1.
Dorchester, Dorset
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Dorchester is the county town of Dorset, England. It is situated between Poole and Bridport on the A35 trunk route, the area around the town was first settled in prehistoric times. After the departure of the Romans, the town diminished in significance and it was the site of the Bloody Assizes presided over by Judge Jeffreys after the Monmouth Rebellion, and later the trial of the Tolpuddle Martyrs. In the 2011 census, the population of Dorchester was 19,060, the Brewery Square redevelopment project is taking place in phases, with other development projects planned. The town has a college, Kingston Maurward College, the Thomas Hardye Upper School. The Dorset County Hospital offers an accident and emergency service, through vehicular traffic is routed round the town by means of a bypass. The town has a club and a rugby union club, several museums. It is twinned with three towns in Europe, as well as having many listed buildings, a number of notable people have been associated with the town. It was for years the home and inspiration of the author Thomas Hardy. Dorchesters roots stem back to prehistoric times, different tribes lived there from 4000 BC. The Durotriges were likely to have been there when the Romans arrived in Britain in 43 AD and it appears to have taken part of its name from the local Durotriges tribe who inhabited the area. The remains of the Roman walls that surrounded the town can still be seen, the majority have been replaced by pathways that form a square inside modern Dorchester known as The Walks. A small segment of the wall remains near the Top o Town roundabout. Other Roman remains include part of the walls and the foundations of a town house near the county hall. Modern building works within the walls have unearthed Roman finds, in 1936 a cache of 22,000 3rd-century Roman coins was discovered in South Street. Other Roman finds include silver and copper known as Dorn pennies, a gold ring. The County Museum contains many Roman artefacts, the Romans built an aqueduct to supply the town with water. It was rediscovered in 1900 as the remains of a cut into the chalk
2.
Dorset
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Dorset /ˈdɔːrsᵻt/ is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the county, which is governed by Dorset County Council. Covering an area of 2,653 square kilometres, Dorset borders Devon to the west, Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north-east, the county town is Dorchester which is in the south. After the reorganisation of government in 1974 the countys border was extended eastward to incorporate the Hampshire towns of Bournemouth. Around half of the lives in the South East Dorset conurbation. The county has a history of human settlement stretching back to the Neolithic era. The Romans conquered Dorsets indigenous Celtic tribe, and during the early Middle Ages, the first recorded Viking raid on the British Isles occurred in Dorset during the eighth century, and the Black Death entered England at Melcombe Regis in 1348. During the Second World War, Dorset was heavily involved in the preparations for the invasion of Normandy, the former was the sailing venue in the 2012 Summer Olympics, and both have clubs or hire venues for sailing, Cornish pilot gig rowing, sea kayaking and powerboating. Dorset has a varied landscape featuring broad elevated chalk downs, steep limestone ridges, over half the county is designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Three-quarters of its coastline is part of the Jurassic Coast Natural World Heritage Site due to its geological and it features notable landforms such as Lulworth Cove, the Isle of Portland, Chesil Beach and Durdle Door. Agriculture was traditionally the major industry of Dorset but is now in decline, there are no motorways in Dorset but a network of A roads cross the county and two railway main lines connect to London. Dorset has ports at Poole, Weymouth and Portland, and an international airport, the county has a variety of museums, theatres and festivals, and is host to one of Europes largest outdoor shows. It is the birthplace of Thomas Hardy, who used the county as the setting of his novels. Dorset derives its name from the county town of Dorchester, the Romans established the settlement in the 1st century and named it Durnovaria which was a Latinised version of a Common Brittonic word possibly meaning place with fist-sized pebbles. It is first mentioned in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle in AD845 and in the 10th century the countys archaic name, the first human visitors to Dorset were Mesolithic hunters, from around 8000 BC. The first permanent Neolithic settlers appeared around 3000 BC and were responsible for the creation of the Dorset Cursus, from 2800 BC onwards Bronze Age farmers cleared Dorsets woodlands for agricultural use and Dorsets high chalk hills provided a location for numerous round barrows. During the Iron Age, the British tribe known as the Durotriges established a series of forts across the county—most notably Maiden Castle which is one of the largest in Europe. The Romans arrived in Dorset during their conquest of Britain in AD43, Maiden Castle was captured by a Roman legion under the command of Vespasian, and the Roman settlement of Durnovaria was established nearby
3.
