Picture source: London2012.com
Athletes and friends from far and near,
Britain welcomes you to the London 2012;
The House of Britain welcomes you to a great city
The peoples of Britain welcome you to a great nation.
As you arrive from the North, South,
East and West of the Earth,
the Yalas of Nigeria who have arrived,
Britain bids you ura baa-o;
The Afrikaners who have arrived in our country,
Britain says welkom
to the Chinese, 歡迎
to the Arabs, ترحيب
to the French, accueil
to the Spaniards arriving, bienvenida
to the Esperantists, bonvenon
to the Portuguese, boas-vindas
to the Germans, willkommen
to the Russians, добро пожаловать.
And to all severally, welcome,
Welcome to this great nation,
where the colour of one’s skin no longer matters,
but the content of their character and what they have
to offer the nation and humanity;
Welcome to a land, where diversity is daily celebrated;
Welcome to the land of love,
where the Golden Rule defines every relationship;
Welcome to the land of limitless possibilities and opportunities;
Welcome to London, where the day never grows old;
Welcome to the cultural capital of the world;
Welcome to London, the world’s melting point,
To all our friends from the North
and South of the hemisphere,
Great Britain welcomes you
to the financial capital of the world;
Great Britain does indeed welcome you
from the depth of her heart
to the land of Churchill, Nelson,
Nightingale, Mother Seacole, the Beatles
Coe, Dame Kelly, Beckham, Wiggins;
Welcome to the cradle of industrial revolution,
the land of Newton, Watt, Stephenson;
Welcome to a peaceful nation, the land of free speech;
Welcome to the land that had contended for the liberty
of all men and women in every realm and clime,
so the peoples of the world shall be free
to use their God-given talents
and express themselves freely,
Noble sports men and women,
friends from all over the world,
The peoples of Great Britain welcome you
to the country of Elizabeth II,
our reigning monarch whose services
to our nation and the Commonwealth
you know too well!
Welcome to the land of a people imbued
with the spirit of Beowulf, conqueror of the dragon;
Welcome to the land of great kings and Queens;
Welcome to the birth country of Defoe,
Shakespeare, Dickens, the Brontes;
Welcome to the land of Cromwell, Adams Smith,
Wilberforce, Emmeline, Darwin, Captain Cook, Scott,
Gladstone, Locke, Bacon, Denning, Branson, Sugar, etcetera
No doubt, the Olympics brought you here,
but never depart without discovering Britain for yourself,
Though your stay here is short,
don’t just pass through the great city,
Let London pass through you
so that you might be complete,
Go to the Thames and experience the serenity
of the great river that irrigates our land,
Visit the London Eye, the London Bridge
and Trafalgar, our Freedom Square,
and the Shard which dares the sky,
You lovers of free speech, visit the Parliament,
where goes on, on daily basis robust debate
which for centuries has been the envy of the world;
Go to Buckingham Palace, the residence of the great woman-
Elizabeth who for over sixty years has reigned over us
and the Commonwealth with dignity!
Visit the British Library, our fountain of wisdom
and take a sip of the knowledge that abounds;
Visit the London Museum, where the past
and the present have intercourse to bring forth the future;
Go round London on our iron millipedes which
course underground until the day is pregnant;
Board our double-decker buses, Route Masters and cable cars
and see what makes up our London ;
Take trams and the ever faithful Black cab
to discover the great city for yourself,
And to all you connoisseurs and food lovers,
go to hotels, restaurants and pubs,
where you will be treated to London’s famed hospitality;
While in these places have a taste
of our traditional English wines and cuisines
and ethnic delicacies, for our London is a multicultural city!
O you men and women of faith,
who have come to visit our London,
Good Old St Paul beckons, as well as the
mosques and temples!
And to the fashion enthusiasts, go to Harrods;
go to Austin Reed, Topshop, Selfridges,
Go to Oxford Street to see
what London has on offer;
Go to Westfield, Brent, where you shall
make your choice;
You that deal in figures, go to the city,
go to Canary Wharf and strike a deal,
But after all these, never lose sight of the fact that life
is a game of chance and as in every game and venture,
you will either win or lose,
In life, you will either have your hopes
and expectations met and fulfilled
or dashed and unfulfilled.
Therefore, whatever be your lot at the Olympics,
bear it with equanimity holding strong
that so long as there’s tomorrow, your own will come!
And rejoice in the fact that you are reckoned
amongst the participants, for this is what really matters!
After all, what is Olympics, but the celebration of the human family,
the feats and endurance of the human spirit.
Welcome to Johnson’s city