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London Olympics unveils jigsaw logo

Associated Press
Vail, CO Colorado
AP Photo / London 2012, hoThe new logo for the 2012 London Olympics: the bold jagged emblem based on the date "2012" comes in a series of very bright shades of pink, blue, green and orange in a modern take on the Olympic colors.
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LONDON ” London Olympic organizers unveiled a jigsaw-style logo Monday for the 2012 Summer Games that is designed to appeal to young people.

The four block-style jagged pieces combine to form the numbers 2012 in a variety of pink, blue, green and orange colors. In a departure from logos at previous games, there is no visual imagery of the host city or country.

“It’s vital that we reach out to those young people in a language that they understand and in technology that’s familiar to them,” London organizing chief Sebastian Coe said. “This brand is absolutely the world they live in.”



The logo has the word “london” spelled out in lower case letters in the top left half, with the Olympic rings in white in the top right half.

London 2012 chief executive Paul Deighton said it cost $796,000 to design the logo by international branding firm Wolff Olins.

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The logo used during London’s successful bid for the games featured a multicolored ribbon creating an outline of the River Thames woven through the word “London.”

The Athens logo in 2004 featured an olive wreath, while Sydney’s 2000 logo featured a runner created by boomerangs. Beijing’s 2008 logo features Chinese calligraphy of a runner.

The 2012 Paralympics will share the same logo as the Olympic Games for the first time.

International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge described the logo as “truly innovative.”

“Each edition of the Olympic Games brings its own flavor and touch to what is now well over a century of modern Olympic history,” Rogge said. “The brand launched today by London 2012 is, I believe, an early indication of the dynamism, modernity and inclusiveness with which London 2012 will leave its Olympic mark.”

However, not everyone is pleased with the design.

Within hours of the launch, an online petition was set up asking for a new logo or a return to the bid design. By late Monday, the petition had received more than 5,500 signatures.

Blogs on newspaper Web sites for The Guardian, the Daily Telegraph, the British Broadcasting Corp. and Design Week magazine all contained negative comments on the design.

London 2012 organizers want the logo to be interactive, and have encouraged people to download the design template, personalize it and upload it onto the official Web site.

“The new emblem is dynamic, modern and flexible, reflecting a brand-savvy world where people, especially young people, no longer relate to static logos but respond to a dynamic brand that works with new technology and across traditional and new media networks,” London organizers said in a statement.

Deighton said the logo would evolve into a number of forms over the years.

Sponsors would be able to adapt the logo to suit them. Banking sponsor Lloyds began using the logo on Monday, with its own corporate colors of light blue and green.

– London 2012 Web site http://www.london2012.com

– Previous Olympic Games logos: http://www.olympic.org/uk/games/index”uk.asp


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