The Doon School
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The Doon School is a boys-only independent boarding school in Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India. It was founded in 1935 by Satish Ranjan Das, a Kolkata lawyer and he prevised a school modelled on the British public school, but alive to Indian ambitions and desires. The present headmaster is Peter McLaughlin, who has occupied the post since 2009 and is the headmaster of the school. He is a member of Headmasters and Headmistresses Conference, the school is a member of G20 Schools and Round Square group. Doon houses roughly 500 pupils aged 13 to 18, admission to the school is based on a competitive entrance examination and an interview. Every year in January and April, the school admits pupils aged 13 in Grade 7, Doon pupils take the Indian Certificate of Secondary Education in tenth grade and are thereafter offered two strands for the final two years, International Baccalaureate or Indian School Certificate. The school began offering the IB curriculum only in 2006, before which all pupils had to sit the ISC examinations in twelfth grade, Doon has consistently been ranked the best residential school of India by media such as BBC, The Times of India and Outlook. Doon remains a boys-only school despite continued pressure from leaders, including President Pratibha Patil. Old boys of the school are known as Doscos. Although the total number of Doscos is relatively small, they some of Indias most prominent politicians, government officials. The best known alumnus is former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and he decided to name the new school Doon, as it was situated in the Doon Valley. He travelled widely in India with the goal of collecting ₹4 millions, but at the time of his death had raised only ₹1 million in cash and a further ₹1 million in promises. With the money, Das formed the Indian Public Schools Society, under the IPSS, a Board of Governors supervises all matters of Doon. Jawaharlal Nehru encouraged a move towards establishing the school, but Mahatma Gandhi would have nothing to do with it. After the death of Das in 1928, the IPSS accomplished little, sir Frank Noyce also joined the team. Lord Halifax, then President of the British Board of Education, led a committee that nominated Arthur E. Foot. On 27 October 1935, the Viceroy, Lord Willingdon, presided over the opening of the school. Seventy boys enrolled in the first term, and 110 more signed up for the second, Kashmir House, after Maharajah Hari Singh, then ruler of Jammu and Kashmir, promised a contribution of ₹100,000, which was delivered in 1935
4.
Thomas Hardy
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Thomas Hardy, OM was an English novelist and poet. A Victorian realist in the tradition of George Eliot, he was influenced both in his novels and in his poetry by Romanticism, especially William Wordsworth. He was highly critical of much in Victorian society, especially on the status of rural people in Britain. While Hardy wrote poetry throughout his life and regarded himself primarily as a poet, initially, therefore, he gained fame as the author of such novels as Far from the Madding Crowd, The Mayor of Casterbridge, Tess of the dUrbervilles, and Jude the Obscure. During his lifetime, Hardys poetry was acclaimed by poets who viewed him as a mentor. After his death his poems were lauded by Ezra Pound, W. H. Auden, Two of his novels, Tess of the dUrbervilles and Far from the Madding Crowd, were listed in the top 50 on the BBCs survey The Big Read. Jemima was well-read, and she educated Thomas until he went to his first school at Bockhampton at the age of eight, for several years he attended Mr. Lasts Academy for Young Gentlemen in Dorchester, where he learned Latin and demonstrated academic potential. Because Hardys family lacked the means for a university education, his formal education ended at the age of sixteen, when he apprenticed to James Hicks. Hardy trained as an architect in Dorchester before moving to London in 1862 and he won prizes from the Royal Institute of British Architects and the Architectural Association. He joined Arthur Blomfields practice as assistant architect in April 1862 and worked with Blomfield on All Saints parish church in Windsor, a reredos, possibly designed by Hardy, was discovered behind panelling at All Saints in August 2016. Hardy never felt at home in London, because he was conscious of class divisions. During this time he became interested in reform and the works of John Stuart Mill. He was also introduced by his Dorset friend Horace Moule to the works of Charles Fourier, after five years, concerned about his health, he returned to Dorset, settling in Weymouth, and decided to dedicate himself to writing. In 1870, while on a mission to restore the parish church of St Juliot in Cornwall, Hardy met and fell in love with Emma Gifford. In 1885 Thomas and his wife moved into Max Gate, a designed by Hardy. In 1914, Hardy married his secretary Florence Emily Dugdale, who was 39 years his junior, however, he remained preoccupied with his first wifes death and tried to overcome his remorse by writing poetry. In 1910, Hardy had been awarded the Order of Merit and was also for the first time nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature and he would be nominated for the prize eleven years later. His funeral was on 16 January at Westminster Abbey, and it proved a controversial occasion because Hardy had wished for his body to be interred at Stinsford in the grave as his first wife
5.
