Britain’s Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt launched a major campaign on Thursday to attract an extra 4.6 million tourists to the U.K. through advertisements in 14 cities worldwide. The goal of the campaign...is to maximize the tourism and business potential generated by Britain’s hosting of the 2012 Olympics.

Nothing could act as a better reminder that culture is a marketing tool, as well as an organic process that grows from the ground upwards. With contributions from a host of famous names, the climax of the Cultural Olympiad aims to prove once and for all that London, not New York, not Paris, really is the arts capital of the world.

Officials said they would spend $4.7 million to boost tourism on the back of the Games and restore the Olympic host city’s tarnished image. Culture, media and sport secretary Jeremy Hunt says the publicity campaign aims to “set the record straight” and show the world that the riots do not “stand for what the U.K. is all about.”

The timing probably couldn’t have been much worse. Almost a year to the day until the 2012 Olympics Games begin in London, the world was treated to images of rioters smashing storefronts and setting buildings ablaze in the capital and beyond.

iWhen the Olympic Games end on 12 August 2012, all eyes will be on London. But the organisers of Edinburgh's festivals hope that, when the spectacle of the closing ceremony has faded, the gaze will travel to Scotland's capital.

A "rapid response unit" should be set-up by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) ahead of next year's Olympics and Paralympics to "rebut or challenge negative stories appearing in the world media", a report published by MPs has recommended.

The University of Leicester is to stage a series of public events to celebrate the Olympics 2012.This lecture provides an overview of Chinese public diplomacy and soft power - China's attraction via national values and cultural appeal - and tries to understand how the Olympics and their media coverage helped the projection of modern, dynamic and peaceful China.