London 2012: Olympic motto revealed as 100-day countdown

The motto for the London Olympics has been revealed as "Inspire a generation" as events are held to mark the 100-day countdown to the opening ceremony.

London 2012 chairman Seb Coe was at the unveiling of a giant set of Olympic rings, made up of 20,000 flowers, at Kew Gardens in west London.

He said: "Expectations are high and we won't disappoint."

Meanwhile, a BBC poll found 64% of 2,007 people thought taxpayers had paid too much to cover the Games' costs.

However, 55% said it would prove good value in terms of benefits to the UK.

Red Arrows

Announcing the motto, Lord Coe said: "It is everything we have been saying since we have started this extraordinary journey.

"It is the heartbeat, the very DNA of this organisation and a rallying cry for the athletes to come to the UK to perform at their very best and inspire the world."

He said it was vital organisers put athletes at the centre of the preparations and pledged: "We are going to deliver a fabulous Games for this country and the 200 other nations who'll be welcomed here."

Bar chart

Organisers also announced that the Red Arrows would perform a flypast across Belfast, Cardiff, Edinburgh and London to mark the opening ceremony on 27 July.

The world-famous RAF aerobatic display team will fly in "Big Battle" formation to herald the Games, Locog said.

International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge said he was confident London would meet the expectations of the world.

He said: "Around the world, the excitement is growing and expectations are high but I am confident that Britain and London will deliver a great sporting event and a warm welcome too."

Some £9.3bn in UK public funding has been set aside to cover the cost of the Games. Many Londoners have been paying an extra £20 contribution in their council tax.

The current budget is almost four times the estimated cost of staging the Games at the time of the bid in 2005.

The results of a phone poll, carried out by market research firm Comres for BBC Radio 5 live, suggest that the further people lived from London the more they thought taxpayers had paid too much towards hosting the Olympics.

In Scotland, 69% of those asked agreed taxpayers had paid too much and only 18% of people disagreed. This compared with 63% in the South East of England, 63% in the Midlands, 62% in northern England and 68% in Wales and the South West.

The poll also suggests that the further people lived from London the less they thought the Olympics would benefit their area. Only 16% of people questioned in Scotland thought the Games would benefit them compared with 37% of those in the South East, 31% in the Midlands, 23% in northern England and 19% in Wales and the South West.

Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt told the BBC: "I think the time to ask people if it's good value for money is after we've had the Olympics and they can see it's been good for the country."

Mr Hunt added: "The economy is on people's minds at the moment and we have yet to see the business benefit."

He also announced that there would be 69 "live sites" around the country where people would be able to celebrate Olympic action, 22 of which will have big screens.

The unveiling of the floral rings at Kew, which can be seen from flights into and out of Heathrow Airport, was one of a number of events being held to mark 100 days until the opening ceremony.

Staff took three days to plant up to 20,000 pansies, violas and apple mint which make up the rings spanning 50m (164ft).

Visitors will be able to walk through the flowers along pathways which have been created in colours that match the rings.

Lord Coe will later plant an oak tree at the gardens, one of 40 celebrating the UK's role in the birth of the modern Olympics.

They were grown from acorns collected from a tree planted in Much Wenlock in 1890 in honour of Baron Pierre de Coubertin - considered the founder of the modern Olympic Games.

'Phenomenal response'

Earlier this week schoolchildren helped build a huge sandcastle on Weymouth beach in Dorset to mark the countdown.

And in London's Horse Guards Parade, 260 members of the Grenadier, Coldstream, Scots and Welsh Guards formed the number 100 in recognition of the day.

Later on Wednesday cast members from London's West End shows and Team GB athletes will take part in a "Welcome the World" performance in Trafalgar Square.

Meanwhile Mark Hamilton, managing director of G4S, which is providing 10,000 security guards for the Games, said they were making great progress on recruiting people for the role.

He said: "We've received a phenomenal response and continue to receive applications from outstanding candidates.

"Already, 67,000 people have booked an interview, 3,000 recruits have commenced training and another 1,400 have been deployed to Olympic venues."

And triple Olympic champion Usain Bolt has said he wants to "amaze" the world at the Games by running 9.4 seconds in the 100m and 19 seconds in the 200m.

(BBC)