Sir Thomas Hardy, 1st Baronet
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Vice-Admiral Sir Thomas Masterman Hardy, 1st Baronet GCB was a Royal Navy officer. He took part in the Battle of Cape St Vincent in February 1797, the Battle of the Nile in August 1798 and he served as flag captain to Admiral Lord Nelson, and commanded HMS Victory at the Battle of Trafalgar in October 1805 during the Napoleonic Wars. Nelson was shot as he paced the decks with Hardy, and as he lay dying, Nelsons famous remark of Kiss me, Hardy was directed at him. Hardy went on to become First Naval Lord in November 1830 and in that capacity refused to become a Member of Parliament, during his time at school his name was carried on the books of the sixth-rate HMS Seaford and the third-rate HMS Carnatic. Hardy served off Marseilles and Toulon and was commissioned second lieutenant of the fifth-rate HMS Meleager under Captain Charles Tyler on 10 November 1793, horatio Nelson, then a commodore, moved his broad pennant to the Minerve in December 1796. While en route to Gibraltar, in the action of 19 December 1796, Minerve and her consort, lieutenants Hardy and Culverhouse were sent aboard the Santa Sabina with a prize crew, and the three ships continued on towards Gibraltar. Before the night was out, Nelson ran into the Spanish fleet and only managed to get away when Hardy drew the Spanish away from Minerve and fought until being dismasted and captured. Hardy and Culverhouse were almost immediately exchanged for the captain of the Santa Sabina, Don Jacobo Stuart, with two enemy ships pursuing him, Cockburn ordered more sail. During this operation, a topman fell overboard, the ship hove to and a boat with Hardy in it was lowered to search for the missing mariner. As the enemy ships were closing fast, Cockburn thought it prudent to withdraw and this confused the Spaniards who checked their own progress, allowing Hardy to return to his ship and make good his escape. Afterwards, Nelsons flag captain, Edward Berry was sent home with dispatches and Hardy was promoted to captain of Nelsons flagship, HMS Vanguard, Nelson transferred his flag to the third-rate HMS Foudroyant on 8 June 1799, taking Hardy with him. In June 1799, the fleet, led by Foudroyant. Hardy handed over command of Foudroyant to Sir Edward Berry on 13 October 1799, transferred to the fifth-rate HMS Princess Charlotte, after a year ashore, Hardy went to Plymouth Dock in December 1800 to take command of the first-rate HMS San Josef, which had just been refitted. He transferred to the second-rate HMS St George and became Nelsons flag captain once more in February 1801, Nelson was appointed second in command of the Baltic fleet, which had been sent to force the Danes to withdraw from the League of Armed Neutrality. On the night of 1 April 1801, Hardy was sent in a boat to take soundings around the anchored Danish fleet, Hardys ship drew too much water and so took no part in the Battle of Copenhagen the following day. Hardys work proved to be of great value, the only two ships that went aground, the third-rates HMS Agamemnon and HMS Bellona, were taken in by local pilots and did not follow Hardys recommended route. Hardy stayed on as captain to the new fleet commander, Vice-Admiral Charles Pole. In July 1802, Hardy was appointed to the fifth-rate HMS Amphion which after taking the new British ambassador to Lisbon, Nelson and Hardy finally transferred to Victory off Toulon on 31 July 1803
6.
