Olympics 2008 News
Royal opening assured for London Olympics - strike threat condemned
Feb 29, 2012, 12:32 GMT
London - The London Olympics this summer will be opened by Queen Elizabeth II and her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, Buckingham Palace confirmed Wednesday.
The royal couple will open the Games at the 80,000-seater Olympic Stadium in Stratford, east London, on July 27, with more than a billion people expected to watch the ceremony around the world.
They will also perform the opening ceremony for the Paralympic Games which start at the same venue on August 29.
Meanwhile, a political storm was brewing Wednesday over a strike threat to the Games by Unite, Britain's biggest public sector union.
Its leader, Len McCluskey, told the Guardian newspaper that public sector workers were outraged by government spending cuts that targeting the Games would be justified.
'If the Olympics provide us with an opportunity, then that's exactly one we should be looking at,' McCluskey said.
His remarks were roundly condemned by the government and the leaders of all political parties, including the opposition Labour Party.
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