By Tom Degun in London 

St Pancras_International_olympic_rings_20-08-12August 20 - The British Olympic Association (BOA) is to decide what will happen to the giant sets of Olympic Rings that have been placed around the country to celebrate London hosting the 2012 Games.

The first set of giant Olympic Rings were unveiled in March 2011 at St Pancras International (pictured above) by London 2012 chairman Sebastian Coe and Mayor of London Boris Johnson.

Since that first unveiling, over a dozen more giant, aluminium Olympic Rings have been erected across the United Kingdom at key locations including Tower Bridge in London, Heathrow Airport, Birmingham Airport, City Hall in Cardiff, City Hall in Belfast, The Mound in Edinburgh, Tyne Bridge in Newcastle and Gateshead, Box Hill in Surrey, Rowleys Green roundabout in Coventry and the Athletes' Village in Stratford.

All the giant Olympic Rings were installed and unveiled by London 2012 but it has told insidethegames that it will have no role in deciding what will happen to them following the conclusion of the Games, confirming that they will all fall into the possession of the BOA as the host National Olympic Committee (NOC).

Tower Bridge_olympic_rings_20-08-12London's Tower Bridge and the Olympic Rings are lit during the London 2012 Opening Ceremony on July 27

A number of the cities, such as Coventry, which hosted several football matches during the Games, have expressed a desire to keep the giant Rings as a memento of the London 2012 Olympics but the BOA has said it is discussing the issue with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) before deciding on the future of them.

"The BOA is in discussions with the International Olympic Committee regarding the future of the physical manifestations of the Olympic rings placed around the UK during the London 2012 Games," a BOA spokesperson told insidethegames.

Although some of the Rings could be saved, the giant Rings on Tower Bridge will disappear in the next week and be replaced by a giant set of Agitos, the symbol for the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) and the Paralympic Games.

This will then be removed following the conclusion of the Paralympics.

Agitos cardiff_city_hallA giant set of Agitos were unveiled outside Cardiff City Hall to mark the coming of the London 2012 Paralympics

The giant Olympic Rings at City Hall in Cardiff have already been replaced by a giant set of Agitos, which will also be removed after the Games.

The Agitos unveiled in Cardiff last week was the first of five to be launch in the UK before the Paralympic Games begin on August 29, but other than Tower Bridge, it has not been confirmed where they will appear in the UK.

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]


Related stories
June 2012: Giant Olympic Rings unveiled on Tower Bridge to mark one month to London 2012
June 2012: Giant Olympic Rings unveiled at Heathrow welcome visitors to London 2012
May 2012: Giant Olympic Rings unveiling heralds London 2012 Festival programme for Wales
April 2012: Giant Olympic Rings unveiled at Birmingham Airport
February 2012: Giant Olympic Rings launched down River Thames to mark 150 days to London 2012