United Kingdom
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The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom or Britain, is a sovereign country in western Europe. Lying off the north-western coast of the European mainland, the United Kingdom includes the island of Great Britain, Northern Ireland is the only part of the United Kingdom that shares a land border with another sovereign state—the Republic of Ireland. The Irish Sea lies between Great Britain and Ireland, with an area of 242,500 square kilometres, the United Kingdom is the 78th-largest sovereign state in the world and the 11th-largest in Europe. It is also the 21st-most populous country, with an estimated 65.1 million inhabitants, together, this makes it the fourth-most densely populated country in the European Union. The United Kingdom is a monarchy with a parliamentary system of governance. The monarch is Queen Elizabeth II, who has reigned since 6 February 1952, other major urban areas in the United Kingdom include the regions of Birmingham, Leeds, Glasgow, Liverpool and Manchester. The United Kingdom consists of four countries—England, Scotland, Wales, the last three have devolved administrations, each with varying powers, based in their capitals, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast, respectively. The relationships among the countries of the UK have changed over time, Wales was annexed by the Kingdom of England under the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. A treaty between England and Scotland resulted in 1707 in a unified Kingdom of Great Britain, which merged in 1801 with the Kingdom of Ireland to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Five-sixths of Ireland seceded from the UK in 1922, leaving the present formulation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain, there are fourteen British Overseas Territories. These are the remnants of the British Empire which, at its height in the 1920s, British influence can be observed in the language, culture and legal systems of many of its former colonies. The United Kingdom is a country and has the worlds fifth-largest economy by nominal GDP. The UK is considered to have an economy and is categorised as very high in the Human Development Index. It was the worlds first industrialised country and the worlds foremost power during the 19th, the UK remains a great power with considerable economic, cultural, military, scientific and political influence internationally. It is a nuclear weapons state and its military expenditure ranks fourth or fifth in the world. The UK has been a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council since its first session in 1946 and it has been a leading member state of the EU and its predecessor, the European Economic Community, since 1973. However, on 23 June 2016, a referendum on the UKs membership of the EU resulted in a decision to leave. The Acts of Union 1800 united the Kingdom of Great Britain, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have devolved self-government
7.
University of Cambridge
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The University of Cambridge is a collegiate public research university in Cambridge, England, often regarded as one of the most prestigious universities in the world. Founded in 1209 and given royal status by King Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the second-oldest university in the English-speaking world. The university grew out of an association of scholars who left the University of Oxford after a dispute with the townspeople, the two ancient universities share many common features and are often referred to jointly as Oxbridge. Cambridge is formed from a variety of institutions which include 31 constituent colleges, Cambridge University Press, a department of the university, is the worlds oldest publishing house and the second-largest university press in the world. The university also operates eight cultural and scientific museums, including the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridges libraries hold a total of around 15 million books, eight million of which are in Cambridge University Library, a legal deposit library. In the year ended 31 July 2015, the university had an income of £1.64 billion. The central university and colleges have an endowment of around £5.89 billion. The university is linked with the development of the high-tech business cluster known as Silicon Fen. It is a member of associations and forms part of the golden triangle of leading English universities and Cambridge University Health Partners. As of 2017, Cambridge is ranked the fourth best university by three ranking tables and no other institution in the world ranks in the top 10 for as many subjects. Cambridge is consistently ranked as the top university in the United Kingdom, the university has educated many notable alumni, including eminent mathematicians, scientists, politicians, lawyers, philosophers, writers, actors, and foreign Heads of State. Ninety-five Nobel laureates, fifteen British prime ministers and ten Fields medalists have been affiliated with Cambridge as students, faculty, by the late 12th century, the Cambridge region already had a scholarly and ecclesiastical reputation, due to monks from the nearby bishopric church of Ely. The University of Oxford went into suspension in protest, and most scholars moved to such as Paris, Reading. After the University of Oxford reformed several years later, enough remained in Cambridge to form the nucleus of the new university. A bull in 1233 from Pope Gregory IX gave graduates from Cambridge the right to teach everywhere in Christendom, the colleges at the University of Cambridge were originally an incidental feature of the system. No college is as old as the university itself, the colleges were endowed fellowships of scholars. There were also institutions without endowments, called hostels, the hostels were gradually absorbed by the colleges over the centuries, but they have left some indicators of their time, such as the name of Garret Hostel Lane. Hugh Balsham, Bishop of Ely, founded Peterhouse, Cambridges first college, the most recently established college is Robinson, built in the late 1970s
8.
