Olympic test volleyball matches continue despite London Riots
London has recently been hit by the worst violence it has seen in the last 25 years in the form of riots. London is also the host of next Olympic Games, which are scheduled to take place on July 27th, 2012. Quite recently, the one-year countdown
to the Olympic Games was celebrated and this was the time that hosts were hoping to receive a lot international attention. The Brits had hardly expected to present such image to the world before the start of Olympic but the city is experiencing a bad wave
of rioting. A few miles away from the riots, the test event for 2012 London Olympic Game was opened on Tuesday, August 9. The women’s beach volleyball teams dived headlong in the sand and displayed great courage to continue the game in the shadow of fear.
The Women’s Exhibition Beach Volleyball Tournament labelled as Visa FIVB International was kicked off at the Horse Guards Parade, which is not far from site of the riots. The opening matches were played on the first day of the Visa FIVB International Tournament
but most of the athletes received frequent calls from worried relatives. Canadian Beach Volleyball Star Heather Bansley said that she has been getting a lot of calls from her friends and family. She added that the riots are absolutely not a good sign for London.
The presence of fans was not up to expectations as half of the seats remained unfilled. There was also fear that the violence would reach a fevered pitch at night and the opening ceremony was wrapped up three hours early so that the fans, officiating staff
and other volunteers could reach home before the dark.
Yesterday, some of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) members also arrived in London, in order to review progress regarding the 2012 Games but they were greeted by a frightening scenario.
Nonetheless, the Olympics Minister Hugh Robertson ensured that they have committed and they will surely deliver secure and safe games. He also expressed his views about the ongoing situation in London in following manner: “All the evidence shows this trouble
is low-level criminality driven by messages on social networks and not some new, emerging security threat."
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