get a taste of why London is the best place in the world to visit and invest in for years to come.”
TOP Sponsor VISA will be cleverly using the facility as a place to share its news on its latest mobile and contactless payment innovations at the Games, updates about the athletes Visa is supporting through Team Visa and regular reports on economic impact and consumer spending during the Games.
So far 832 media organizations from 66 countries have registered for the center that boasts state-of-the-art facilities including 24-hour access, desk space, press conference facilities and free connectivity allowing media to deliver material through the high-speed IT provision within the venue.
The largest contingent is from China which is 600 strong and will be reporting to 4 billion viewers. Mainstream networks such as CNN, Fox News, ZDF (Germany) Nine Network (Australia) and CNBC are also working at the center.
Tim Dietz, Vice President Interactive for KUSA-TV part of the NBC Broadcasting team, explained, “This is a fantastic chance for us to provide our viewers with daily Olympic news updates and at the same time showcase a variety of stories about London and the surrounding area.”
Not only is it a working space for media, a special website has been launched and offers exclusive daily stories, content, video and images. Already around 8,000 stories, images and video clips have already been downloaded from the site by reporters in 73 countries.
The facility will host press conferences by UK government Ministers and officials, the Mayor of London and other key figures as well as the Jamaican NOC with superstar sprinter Usain Bolt.
The promotional organization London & Partners is responsible for the 50-day programme of events and ceo Gordon Innes noted, “As a centre of creativity and talent, and a leading destination to visit, study and do business in, the role of the LMC is crucial in carrying London’s key messages to the world.
“Our overriding objective is to show the world’s media just what London has to offer, both in 2012 and beyond and ultimately we want to make their experience in the capital as seamless as possible. With the outstanding LMC facilities, the pan-London film permit and the exclusive access to over 600 unique events – this is truly a media centre to be proud of.”
The topics cover a range of areas and even media tours through England, Scotland and Wales will showcase all aspects of the country including the birthplace of the modern Olympics - Much Wenlock, the world famous Edinburgh Festival and Fringe and the new Wales Coastal Path.
Keywords · London Media Center · London 2012 · Boris Johnson
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