University of Oxford
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The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university located in Oxford, England. It grew rapidly from 1167 when Henry II banned English students from attending the University of Paris, after disputes between students and Oxford townsfolk in 1209, some academics fled north-east to Cambridge where they established what became the University of Cambridge. The two ancient universities are frequently referred to as Oxbridge. The university is made up of a variety of institutions, including 38 constituent colleges, All the colleges are self-governing institutions within the university, each controlling its own membership and with its own internal structure and activities. Being a city university, it not have a main campus, instead, its buildings. Oxford is the home of the Rhodes Scholarship, one of the worlds oldest and most prestigious scholarships, the university operates the worlds oldest university museum, as well as the largest university press in the world and the largest academic library system in Britain. Oxford has educated many notable alumni, including 28 Nobel laureates,27 Prime Ministers of the United Kingdom, the University of Oxford has no known foundation date. Teaching at Oxford existed in form as early as 1096. It grew quickly in 1167 when English students returned from the University of Paris, the historian Gerald of Wales lectured to such scholars in 1188 and the first known foreign scholar, Emo of Friesland, arrived in 1190. The head of the university had the title of chancellor from at least 1201, the university was granted a royal charter in 1248 during the reign of King Henry III. After disputes between students and Oxford townsfolk in 1209, some academics fled from the violence to Cambridge, the students associated together on the basis of geographical origins, into two nations, representing the North and the South. In later centuries, geographical origins continued to many students affiliations when membership of a college or hall became customary in Oxford. At about the time, private benefactors established colleges as self-contained scholarly communities. Among the earliest such founders were William of Durham, who in 1249 endowed University College, thereafter, an increasing number of students lived in colleges rather than in halls and religious houses. In 1333–34, an attempt by some dissatisfied Oxford scholars to found a new university at Stamford, Lincolnshire was blocked by the universities of Oxford and Cambridge petitioning King Edward III. Thereafter, until the 1820s, no new universities were allowed to be founded in England, even in London, thus, Oxford and Cambridge had a duopoly, the new learning of the Renaissance greatly influenced Oxford from the late 15th century onwards. Among university scholars of the period were William Grocyn, who contributed to the revival of Greek language studies, and John Colet, the noted biblical scholar. With the English Reformation and the breaking of communion with the Roman Catholic Church, recusant scholars from Oxford fled to continental Europe, as a centre of learning and scholarship, Oxfords reputation declined in the Age of Enlightenment, enrolments fell and teaching was neglected
9.
Combined Cadet Force
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The Combined Cadet Force is a Ministry of Defence sponsored youth organisation in the United Kingdom. As of 1 April 2014 there were 42,950 Cadets and 2,810 Cadet Force Adult Volunteers, MOD provides approximately £28M per year of funding to the CCF. The CCF was created in 1948 by the amalgamation of the Junior Training Corps, cCFs are still occasionally referred to as The Corps. On 12 May 1859, the Secretary of State for War, Jonathan Peel, sent out a letter to the public schools. The first school cadet corps was established at Rossall School in February 1860, felsted already had an armed drill contingent at the time of the War Office letter under the command of Sgt. Major Rogers RM, its claim on these grounds to be the oldest school corps was upheld by Field Marshal Earl Roberts in a letter to the Headmaster of 1904. Other corps were very quickly formed in 1860 at five schools, Eton, Harrow, Hurstpierpoint, Rugby. In February 1861 the Oxford City Rifle Cadet Corps was founded, with five companies, the first of which was composed of pupils of the Linden House School, in 1908, the units were re-titled the Officer Training Corps. A school contingent may have any combination of Royal Navy, Army, Royal Air Force and sometimes Royal Marines sections, the CCF movement is dominated by the independent sector with 200 contingents still being based in independent schools with only around 60 in state schools. It was reported in 2008 that some private school CCF detachments would be opened to pupils of state schools however there was no resultant change. In February 2014 it was announced that schools will lose millions of pounds of funding. Under the plans,100 state schools will set up cadet units by the end of 2015, a further 250 are expected to follow suit. Therefore, costs to schools involved are considerable, at over £200 per cadet per year, in July 2014 the following changes to CCF funding were proposed, From September 2015, MOD will no longer make a Contingent Grant. Schools would need to determine how best to fund those costs currently met by the grant, from September 2016, MOD will no longer fund the remuneration of adult volunteers. From September 2017, MOD will apply an additional charge to cover running costs, such as uniform, rations, in this year the charge will be about £75 per cadet per year, applied termly in arrears. From September 2018, the charge will rise to £150 per cadet per year, a Memorandum of Understanding, setting out what the MOD and each school are expected to provide, is under development. In January 2015, the proposal was shelved, and all funding was to remain in place, the Royal Navy Section wear a distinct CCF Cap Badge. The two regulation uniforms for RN cadets are No.4 working dress and No.3 parade dress and these are differentiated from regular RN uniform by the wearing of brassards and the CCF RN rank slide
10.
