Communications boost ahead of Beijing 2008

With four years until the start of the London Olympic and Paralympic Games on 27 July 2012, Visit London has launched a new online Media Centre.

The Visit London Media Centre is part of the tourism agency’s preparations for Beijing 2008 and its four-year 2012 Olympic Media Strategy. An extensive online resource for domestic and international media, the new Media Centre is a one-stop shop for journalists with new features including free photos and film of London for editorial purposes.

Visit London Communications Director Ken Kelling said:
“The aim of the new Visit London Media Centre is simple: we want to make it easy for the media to access information on our city. The site will also help drive Visit London’s global media engagement in the lead up to the Games with new information ranging from London’s Olympic History to how the city is preparing for 2012.

“Ahead of the Beijing 2008 Games and the launch of our first-ever global advertising campaign, See the World, Visit London, the new site will be an important resource for the world’s media at the handover to London in August and our official status as Olympic Host City.

“With four years until 2012 and an expected influx of international media it is important that we provide the best possible information and content on London. We want to ensure that the Games leave the capital with a legacy of world-class media engagement and the new Visit London Media Centre is an important step forward.”

Visit London receives thousands of international and domestic media enquiries each year and the new, fresh-look site has been designed to allow visitors to navigate information quicker, easier and run more powerful searches.

The Visit London Media Centre includes a number of new features including:

London 2012 – A section outlining the city’s progress towards 2012, Olympic and tourism information on Games venues and a history of the 1908 and 1948 London Olympic Games
Film and Photos – Free access to photos and broadcast quality film of London for editorial purposes
Media Fact Sheets – ranging from key statistics including the value of tourism to London (£16.6b) to the number of restaurants in London (6000) and how many have Michelin stars (45)

For further information and to view the Visit London Media Centre go to www.visitlondon.com/mediacentre