London 2012 – Where to Witness German Glory at The Olympics

And with London 2012 remaining tantalizingly close with its opening ceremony on the 27th of the July, Germany has quite a compatible squad representing its colors to face multiple competitions, even though using the term ‘compatible’ here is modest, especially when you come to evaluate the line-up of athletes under literal terms. What you need to understand is, the German audience potentially attending the Olympics this year has a cemented opportunity to witness their country making history on the global front, in not just one, but in three different categories of sports; table tennis, fencing and even modern pentathlon. All speculators and pundits have pointed out a German athlete for each of these categories, and each athlete is seasoned enough with previous Olympic representations to shoulder a well-prepared attempt at the medals in London.

Passionate, dedicated and strenuous, Peter Joppich has earned the right of having the world’s eyes on him as he aims for the Gold Medal at the current 2012 Olympics in London. He has already proven his mettle with a majority of Gold, silver along with a bronze medal through his expertise in competitions within Europe during the last decade of his career. Being the World Champion in four individual titles does speak out for itself, not to miss that he has remained in the top ten ranking since the launch of his profile in the Olympics.

All matches set in for the men’s individual foil at the London 2012 Olympics are to take place on the 31st of July. The matches start with a round of 64 on a knockout-basis, succeeding to a round of 32 and a round of 16 to rise the winners against each other to the quarter finals, semi-finals and the final round respectively, with all of them taking place on the very same day. The first stage, round of 64, will start off at 10:30 AM in the morning, while the progress of the remaining rounds is scheduled to end up with the final match at 7:10 PM. The high profile venue for the Fencing series is none other than the ExCel exhibition centre in London, which is consistent of 5 arenas booked for the matches.

Among the most prominent Germans aiming to clinch the Gold in their respective competitions is Timo Boll; a German who has mastered table tennis to such a finish that today the reigning Chinese supremacy of table tennis is inspired of him. Timo won two world cups back in 2002 and 2005 along with 5 European titles to shake the world ranking with his own name on the top. With consistent world championship appearances as well as winning his first individual medal last year, he stands out to be in form for a career-defining performance here at London.

Currently being the world number one, he deserves an ample audience of Germans to see him clear the final to bag an Olympic gold medal at the ExCel exhibition centre, the primary venue for all table tennis matches for the Olympics. For the singles category, the preliminary rounds start on the morning of 28th July at 9:45 AM and will extend to the next two successive days till 30th July. The athletes clearing through the quarter finals and the semi-finals on 31st July and 1st August respectively will clash in the final match set on Thursday the 2nd of August at 2:30 PM. Right after the singles, the team matches will commence, ending on the 8th of August with the final match on 11 AM.

Whether you belong to any region in Germany, the flight routes link your nearest major airport to the United Kingdom. London’s Heathrow airport, being the global hub of international air traffic across the globe, is fairly near to the main venue for the games. Several airlines facilitate flights from Frankfurt, Berlin and Munich to Heathrow, while Manchester airport, Cardiff airport and Humberside airports will be on secondary priorities mainly because they are on opposite corners from London and would rather render air travel inconvenient as a means to save travelling duration.

There are a surprising number of hotels and accommodations neighbouring the main venue for table tennis and fencing competitions, with many of them named after the ExCel exhibition centre. Majority of them are rated at four stars; Alot London ExCel, Novotel London ExCel are literally alongside the venue building, while Ramada hotel, Grainstore apartments, Crown Plaza and Custom House apartments are within eminent vicinity of it. Each of them has their specified features with eloquent and exquisitely designed suites and furniture based on matching themes. With the River running adjacent to the region, it would indeed be entreating to book rooms with large windows having a view across the city.

However, due to the excessive influx of spectators it would not be a surprise to discover all the rooms at these hotels occupied. It would be a safer option to book your accommodations at least 2 weeks prior to your visit, and switch over to hotels such as the Holiday Inn Express, the Steamship, Ibis or the Radisson Edwardian New Providence. They may be rated at 3 stars and would be located farther from ExCel centre but there would always be a higher chance for booking while availing committed service due to lesser congestion of guests at the hotel.

Those who want to make the safest bet and stick to German taste would face no trouble, as Albina restaurant on Barking road will take care of that. Other eateries of interest in Canning town include King’s continental cuisine, Bronze restaurant & bar and Fine Burger & Co. Chinese cuisine is also available on the same road, credits to Odeon restaurant, and so is Italian cuisine at the Pepenero restaurant.

The English community has stepped forward alongside the administration to get in the true ‘Olympic’ spirit, and jokes apart; it really does look like Christmas has come early. Let’s keep it this way; you’re coming in for a tight-knitted trip here in London with your prime focus to attend your star athlete, and surely you do not expect to be available for attending more than one event during your stay which is near to the venue. Your presumption is left busted, as London has left no excuses to let you excluded whilst you step in to view the Olympic events.

Assuming that spectators for Peter Joppich would normally stay from 30th July to the 1st of August, they can attend any events both the days before and after the competition. The Peninsula festival in Greenwich Peninsula is hosting a concert in a beach/ camping setup under the cultural Olympiad, Frieze Projects East consists of contemporary art works on public display in Charlton Park on the 1st ofJuly, Yoko Ono’s internationally acclaimed film project ‘Imagine Peace’ is to be screened at the live site in Woolwich while

“Metamorphosis: Titian 2012” is planned to take place at the National Gallery where poets, choreographers and music composers are cooperatively involving to develop contemporary art projects with regard to Titian’s famous paintings. “Deptford X 2012” is the one to watch out for to see emerging artists immersed in creativity of their own with visual arts under the Cultural Olympiad program.

The spectators for Timo Boll’s performance in Table Tennis competitions will have greater flexibility to attend the festivals, as they have larger number of days at their disposal and with multiple stages they can swap attending some matches which do not concern their athletes of interest. Old Billingsgate is a stone’s throw away from ExCel, which will be hosting a French Olympic Village at the National Olympic committee house. The historical sporting heritage of past Olympic events will be the subject in the Memory Games exhibition at the Valence House Museum.

Textile art work of local communities depicting the roots of East London will be exhibited at the “Textile Circuit”, Stitches-in-time. Science geeks and curious personas alike will be gripped by the sports gear in accordance to the latest technology to be displayed at the “Beautiful Games Exhibition”, V & A Museum of Childhood. “Live Afro Latino Souls” at the Rhythm factory gives you the idea of the diverse base of music which is anticipated in England, while the Government Art Collection- “Commissions-Now and Then” will feature a large collection of artworks exchanged between diplomatic embassies for cultural promotion purposes, making it a must-visit.