Podcast
Anyone up for table tennis?
Updated: 2010-07-08 10:35
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Londoners and tourists will get the chance to play open-air table tennis at city landmarks this month in a campaign to get a million more people playing sports in the run up to the 2012 London Olympics.
The street project, entitled Ping, will see 100 tables around the capital. It has been created by non-profit organization Sing London in association with the English Table Tennis Association, funded by Sport England and sponsored by Yahoo.
Sport England's Chief Executive Jennie Price said: "Table tennis has wide appeal, and I hope thousands of people will take advantage of these outdoor tables."
London mayor Boris Johnson is helping to promote the campaign after claiming at Beijing's 2008 Olympics that ping-pong was invented in Victorian Britain, originally called "whiff whaff".
He said at the time: "The French looked at a dining table and saw an opportunity to have dinner. We looked at a dining table and saw an opportunity to play whiff-whaff."
The launch, at London's St Pancras International where trains arrive from Paris and Brussels, will feature both the UK Olympic team and ex world champion Jean-Philippe Gatien as well as Parkour, a "ping-popping dance" and a "ping-pong song".
Ping! will also appear in other London landmarks including Trafalgar Square, Regent's Park, the Tate Britain and Heathrow's Terminal 3.
Ping-pong fever will also be aimed at different places of the public, with a "Literary Ping Pong Quiz" at the British Library and surreal ping-pong in the Barbican arts center.
Three thousand table tennis bats have been bought for Ping!, which is planned to last four weeks before moving on to four other cities and then returning to London in 2012.
Colette Hiller, Sing London's creative director said: "Ping-pong is a game that is inclusive, withstands age barriers and cultural divides and makes people smile."
Questions:
1. When is the London Olympics?
2. How many tables will be dotted around the capital?
3. What is the name of London’s Mayor?
Answers:
1. 2012
2. 100
3. Boris Johnson
（中国日报网英语点津 Helen 编辑）
About the broadcaster:
Lee Hannon is Chief Editor at China Daily with 15-years experience in print and broadcast journalism. Born in England, Lee has traveled extensively around the world as a journalist including four years as a senior editor in Los Angeles. He now lives in Beijing and is happy to move to China and join the China Daily team.