It's April 18th which means there are only 100 days left until the opening ceremonies of the 2012 London Olympic games. To commemorate the 100-day mark, the U.S. Olympic Committee hosted a event in New York's Times Square by transforming it into a mini-Olympic village.
The event allowed spectators and visitors to meet over 100 Olympic athletes, take photos and get autographs of their favorite Olympic stars. Observers could also view exhibitions in judo, taekwondo, rhythmic gymnastics, boxing and fencing.
The London Olympic games have leveraged a hefty price tag - the budget has grown to $15 billion after beginning at less than $4 billion. This number is rumored to grow to as much as $21 billion by games' finish, still a mere 50 percent of what China spent on the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.
A recent parliamentary report said the Olympic budget was "finely balanced," but added the threat of crossing into a negative balance loomed if organizers don't become more discretionary in their spending.
The opening ceremonies are expected to take place on July 27 and will be directed by Danny Boyle, the Oscar winning filmmaker of "Slumdog Millionaire." The Olympic theme will be "Inspire a Generation" which was coined by Sebastian Coe, the chair of the Olympics organizing committee and a gold medal winning middle-distance runner.
The event hoped to begin sparking Americans' Olympic fever. The last time the U.S. participated in a London Olympic games was in 1948, when the team brought home 84 medals.
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June 12, 2026 17:14 ET Major central bank action was the focus this week in economic news. The European Central Bank became the first major central bank to move in response to the rising inflationary pressures in the backdrop of the conflict in the Middle East. In North America, the U.S. inflation and trade data as well as Canada’s central bank decision gained attention. The Chinese trade data was the main news in Asia.