London

Will Smith to Host Concert in London's Hyde Park

NEW YORK, June 3, 2008 -- VH1 is joining in the global birthday celebration of one the world's greatest leaders, Nelson Mandela. The music and pop culture network is the exclusive U.S. outlet televising "The 46664 Concert Honouring Nelson Mandela at 90" taking place in London's Hyde Park on Friday, June 27.

Highlights: - Amy Winehouse, Queen + Paul Rodgers, Annie Lennox, And Leona Lewis Among Many Others Invited To Perform
- VH1, VH1 Classic, VH1 Soul And Mhd: Music High Definition To Premiere Concert Highlights On Monday, June 30 At 9 PM EDT/PDT
- VH1.com To Live Stream The Event, Friday, June 27 At 1:30 PM EDT    » read more »

May 9, 2008 -- New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg met with London's newly-elected Mayor Boris Johnson at London's City Hall today to share ideas and strategies on how to run two of the world's largest cities and announce a new exchange program between the cities to share best practices in government innovation.

New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg: Photo courtesy NYC Mayor's office

In addition to welcoming any officials from London who wish to meet with their counterparts in New York City, New York officials will travel to London as part of Innovation Exchange to help Mayor Johnson and his administration design and implement initiatives drawn from New York.    » read more »

08 April 2008 -- Officials for the 2012 London Olympics have announced the costs and confirmed the builders for the Olympic Stadium and aquatic center.

The Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) said Tuesday the 80,000 - seat Olympic Stadium will cost about $976 million and will be built by a consortium including HOK Sport, Buro Happold and Robert Alpine.

The price includes the cost of converting the stadium to a 25,000 seat multiple-use venue after the Olympics.

Meanwhile, the Aquatics Center and land bridge that will be a main gateway into the Olympic Park will cost some $476 million. The venue, which will be built by Balfour Beatty, will seat 2,500 people when it is reconfigured after the Games.

(Some information for this report was provided by AP)

Source: VOANews.com

November 28, 2007 -- Planning a successful Olympics in London in 2012 will require organizers to learn from the successes and problems of past games in the areas of transportation, infrastructure and security, according to a report issued today by the RAND Corporation.

Researchers from RAND Europe analyzed 13 policy areas that will be critical to the London games and outlined a research agenda for transport and infrastructure, as well as a method for evaluating complex security needs.    » read more »

NBA to Stage Exhibition Game in London

09 October 2007, London (By Tom Rivers) -- In an effort to the increase basketball's international popularity, the National Basketball Association will hold a game Wednesday in London. For VOA, Tom Rivers says it will be a rare opportunity for British fans to catch live NBA action when the Boston Celtics face the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Ten days ago, London was treated to NHL professional hockey. In just under three weeks, American football will take center stage here when the NFL hosts a game.    » read more »

LONDON - 21 September 2007 - Playboy Enterprises, Inc. (PEI) announced today that it opened a 4,000 square-foot Playboy London Flagship Store on Oxford Street, its first freestanding retail location in Europe. The store, which occupies the entire building, features a dramatic, customized 39-step spiraling staircase, enabling customers to shop for Playboy's fashion and home collections on three levels. Playboy's upscale shopping destination will be owned and operated under license by Global Designer Brands (GDB).    » read more »

London, 13 August 2007 - JPMorgan Worldwide Securities Services today announced it is acting as depositary bank for Guaranty Trust Bank plc ("GTBank"), which completed the first Global Depositary Receipt offering in London for a Nigerian company.

Shaun Parkes, global head of sales for JPMorgan Worldwide Securities Services' depositary receipts business, said, "We are very pleased to have been chosen as depositary for GTBank in this landmark transaction, and we look forward to assisting the company in its efforts to further raise its profile and liquidity among international investors."    » read more »

02 July 2007 -- British officials are continuing their hunt for suspects in the recent attempted terrorist attacks in London and Glasgow.

Security has been increased and the country is on its highest state of alert - critical - warning that a terror attack could be imminent.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown told British television Sunday that the country faces what he called a "long-term" threat from al-Qaida-linked extremists.    » read more »

11 May 2007 -- New York is hosting a Climate Change Summit next week (May 14th to 17th). Leaders from the world's largest cities will discuss how to reduce pollution. London will likely be held up as a role model in cutting back carbon emissions. The British capital is on the forefront in fighting climate change.

London has declared war on climate change.    » read more »