Learn about Parliament's part in the Olympics

As anyone who has switched on their radio or telly this morning will know, it's two years until the London Olympics, and the Houses of Parliament are marking it in their own special way. So, if you ever needed an excuse to wander in the atmospheric surroundings of Westminster Hall, the Parliament and the Games exhibition currently taking place in the hall is as good as any. The exhibition examines Parliament's part in the Olympics, with a range of models, artefacts and speeches telling the story.


Featuring kit loaned from Parliamentarians who have competed in the Games, including Lord Coe’s running shoes, Lord Glentoran’s bobsleigh runner and Sir Menzies Campbell’s running vest, the exhibition is never going to be a box office smash, but it does allow casual visitors to pop into the Houses of Parliament, and also features memorabilia from London’s previous Olympic Games in 1908 and 1948, including a 1948 Olympic Torch.

The exhibition is free, is open to all, and is on until 28 August, from Monday to Saturday, 10am - 5pm. You just need to enter Parliament via the Cromwell Green Visitor Entrance and go to Westminster Hall, telling the many helpful security guards you will meet that you want to go to the Parliament and the Games exhibition in Westminster Hall. The real bonus, of course, is seeing the hall itself.

For more, see http://www.parliament.uk/visiting/exhibitions-and-events/exhibitions/olympics-exhibition/