Mon Jun 4, 11:56 AM ET LONDON (AFP) - The "iconic" logo for the 2012 London Olympics was unveiled here on Monday, but critics immediately condemned it as "hideous" and a waste of money. The jagged emblem, designed to define the image of the Games in five years' time, comes in a series of bright shades of pink, blue, green and orange, and includes the signature five Olympic rings emblazoned onto the "0". "This is the vision at the very heart of our brand," said London 2012 organising committee chief Sebastian Coe, the former 800m and 1,500m world record holder who won gold in the 1,500 metres at the 1980 and 1984 Olympics. "It will define the venues we build and the Games we hold, and act as a reminder of our promise to use the Olympic spirit to inspire everyone and reach out to young people around the world," he said at the London launch. Organisers hope the logo, designed to be instantly recognisable worldwide, will help boost its campaign to raise two billion pounds (three billion euros) to stage the Games. "This is an iconic brand that sums up what London 2012 is all about -- an inclusive, welcoming and diverse Games that involves the whole country," said Olympics minister Tessa Jowell. But critics were not impressed. Bob Neill, 2012 Olympics spokesman for the main opposition Conservative Party, was disparaging about Coe's optimism, despite him being a fellow Tory lawmaker. "Lord Coe has described this logo as 'ambitious, interactive and youth-friendly'. I would describe it as hideous," he said. "Questions need be answered.... http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070604/sp_wl_afp/oly2012britainlogo
Olympic Logo Conspiracy Glad to see that Carl Jones is not a member on here. Even the BBC has their share of colourful characters on the message boards. Andy http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/mbfivelive/F2148564?thread=4229391&skip=0&show=20#p49437911
London 2012 logo footage withdrawn amid epilepsy fears Wed Jun 6, 6:46 AM ET Animated footage promoting the logo for the 2012 London Olympic Games was removed from the organizers' Web site on Tuesday amid concern it could trigger epileptic fits. The video clip shows a diver plunging into a pool as part of a campaign to promote the jagged Olympic logo, a graffiti-like blow-up of the number 2012 in a range of colors including hot pink and electric blue. A London 2012 spokeswoman said the concerns surrounded a four-second piece of animation shown at the logo's launch on Monday and recorded by broadcasters. Emphasizing that it was not the logo itself which was the focus of health worries, she said: "This concerns a short piece of animation which we used as part of the logo launch event and not the actual logo." "It was a diver diving into a pool which had multi-color ripple effects," the spokeswoman said. Critics of the emblem have described it as "hideous," while organizers called it powerful and modern. http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070606/sp_nm/britain_olympics_logo_dc
