Clock Stops on 500-Days-to-Go Milestone; Visa Glitch Frustrates Ticket Hopefuls

Clock Stops on 500-Days-to-Go Celebrations

It’s now officially 500 days until the London Olympics, though the highly touted countdown clock is yet to reflect the milestone.

The Omega-made timepiece stopped running Tuesday, less than 24 hours after its unveiling Monday in Trafalgar Square. The clock read 500 days, 7 hours, 6 minutes and 56 seconds left to go until technicians began tinkering with the device.

"The Countdown Clock in Trafalgar Square is currently suffering from a technical malfunction," said a statement from the Swiss watchmaker.

"We are working to see that the problem is resolved and look forward to restoring it to its full functionality soon. Obviously, we are very disappointed that the clock has suffered this technical issue. The OMEGA London 2012 Countdown Clock was developed by our experts and fully tested ahead of the launch in Trafalgar Square."

Omega is the official timekeeper of the Olympic Games, a distinction it’s held since 1932.

Olympic Ticket Application Process Bumpy for Some

Visa International tells Around the Rings it wants cardholders to know that their orders are ok -- despite aglitch in the payment system that frustrated some ticket hopefuls on the opening day of sales.

The official London 2012 website takes only VISA cards, but ones that expire before the end of August are being rejected, the Press Association reports.

"We would like to apologise for any inconvenience caused to those cardholders who are having problems applying for London 2012 tickets. While we are aware that cards which expire before August 2011 are not currently being accepted, as a priority, we are working closely with all relevant parties to resolve this issue as soon as possible," a Visa spokeswoman tells ATR.

"It is important to stress that tickets are not issued on a first-come, first-served basis, and any ticket registration taking place by 26 April, 2011 will have an equal chance of success in the ballot. For those cardholders who do not wish to wait, there are a number of alternatives including using a Visa prepaid card."

The application window for tickets lasts through April 26, and payments are due June 10 from those lucky Brits who score some of the 6.6 million tickets now on sale.

IOC Targeted Greek Sprint Stars, Testifies Coach

The coach of disgraced Greek sprinters Katerina Thanou and Kostas Kenteris is standing behind their story and insists the IOC targeted the homegrown stars in the run-up to the Athens Olympics.

The pair was scheduled to testify Monday for the first time in criminal court. The Associated Press reported that both were no-shows, but Christos Tzekos did nothing but back their account of events during his own testimony.

Tzekos is facing charges of supplying banned substances to his former pupils, who are on trial for allegedly faking a motorcycle crash that caused the pair to miss a drug test on the eve of the 2004 Athens Olympics.

"At every Olympics, [the IOC] pick somebody and make a huge issue of them. This time it was us that they chose," Tzekos testified without elaborating.

Thanou was a silver medalist in the 100m in Sydney, and her then-training-partner Kenteris was the men’s 200m champion.They were Greece’s main medal hopes for the Athens Summer Games until the IOC revoked their credentials, thereby preventing them from competing.

Both athletes are now scheduled to testify next Monday when the trial resumes.

"Nonperforming" Vendor Demands Payment from Delhi 2010

Organizers of the Delhi Commonwealth Games are again at loggerheads with their media services provider of choice.

Indian news report indicate Infostrada Sports is demanding payment of roughly $618,000 despite continued charges of non-performance from newly appointed organizing committee head Jarnail Singh.

"Infostrada Sports calls on the Organizing Committee and the Indian government to provide an open and detailed reasoning for the non-payment and demands an end to the inconsistent, incomplete comments that continue to create a negative impression about the services delivered by Infostrada Sports and the integrity of our company," CEO Philip Hennemann said Tuesday in a statement.

The Dutch company is among nine vendors Delhi 2010 says did not deliver the services promised during the two-week mega-event. Roughly 30 percent of Infostrada’s contract remains unpaid, but Singh argues that contract was inflated to begin with.

"We could have got the job done much cheaper if the work had started earlier," he was quoted by The Deccan Herald.

Infostrada provided the Games News Service for the Delhi CWG as well as both the 2008 Olympics in Beijing and the 2006 Asian Games in Doha.

"Infostrada Sports once again refutes all allegations that it was overpaid, under-performed or under-delivered," said Hennemann.

According to Tuesday’s statement, Infostrada charged more for its services than did an Australian company during the 2006 CWG because those Games were in Melbourne and did not require flights and accommodation costs, which ran Hennemann’s company almost $350,000 alone.

Beijing Olympics a Testament to Socialism, Touts Premier

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao says his country’s brand of socialism was instrumental in the staging of the Beijing Olympics in 2008 and the Shanghai World Expo two years later.

"These brilliant achievements clearly show the advantages of socialism with Chinese characteristics and the great power of reform and opening up," he said during a government work report delivered earlier this month and officially adopted Monday by the National People’s Congress.

"They greatly increased the confidence and pride of our people of all ethnic groups, strengthened the cohesiveness of the Chinese nation, and inspired us to forge ahead on our historic course."

The Premier added that the pair of mega-events fulfilled "dreams the Chinese nation had cherished for a century".

Merielles Tapped

Former Brazilian central bank president Henrique Meirelles was formally named as Brazil’s Olympic construction chief.

Dilma Rousseff president of Brazil appointed him as head of the Olympic Public Authority earlier in the week.

He was selected for the job in February and must accept the nomination.

France Aims to Double Gold Haul

French sports minister Chantal Jouanno says she wants the country to win twice as many golds as it did in Beijing.

Speaking at a ceremony to mark 500 days to the London Olympics, Jouanno was quoted by Agence French Presse saying: "The aim is to double the number of gold medals we won in Beijing, to 14.

"In Beijing, we won plenty of medals but few golds. That means we have extraordinary potential, but plenty of room for improvement."

She added "The women also have room for improvement. In Athens they won half of our medals even though they didn't number half of the total delegation.

"In Beijing, however, they only won seven medals. We need more from London."

Media Watch

Some initial reviews of the first episode of "Twenty Twelve", a mockumentary about a fake London Olympic Organizing committee, are mixed.

With 500 days to the Games, The Guardian unveiled its Olympic blog.

The Economist launched an ad campaign with posters saying "Hosting the Olympics is a Waste of Money".

Written by Matthew Grayson and Ed Hula III.