2012 | Foreign Students

Olympic Fever Starting to Grow

Submitted by Foreign Students on Thu 17/03/11

Olympic excitement is growing by the day in Britain as a range of events have taken place over the last few weeks.

It all kicked off last week when the first of a series of giant Olympic symbols was unveiled in London. A set of Olympic Rings 20 metres wide and 9 metres tall were revealed at St Pancras International train station by Mayor of London Boris Johnson.

Next to come was a countdown clock in Trafalgar Square which marked 500 days to go until the start of the 2012 Olympics. The four tonne timer looks very impressive (as you can see above), but unfortunately (and in a very British way) it stopped working just one day after being unveiled. It’s back up and running now though so is all is fine again!

Finally, tickets for the Games went on sale around the world yesterday. For 42 days you can apply for tickets to up to 20 events, and although there are 6.6 million tickets available, demand is expected to be huge. Don’t worry though, it is not a first come first serve system, but instead everyone who has applied for tickets by the 26th April deadline will be drawn at random to decide who actually gets the tickets.

The Very Best of the London Olympics 2012

Submitted by Foreign Students on Thu 24/02/11

Excitement in the UK is building as the countdown to the London 2012 Olympics is gathering pace. Last night the full schedule for the world’s biggest sporting event was released, and from March 15th anyone can start applying for tickets.

Here are a few of the expected highlights:

Top Twitter Trends of 2012

Submitted by Foreign Students on Wed 12/12/12

Yesterday Twitter unveiled the top trends of 2012 in the UK. Some of the results are exactly what you'd expect, whilst others are pretty surprising. Here we have the full run down:

Top Ten Trending Issues

1. NHS
2. Syria
3. #Assange
4. Prince Harry
5. Samantha Brick
6. #NHS
7. Afghanistan
8. VAT
9. Leveson
10. Rebekah Brooks

People love to use Twitter to ‘debate' issues (/push their opinion forward). Various issues have dominated the headlines in 2012, often for weeks on end. From the ongoing farce that is the Julian Assange situation, to the challenges to the NHS, to ridiculous articles appearing in the Daily Mail (Samantha Brick we're looking at you).

Murray Loses Wimbledon Final, but Gains New Fans

Submitted by Foreign Students on Mon 09/07/12

Andy Murray lost in four sets to Roger Federer in the Wimbledon tennis final yesterday, but his performance and post-match interview gained him millions of new fans in Britain. Meanwhile, Federer confirmed himself as one of, if not the, greatest player of all time, equalling Pete Sampras' record of seven Wimbledon titles and returning to number 1 in the rankings.

Murray Making History

As the number four in the world, Murray had already appeared in three other Grand Slam finals, though hadn't won even a single set in any of them. However, after reaching the semis at Wimbledon each of the previous three years, he eventually made it to the final after beating Frenchman Tsonga on Friday.

Amazingly, this was the first time a British man had reached the final of the London tennis tournament since 1938- a huge 74 year wait. However, up against Murray was the most successful man ever to have played the sport- Roger Federer. Murray started well, breaking his opponent in the very first game, before going on to win the first set 6-4. The joy was short-lived though, as he lost the next three sets.

Attention Turns to Tennis as Wimbledon Comes to Town

Submitted by Foreign Students on Tue 26/06/12

England have been knocked out of Euro 2012, yesterday was the first sunny day in weeks, and the London Olympics are still over a month away. It all adds up to make it the perfect time for Wimbledon to take centre stage. The annual tennis tournament in south-west London started yesterday, and already fans have been treated to the world's best players, some huge shocks, and even a British win.

The tournament is one of the four ‘Majors' in tennis and is the oldest tennis competition in the world. For two weeks each year it becomes the focus of the sport, as crowds descend on the twenty grass courts to stuff themselves with strawberries and cream and watch some world-class tennis.