British Army
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The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom. As of 2017 the British Army comprises just over 80,000 trained Regular, or full-time, personnel and just over 26,500 trained Reserve, or part-time personnel. Therefore, the UK Parliament approves the continued existence of the Army by passing an Armed Forces Act at least once every five years, day to day the Army comes under administration of the Ministry of Defence and is commanded by the Chief of the General Staff. Repeatedly emerging victorious from these decisive wars allowed Britain to influence world events with its policies and establish itself as one of the leading military. In 1660 the English, Scottish and Irish monarchies were restored under Charles II, Charles favoured the foundation of a new army under royal control and began work towards its establishment by August 1660. The Royal Scots Army and the Irish Army were financed by the Parliament of Scotland, the order of seniority of the most senior line regiments in the British Army is based on the order of seniority in the English army. At that time there was only one English regiment of dragoons, after William and Marys accession to the throne, England involved itself in the War of the Grand Alliance, primarily to prevent a French invasion restoring Marys father, James II. Spain, in the two centuries, had been the dominant global power, and the chief threat to Englands early transatlantic ambitions. The territorial ambitions of the French, however, led to the War of the Spanish Succession and the Napoleonic Wars. From the time of the end of the Seven Years War in 1763, Great Britain was the naval power. As had its predecessor, the English Army, the British Army fought the Kingdoms of Spain, France, and the Netherlands for supremacy in North America and the West Indies. With native and provincial assistance, the Army conquered New France in the North American theatre of the Seven Years War, the British Army suffered defeat in the American War of Independence, losing the Thirteen Colonies but holding on to Canada. The British Army was heavily involved in the Napoleonic Wars and served in campaigns across Europe. The war between the British and the First French Empire of Napoleon Bonaparte stretched around the world and at its peak, in 1813, the regular army contained over 250,000 men. A Coalition of Anglo-Dutch and Prussian Armies under the Duke of Wellington, the English had been involved, both politically and militarily, in Ireland since being given the Lordship of Ireland by the Pope in 1171. The campaign of the English republican Protector, Oliver Cromwell, involved uncompromising treatment of the Irish towns that had supported the Royalists during the English Civil War, the English Army stayed in Ireland primarily to suppress numerous Irish revolts and campaigns for independence. Having learnt from their experience in America, the British government sought a political solution, the British Army found itself fighting Irish rebels, both Protestant and Catholic, primarily in Ulster and Leinster in the 1798 rebellion. The Haldane Reforms of 1907 formally created the Territorial Force as the Armys volunteer reserve component by merging and reorganising the Volunteer Force, Militia, Great Britains dominance of the world had been challenged by numerous other powers, in the 20th century, most notably Germany
11.
