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For this report I interviewed a family member that curently lives in London and a family member that went to the Atlanta Olympics.

Person Who Lives In London
Q: Have you seen any of the venues being built? If so, what venues

have you seen. How close are you to some of the venues? A:We don't live very close to where the Olympic buildings are being built, but we are very aware of the excitement. I have driven past one of the stadium areas under construction but it is wasn't close to being finished. Also, some of the areas are in places we have visited. The equestrian area is going to be built in Greenwich - a park that we occasionally visit.

Q:What evidence have you seen that excitement is building? A:The mascots for the event were revealed last week. There was a big ceremony to introduce the mascots - you need to see them - I can't describe them well.

Q: What else is being done to get ready for the olympics, other than

construction of venues?

A:Right now Chelsea Flowers Show is on, which is a very famous gardening event - the English love gardening. A young woman who won a gold medal at last year's show is designing the Olympic Park garden and is beginning to pick flowers and plants she will use. Other projects are new railways to get to the site. There is a bit of controversy with the Olympic building project - it is going to cost a tremendous amount of money to build and they have already gone over budget and some of the small businesses and residents in the area have had to move out for the building.

Q:Is there anything else you would like to share about the Olympics? A: Another issue that has been recently in the news is that there was hopes that teenagers could volunteer to help at the Olympics and to then be able to see the Games. However, the government decided that

anyone helping at the games must be at least 18 years old. The only exception is for the tennis, which will be held at Wimbledon. They will use the same ball boys and girls that the Wimbledon tournament uses.

My Interview With Someone who went to the Atlanta Olympics
Q:What was your experience like at the Atlanta Olympics?  A: Very enjoyable and very unique. There are not too many places a person can go and see so many talented athletes from all around the world

Q:What were the best parts of the Olympics for you?

A:Sitting at the events seeing these amazing athletes compete and watching

the crowds go wild.

Q:What would you do differently if you were to go to the Olympics

again? A:Stay closer. We had to take a train 30-45 minutes to get to any of the venues. Unless you have connections, you are not able to stay very close to the venues.

Q:Any cool information or tips you have about planning a trip to

the Olympics? A: Take your camera with a lot of memory! Also be prepared to purchase and exchange pins. Sponsors, teams, local businesses and many others make lapelpins unique to the group they represent. Some sell the pins and otherstrade them. Some can be very valuable but others are fun because of thedesigns, what they represent and that they might from a far away country.Also, plan early. We started planning about a year in advance. We wereable to go to several events while others that didn't plan so early had toscalp tickets and pay higher prices.