A special Qantas charter plane painted with the famous boxing kangaroo has returned Australia’s Olympic athletes home, touching down in Sydney just after 7am this morning.

Lord Mayor of London Boris Johnson has welcomed figures showing a rise in visitor numbers to busy tourism and shopping areas in the city.

Qantas is the number one brand associated with the Olympic Games according to a recent survey.

Gold Coast golden girl Super Sally Pearson had a nation on the edge of their seat in her 100m hurdles sprint.

Olympic champion Usain Bolt has expressed his desire to visit Australia this September.

Weather hampered a number of events on a day of competition in London, but it didn’t stop the athletes getting up to perform on the world stage of the London 2012 Olympic Games.

After wrapping up in the pool with the swimming over the weekend it was time for those athletes on the track and field to bring their A-game, and they did not disappoint.

Water was the theme of the day for day five of the 2012 London Olympic Games with competitors diving into the water or cutting through it with or without a boat.

Well into the competition on day five of the London Olympic Games and China is still on top of the medal tally with a total of 30 medals, one ahead of the United States.

Day four of the London Olympic Games saw golds in swimming, synchronized platform diving and fencing as China built its Olympics-leading total to 13 gold medals with 23 medals overall.

… with a sky-diving Queen, golden Aussie girls in the pool, Kazakhstan cutting it, British breaking bad and Darcy knocked out.

A shortfall in hotel bookings during this year’s London Olympics has lead to some unexpected bargains being offered throughout the normally expensive city.

According to BBC London, large parts of the UK are being severely affected by extreme weather conditions, particularly southern and central England and Wales.

London Heathrow airport has made an investment over GBP20 million to manage the unique challenges from extra demand during the Games period.

On its way to London, the Olympic Torch travelled on one of the oldest steamers on Windermere, England’s longest lake.

The United States will be the single biggest source nation for traffic to next month’s London Olympics, accounting for more than twice as many visitors as any other market, a recent study based on global air reservations has found.

Australian visitors to London’s Olympic Games will get value for money stays, with average room rates decreasing dramatically in recent months.