London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics
The bridge featured in publicity for the 2012 Summer Olympics being held in London. In June 2012 a set of Olympic rings was suspended from the bridge to mark one month to go until the start of the games. The rings cost £259,817 to make, measured 25 by 11.5 metres (82 by 37.7 ft) and weighed 13 tonnes (14 short tons).
On 9 June 2012 an AgustaWestland AW-139 (G-OLYM) flew three times through Tower Bridge while being filmed from a second helicopter for a segment of the opening ceremony entitled Happy and Glorious.
Professional footballer David Beckham piloted a Bladerunner BR RIB35X sportsboat carrying the Olympic Torch under the raised bascules of the bridge during the ceremony.
The Rings were removed from Tower Bridge following the Olympics, but were soon replaced by the emblem of the Paralympic Games for the 2012 Summer Paralympics also held in London.
Read more about this topic: Tower Bridge
Famous quotes containing the word london:
“The Thirties dreamed white marble and slipstream chrome, immortal crystal and burnished bronze, but the rockets on the Gernsback pulps had fallen on London in the dead of night, screaming. After the war, everyone had a car—no wings for it—and the promised superhighway to drive it down, so that the sky itself darkened, and the fumes ate the marble and pitted the miracle crystal.”
—William Gibson (b. 1948)