2008 Summer Olympics
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A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees competed in 28 sports and 302 events. China became the 22nd nation to host the Olympic Games and the 18th to hold a Summer Olympic Games. It was the time that the Summer Olympic Games were held in East Asia and Asia, after Tokyo, Japan, in 1964 and Seoul, South Korea. Beijing was awarded the Games over four competitors on 13 July 2001, the Government of the Peoples Republic of China promoted the Games and invested heavily in new facilities and transportation systems. A total of 37 venues were used to host the events, the official logo of these Olympic Games, titled Dancing Beijing, refers to the host city by featuring a stylized calligraphic character jīng. The Games were the second most watched Olympics in history, attracting 4.7 billion viewers worldwide, there were 43 world records and 132 Olympic records set at the 2008 Summer Olympics. An unprecedented 86 countries won at least one medal during the Games, Chinese athletes won the most gold medals with 51, and with 100 medals in total became only the 7th different Olympic team to top an overall medal tally. The United States won the most total medals with 110, the games were deemed highly successful with the rising standard of competition among nations across the world. Beijing was elected as the host city for the 2008 Summer Olympics on 13 July 2001, during the 112th IOC Session in Moscow, defeating bids from Toronto, Paris, Istanbul, and Osaka. Prior to the session, five other cities had submitted bids to the IOC, after the first round of voting, Beijing held a significant lead over the other four candidates. Osaka received only six votes and was eliminated, in the second round, Beijing was supported by a majority of voters, eliminating the need for subsequent rounds. Torontos bid was their 5th failure since 1960, the size of China, its increased enforcement of doping controls, and sympathy concerning its loss of the 2000 Summer Olympics to Sydney were all factors in the decision. Eight years earlier, Beijing had led every round of voting for the 2000 Summer Olympics before losing to Sydney by two votes in the final round. Human rights concerns expressed by Amnesty International and politicians in both Europe and the United States were considered by the delegates, according to IOC Executive Director François Carrard, Carrard and others suggested that the selection might lead to improvements in human rights in China. In addition, a number of IOC delegates who had formerly been athletes expressed concern about heat and air quality during the Games, China outlined plans to address these environmental concerns in its bid application. The Oxford Olympics Study 2016 estimates the outturn cost of the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics at USD6.8 billion in 2015-dollars and this includes sports-related costs only, that is, operational costs incurred by the organizing committee for the purpose of staging the Games, e. g. The Beijing Olympics cost of USD6.8 billion compares with costs of USD4.6 billion for Rio 2016, average cost for the Summer Games since 1960 is USD5.2 billion. They went on to claim that revenues from the Games would exceed the original target of $16 million
12.
Taekwondo
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Taekwondo is a Korean martial art, characterized by its emphasis on head-height kicks, jumping and spinning kicks, and fast kicking techniques. Gyeorugi, a type of sparring, has been an Olympic event since 2000. The body known for taekwondo in the Olympics is the World Taekwondo Federation, beginning in 1945, shortly after the end of the occupation of Korea by Imperial Japan, new martial arts schools called kwans were opened in Seoul. These schools were established by Korean martial artists who had studied primarily in Japan during the Japanese rule, during this time taekwondo was also adopted for use by the South Korean military, which increased its popularity among civilian martial arts schools. After witnessing a martial arts demonstration by the military in 1952, beginning in 1955 the leaders of the kwans began discussing in earnest the possibility of creating a unified style of Korean martial arts. The name Tae Soo Do was used to describe this notional unified style and this name consists of the hanja 跆 tae to stomp, trample, 手 su hand and 道 do way, discipline. Choi Hong Hi advocated the use of the name Tae Kwon Do, i. e. replacing su hand by 拳 kwon fist, the new name was initially slow to catch on among the leaders of the kwans. In 1959 the Korea Taekwondo Association was established to facilitate the unification of Korean martial arts, in 1966, Choi established the International Taekwon-Do Federation as a separate governing body devoted to institutionalizing a common style of taekwondo. Cold War politics of the 1960s and 1970s complicated the adoption of ITF-style taekwondo as a unified style, the South Korean government wished to avoid North Korean influence on the martial art. Conversely, ITF president Choi Hong Hi sought support for the art from all quarters. In response, in 1973 South Korea withdrew its support for the ITF, after Chois retirement the ITF split in 2001 and then again in 2002 to create three separate federations each of which continues to operate today under the same name. In 1973 the South Korean governments Ministry of Culture, Sports, Kukkiwon now served many of the functions previously served by the KTA, in terms of defining a government-sponsored unified style of taekwondo. In 1973 the KTA supported the establishment of the World Taekwondo Federation to promote taekwondo specifically as an international sport, since 2000, taekwondo has been one of only two Asian martial arts that are included in the Olympic Games. It became an event at the 1988 games in Seoul. In 2010, taekwondo was accepted as a Commonwealth Games sport, Taekwondo is characterized by its emphasis on head-height kicks, jumping and spinning kicks, and fast kicking techniques. In fact, World Taekwondo Federation sparring competitions award additional points for strikes that incorporate spinning kicks, to facilitate fast, turning kicks, taekwondo generally adopts stances that are narrower and hence less-stable than the broader, wide stances used by martial arts such as karate. The tradeoff of decreased stability is believed to be worth the increase in agility. The emphasis on speed and agility is a characteristic of taekwondo and has its origins in analyses undertaken by Choi Hong Hi
