28 Jun 2012

London moves into final month of preparations

6:13 am on 28 June 2012

London has moved into the final month of preparations for the Olympic Games with a new landmark to greet visitors, and a warning that some others would not be welcome.

The London Mayor Boris Johnson and Seb Coe, chairman of the organising committee, watched as a giant set of interlocking Olympic Rings were eased into place on Tower Bridge across the River Thames.

The rings are a centrepiece of the "2012 look" that visitors from around the world will experience as they flood into the capital for the Games starting on July 27.

The Tower Bridge rings, which cost some 260,000 pounds have been paid for out of a 32 million pound 'Look and Celebration' budget with events scheduled across the capital.

Not everyone will be allowed to attend the party, however.

Britain has already refused a visa for the head of Syria's national Olympic Committee, General Mowaffak Joumaa, to travel to London.

The Sports Minister Hugh Robertson says he expects more exclusions in the days and weeks to come.